How to Grow & Plant Avocado Trees in Poor Drainage or Clay Soil

This video shows how to successfully plant avocado trees in areas containing clay soil. Root rot disease and poor soil drainage is the number 1 reason why avocados fail and die but this method helps considerably to get your tree off to a good start and turn into a great producing avocado fruit tree! Enjoy :)
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Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started SSM in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

[@seriousguitarinstructionbo6690]

Great stuff. I'm seriously jealous of your beautiful property. It must be a great feeling to have accomplished that.

[@skeso2k157]

Who wouldn’t be

[@sklogistics3802]

Q

[@douglaschaney7487]

In 1959 my Dad, myself and my cousin planted an avocado seedling, that we had started in a jar of water with tooth picks stuck in it, next to our compost pit in our backyard. 60 years later it is still producing enough fruit to supply 4 or 5 families in the neighborhood. In 2009 I took a seed from that tree and planted it in a small pot of potting soil to see if it would sprout on it's own. It took months to sprout and when it outgrew that pot I replanted it in a 5 gallon pot using a little Miracle Grow mixed with potting soil. In June of 2011 I planted it in my back yard where we had removed another tree and had ground the stump below ground level a couple of years earlier. Again I used the Miracle Grow and potting soil mixture. It took 3 years before it produced fruit, which was not abundant, but tasty. Except for one year, 2017, it has produced 40 to 60 fruit per year and currently stands at about 15 feet tall. I live about 3 miles from my Dad's house here in Southern California where the soil is clay based.

[@imedimed8025]

Nice :) did you know if the tree was grafted ?

[@regiodeurse6513]

@@imedimed8025 he literally said he grew it from seed..

[@imedimed8025]

@@regiodeurse6513 thank you yes i know but I thought the tree was grafted after that. and maybe he forgot to mention it ..or maybe he does not know about so it is sometimes useless to graft the avocado because even obtained from seed it does not put enough time to fructify

[@imedimed8025]

@Island Mike indeed, every tree is supposed to give fruit .. whether it is obtained from seed or other .. why graft then? 1- it is to shorten the time of fructification instead of waiting 10 to 15 years .. we wait only 3 to 4 years .. is not better ?? 2- but also to be sure about the variety of the fruit obtained .. 3- for the tree to be compatible with the type of soil 4- to change the tree variety ... or to have a self-fertile variety ect ect ... but rarely to make sure that the tree will give fruit ..because I mentioned ... any tree gives fruit

[@regiodeurse6513]

@Island Mike All fruit came from seed at one point. All those grafted clones had a motherplant from seed even the mutated ones found their origin in a seedplant somewhere along the line

[@charlheynike9619]

I helped my parents plant about 40 different fruit trees in their lifestyle block in Auckland. Heavy clay about a foot down. All the trees flourished except for the avos, which all died.. we then did the mound thing, which seems to be working.

[@ItsBrendo]

How are they 3 years on?

[@charlheynike9619]

@@ItsBrendo they all died..

[@ItsBrendo]

@@charlheynike9619 Damn, that sucks. Were they mounded up pretty high? Or just a bit?

[@charlheynike9619]

@@ItsBrendo pretty high actually

[@kayprime1967]

Hi, I'm from São Paulo, Brasil, and here clay soil is everywhere. Avacado trees grow really easy, but they get really big. So if your soil is clay based try getting one of the "big tree" avacado varieties. When I say big I mean 5 - 7 meters, and the roots are really thicc and will bury itself really deep. I know cause I had to remove an avacado root once and I'm never doing it again! *If anyone like the idea please do not plant the tree anywhere near a wall or a house. The roots also grow sideways!*

[@scarlettrubyrose]

Thank you so much for the tip

[@nunseik]

Kay praetor In my neighbor we have some of these varieties and they can get even bigger than that! I've seen some trees over 15 meters high.

[@daanzoomer2997]

Fabio Dantas wow thats high

[@migs192]

So that’s why our avocado lived

[@Nemesis_T_Type]

My grandmother had a tree like that and it still produces fruit for more than 40 years. It's slightly bitter when not ripe but very sweet and oily when ripe. There was no maintenance or care done whatsoever.

[@leodiaz9137]

GREAT Info just something to add when growing grafted tree. you must cut all the branches from the non-fruit part of the tree. if you let the branches grow it will kill the grafted fruit part! i lost 4 grafted trees in the past from not cutting the non-fruited branches!

[@matamataio4325]

so remove all branches or growth from the rootstock. great idea.

[@envirowisenz]

Leo Diaz that's good to know, thanks

[@NMW80]

Omg really? I didn’t know that. I wonder why that happens cos some tree rootstocks have like 7 varieties on the one tree. I know people have done ten on the one tree. But thanks for the info, I will keep that in mind.

[@wingabouts]

2 minutes in and I can't listen to anything you're saying... I'm completely mesmerized by that gorgeous blue butterfly!!! 💞 I will have to listen again without looking at the screen. ☺

[@justins8739]

They make Adderal for this sort of thing.

[@CoronaTheVirus]

Butterflies = catapillars = not good

[@invalid1012]

@@CoronaTheVirus I think butterflies are fine pollinators if you keep the caterpillar numbers under control!

[@damianmcgeown9096]

Bloody streuth. I am so blown away by this legend. I'm binge watching all this and it is so inspiring. We need more people on Earth like Mark.

[@darrencollins1804]

Great tips! If you get a grafted avocado where the graft dies and the rootstock takes over, you can let it go for a couple years (until it's nice and strong and established), and then cut it off and graft on some branches from one of your other avocado trees. They should grow quickly with a strong base plant, and will give you much better fruit than the rootstock would have.

[@atifrc]

Wow a video a day after I asked the question! Thanks so much really helps me a lot, hopefully mine can survive! They get delivered this week!

[@Selfsufficientme]

Glad you liked it Atif! All the best with your avocado trees, cheers :)

[@evan.norwalkcalifornia562]

Delivered from were

[@allee3476]

@@evan.norwalkcalifornia562 Delivered from where, instead of delivered from were, makes more sense. Just saying.

[@evan.norwalkcalifornia562]

@@allee3476 🙄ok smart guy

[@allee3476]

@@evan.norwalkcalifornia562 Good question, though 👍

[@jescojesco2494]

I've killed a few avocado trees due to clay soil, after watching this video the next 3 avocados will get a mound! Thanks for the video.

[@nicoleh.9898]

Wonderful video - thank you so much. I live in Phoenix, AZ (USA) where we have clay soil and I'm putting in Avocados this year so I'm so glad I saw this before I started. Again, thank you.

[@lcjohn51]

Experimenting can take so long and when you are in your 60’s 2 our 3 years of failure can be disappointing to say the least. Videos like this sure can be helpful. Good job! Good luck on mounding I am doing the same thing here in Florida. My soil is sandy but after losing 3 trees to root rot, I dug down deeper and found a solid sheet of limestone everywhere I dug down. What was happening is whenever we had heavy rain the sand wood fill up with water and it would take a long time to drain down with the limestone holding the ground water. So I got root rot. I am trying the mounds so far so good. The rainy season will start soon here in Florida we shall see 🤞. Mate I just hope we don’t have a another Hurricane!

[@patdthomas]

I live in Florida as well. My Hass avocado crapped the bed a couple of years ago too. Now I'm going to give it another try with a large fruited Florida variety that I currently have growing in a large pot. Maybe I should do an exploratory dig first to see if I also have a limestone layer issue.

[@JohnSmith-gy4qj]

Make a small reservoir to collect the water and then pump it out

[@kagepunk]

Did you use any native soil to build your mound or just use compost and other planting soil for it?

[@UndefinedBailiwick]

You can turn clay soil into a more sandy soil with the right amount of gypsum. I cultivated the top 1-2 ft of my whole yard and mixed in gypsum. I also dug 6' holes, used a jackhammer at the bottom and then backfilled with more gypsum and river rocks to start with. I planted my citrus trees and avocados 1' above the ground and had about 1' of woods chips. I made sure there was plenty of worms so they could start breaking down everything and mix the mulch with the cultivated soil.

[@rjaquaponics9266]

I planted an avocado seed in an aquaponics system many years ago. When I disassembled the aquaponics system I removed the avocado plant and was amazed how long the tap root was. The plant was about 2' high and the root was 12' in length.. I figured it would die as I wrapped the root around and around in a large pot. It lived and is still living today albeit in a much larger pot. I have to constantly prune it because it grows large limbs taking up an entire room. I just cut it back and it continues to grow. It loves water, but sometimes I will get leaf tip root because I over water it. Avocados will lose its leaves and grow new ones. It seems to be normal. I have never gotten fruit on it, but I don't care because I love the plant/tree !

[@martysgarden]

Aaah the dreaded Phytrophera hits the clay and gets attacked,,I managed an Avo farm and the trees on the highest points suffered. The old farmers always hunted down deep red soils,,at least 6 ft to 2 metres deep to avoid this problem. You can also solve this problem by planting dwarf Avo's as they don't have a long tap root, as you mentioned. They can also be managed much easier in a small backyard garden. I am currently growing mine in containers. I know that sandy soils they grow ok, but as you say clay soils can be tough. Cool video and super helpful for many for sure. Happy Gardening Marty Ware

[@devbachu7072]

martysgarden ads manure ,compost ,sand to u clay soil an avoxados trees are surfers feeds not deep feeders

[@scarlettrubyrose]

Why were the farmers wanting red earth? Is red earth high in iron? I found your comment so interesting

[@BESHYSBEES]

scarlettrubyrose red sand is free draining so the avo’s don’t have root rot problems

[@lalo18214]

My wife got me into watching your videos, love your Aussie accent. We are from San Antonio TEXAS and I'm trying to grow avocados and I keep having the same problems. Well you just told me how to fix them my yard is nothing but clay soil, I will have to mount them up now. LOVE YOUR VIDEOS

[@jeffavery5278]

if you dig a hole,it needs a sloped trench so water can drain away and filled with sand or gravel fines ,sorts like a french drain,but if your land is low,this wont work...not tried this with ava's yet but works great for other fruit trees,,,,,your way looks to be the most efficient..great vid,,,thank you

[@valiantthor6450]

Self Sufficient, thank you for your valuable insights on problems with growing avocados. I think your video clearly identifies perhaps the main reason why avocado trees so often fail. It is because of videos like yours that youtube remains so popular.

[@eatyourgarden]

Cool video mate. Completely correct about mounding on clay. Another very important thing that avos need protection from is hot drying winds. They hate it. Mound them, protect from wind and they are generally pretty hardy. Trees are also social creatures, just like chickens, they need to be with other trees, if that makes sense. Cheers Mark. Hope your enjoying the cooler weather, i know i am :)

[@nzzenith]

eatyourgarden australia . cross pollination required.

[@IsaKocoglu]

I love the thoroughness of your explanation in this video. Thank you very very much. Keep up your great stuff please.

[@audiobookfull8]

Maybe you shouldn't put limestone on them; they like acidic soil. I have worked with avocado trees and related plants and the pH is more important than anything I have read. I put a little limestone on my bay leaf bushes and they almost died, they are related to avocado trees. I tried everything, but nothing worked until I stopped with the limestone and put buckets and buckets of fir needles around the base. Now they are the healthiest plants I have ever seen! This is an idea: dig down DEEP. Fill the hole with as much free pee as you can collect, or just use potassium nitrate, stump remover. Add some logs that will be a barrier for the roots. Then well-draining soil. Then mound the soil and plant. By the time the clay has broken apart the logs will have decayed and let the roots through.

[@USSBB62]

I have had good luck with Avocado's in clay on a nasty 30% slope. This takes care of the wet feet problem. Bacon variety. Best cold tolerant tree.

[@whoami1449]

Other people: its so hard to plant avocado. My uncle practically toss away a rotten avocado into a hole, and it is now tall and strong, and sprout lots of fruit

[@NopeAndYep]

Ahhhhh, Avacado trees. One of the two types of trees I have given up on growing because they always seem to die. The mounding method is interesting! I might give it another go.

[@olympicgardencrafts]

2:17 SO BEAUTIFUL with the butterfly! It came to help you shoot the video!

[@stupidminotaur9735]

avocado are thought to have co-evolved with giant ground sloths it took the sloths so long to digest the seeds that they already had roots and in some nice compost.

[@siobhancapell]

I'm hoping you can give an update on your avocado trees. I'm wanting to plant a whole variety of fruit trees in my backyard, which used to be in a creek bed (which has since been diverted underground, but the soil is still very clay/silty and often waterlogged.) I'm hoping this method of mounding might work for all of my trees. Did you happen to use hugelkultur methods for this planting, or was it all soil? Thanks so much for all of your videos! They are super helpful.

[@nothingincommon]

I have an avocado grove and my "soil" is pure limestone, nothing else. The trees were planted with dynamite, some 80 years ago and are still thriving. I don't know about not being able to "tolerate hard-going". It's Florida limestone and it is porous so maybe you meant solid non-porous rocks.

[@jeffreyculberth1440]

I have heavy clay and no topsoil. I guess I'll be trucking in some dirt for mounds

[@PaulineBro100]

Thanks so mych , Mark, for this info. I've tried to grow from seed numerous times and they get to 45 cm high and wither and die. Probably when the tap root hits the clay!! Might try in a large pot. Very well presented video.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks Pauline! I have grown them in large containers and they do well except I used fake wine barrels which deteriorated so I had to move them - just another lesson learned by me... :)

[@TsetsiStoyanova]

my avo trees are planted in house and the leaves regularly wilt

[@HURRICANE44]

to hot / to much sunlight

[@ikigai47]

8:12 "The research on avocado growing indicates that the longer the tree survives after planting, the better chance it has to live a long healthy and productive life." :)

[@Xgarbil]

it might sound dumb, but what he means is, if it has survived past its "teenage" years it'll probably outlive even you

[@ikigai47]

@@Xgarbil - oh I know. it was just worded hilarious. i love it though. that's one of the reasons he's my favorite garden channel

[@peterk.6093]

The longer you live the bigger the chance for you to become old. At least the research indicates that.

[@perfidiousalbion9975]

@@peterk.6093 that's actually been debunked

[@devbachu7072]

I keep mulching minds with kitchen waste something like a mount it 3yrs old also I now give it microbes also anvinduce fruiting hope it start to fruit grafted tree

[@jakesplace9721]

This is great! I live in the south tip of Texas and the soil there is heavy clay and alkaline. I’ve been wanting to grow an avocado tree and now I know what to do. In one of your other videos you described how some plants need more acidic soil but others do better in alkaline soils. Perhaps you could make another video about that going into more specifics? Thanks, love your channel!

[@zacharyolson8767]

Any update? I'm in southwest San Antonio and planning to plant a couple avocado trees. Same clay, alkaline soil.

[@jakesplace9721]

@@zacharyolson8767 sorry, nothing to report now - I sold out and moved to Indiana. Pretty sure avocados won’t grow here. I’m going to have to learn new stuff here! Thanks for your response!

[@keirenle]

I have a tropical fruit farm in south johnstone, just south from Cairns. When it rains, it rains. I had 6 grafted varieties and one from seed. 3 saw Jesus on the first 2 years despite my hilly and well drain soil. The seedling one is much more drought tolerance and the other 3 are happened to be on a much higher ground. Beside the bloody beetle that keep eating their leave they grew up fast and I have a first fruit this year

[@terremoto..6809]

I'm from Michoacan Mexico were the best Avocados are produced and as a kid i remember clay soil all around im curious what's the benefit to that

[@genghiskhan5320]

Arriva Michoacan primo!

[@Calferr]

✊🏽

[@deafdeadfishfloating]

Love your video, but take exception to some of your concepts. Please take no insult. Avocado's only appear to have a 'tap root,' when they are young; they are surface feeders (your 'blame' on a tap root hitting the clay is misplaced; something else sabotaged the tree IMHO). Yes, Phytophera is a killer; it's IN the soil, and can easily be 'washed' into a soil area from trees, or even cut firewood, or polluted mulch, or from distant adjacent trees have the infection. Also a 'big' provider of Phytophera in home garden areas is if anyone has planted tomatoes in the area, and failed to remove the roots after the last harvest and plants removal. Getting rid of phytophera? The soil must be allowed to DRY OUT completely. This can be accomplished by turning the soil, and when winter comes, covering the area with sheets of plastic to insure it stays dry... and then again turning the soil in the sun the next summer. Inspect nearby forested areas for dead or dying trees, and rotting logs. What is another 'big killer' that introduces phytopera like symptoms? ADDING SOIL around the base of a tree, most ANY tree, such that the soil line is moved up. Do NOT raise the soil level around the bark of the tree unless your intent is to kill it, one branch at a time. If you wish to 'top dress' without impacting the soil line, than that's fine; the avocado tree is a surface feeder. ( In California, I've seen avocado orchards where ridiculously dense clay was only a foot down, but certainly that's not a recommendation. Any orchard has less chance of becoming too wet if on a slight slope, as trapped sub-surface water cannot be seen below the soil, but trapped above the clay in a 'flat' area. Best regards (Wish I could visit down-under more often). Tate.

[@devbachu7072]

I brought some grafted fruit trees in clay hard soil since I saw the clay so hard around it I want to remove that soul

[@devbachu7072]

Grafted trees bear fruit faster an when you mix the soil with sand etc it improves the soil an some organic matter I think abocados roots are shirt on the top soul so if you feed the roots youbgoid to go so the tap root iscthe promblem?

[@lancer525]

Mark, you're the Bob Ross of gardening...

[@homesteading]

Great video on the subject. Having clay soil myself, and having planted and lost 3 grafted Avocado trees, I am reluctant to try again (they cost $70-80 ea here in Tassie!) But your video entices me to maybe try again! I do have one young seedling that is doing much better than the grafted did. It seems soil is everything - a few kilometers away from me there is a small commercial Avocado farm doing fine, but on the deep red volcanic soil that is so good for drainage.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Exactly - soil is everything! In Toowoomba (my hometown) avocados grow like crazy in the volcanic soil and here it frustrates me to see avocado groves literally just kms away. On a positive, the clay does retain some water during dry periods and actually helps the majority of our other fruit trees so you win some and lose some I guess :)

[@adamsolomon8346]

I've got a 10 year old tree I grown from seed, its pretty healthy and yet to fruit. It almost did last year, had lots of side shoots grow, finger crossed this is the year. Too bad you live far away else I would have given it away, its almost 6ft tall now growing in a 40L

[@andersonfarm8935]

Yes its all about the soil but its more the fact that poor soil has poor drainage. Break up your soil with good quailty soil and create a 50cm ridge to plant on to so that the tree is ensured good drainage. Use good quality mulch too. 80% of roots are in the top 30cm below the soil. If you get frosts you may need to grow Bacon variety too

[@caseG80]

Homesteading DownUnder try watering more after the other tips used. Winter watering is often overlooked. Avocados need more frequent waterings because they feeder roots stay high up in the soil

[@rawtinanlal6304]

I am from Trinidad and Tobago west Indes and planting all sorts of crops grow according to the weather conditions so you have to choose the best time of the year too plant

[@fredymredy]

I really like to grow some fruits or vegetables that i can't find in my country.

[@karenhobbs3218]

Hah. My next door neighbour, in Ecuador, has a MONSTER avocado tree. It grows avos twice a year and I get windfall from branches hanging over my wall. they are the largest avos i have ever seen in my life! dont forget I am originally from Canada. My problem is that people rarely top their trees so it really blocks a lot of eastern sun, I am working on a way to convince the neighbours to top this monster and they would get more avos within reach. At the moment they must go up on the roof as none grow down below in their yard. the proof is that the big branches hanging over my wall are relatively new and produce loads of avos that I share with friends and my LL.

[@punker4Real]

just get or build your own avocado picker saying the avocado are too high up is just excuse .

[@ThaoNguyen-up4kk]

This is awesome, exactly what I needed since my 1.3 acres are full of clay soil.

[@AlexSwan]

I've got access to a lot of dark / sandy spoil that got dug out of a creek around the corner from me. If I add compost to the plant hole, does this seem like a good option? I'm just worried the spoil might be contaminated with something that I have no idea about. However the colour looks great and there seems to be a good amount of sand in it, which got me excited for my Avo mounds.

[@sjohnson5602]

I've had no luck with Avo's in my sandy / sandstone. I'm going to try this.

[@enidginn8986]

Hi Mark - great info here - thanks. I'm about to plant a couple of avos after several failures and came looking for your wisdom. Your video was produced in 2018, and I wondered how your trees are going now, three years later. I'm planning to plant mine in Birdies raised beds (circular) but like you, I have heavy clay underneath where the bed is located, and I don't have the back any more to plant them in a mound! I can imagine the growing end of the tap root knocking at the door and getting no response. I don't want to grow from seed, 'cos at 77, I probably won't be around to harvest them!! Do you think the round bed is a suitable container? Can I grow, say, lettuce in that same bed? I hope you see fit to reply. Thanks again.

[@SubtropicalFruitGarden]

Great video! I just planted my avocado trees last month. I also created a video about building my avocado hill.

[@jibrilsaneko3969]

Priceless piece of information.. thank you..

[@agb0012000]

Thank you so much for all of the videos you post. They are always so helpful, full of useful information, and your always so happy, it spreads. I'm growing mine in a 23 inch container. It Is two to three years old. I'm only getting one or two fruit. Maybe I'm not watering enough. It's in a sunny location and water every other day in the summer.

[@tronthetrader1759]

I noticed the avo planted inside a mound surrounded by the tractor tyre - seems like a great idea but according to the people of Gardening Australia the tyres contain many toxins that are slowly released over time & will enter your food crops...so their advice was to NOT use tyres for raised garden beds...makes sense.

[@littlebexarfarm]

Hello, Any chance of doing a update on your avocado trees that are above ground? Thanks for your time.

[@yogicat8151]

All very helpful, thank you very much for sharing :)

[@devbachu7072]

Clay soil is the worst I agree moy t an add top soil

[@salihkahraman6270]

Would it be a good idea to plant a seedling and then after a few years when the tree has established to graft it

[@beefriendlypermaculture]

Great info! ♥️ Love growing them from seed! 🌱 cheers! 🙏

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you! :)

[@gonget]

Mark thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, you have helped me get so many of my problems sorted out plus helped immensely in avoiding so many more. You have a great energy and enthusiasm which gets me off my butt and back to growing my own food. Thanks again.

[@Seal6Sniper]

That's really weird. Everything I've read about avocado trees says they like clay soil provided it's well drained. I know my peaches do.

[@QUARTERSAWN]

The clay soil in Australia must be very different from California. Our trees do just fine here in the clay soil. In fact, the Hass avocado was developed right here about 100 years ago!

[@Buyo12345]

I had put 3 avacado seeds in a plastic cup with tooth pic before Covid struck.Same year it was put in the ground now its is on its 3rd year has grown up.Hopefully will give good fruit in abundance after a couple of year's. Thanks to all the tips.

[@Ryin88]

Hi there, thanks for the video. Do you use drip irrigation on your avocado trees? If so how much do you water it for how long? And do you use just the drip attachment or a mini sprayer or other? Thanks in advance !

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

great vid - I just mound planted Hazelnut trees - so glad you corroborated my views on this - no digging into the top soil that would create a water hole of the clay. thanks

[@rblibit]

I'm in Florida and we had an avocado in its 6th year getting ready to fruit like GANG BUSTERS. Along came a hurricane and knocked the darn thing over. I tried to save it, but no luck. It was low enough on a "protected" side of house I thought It didn't need to be tied up... so much for thinking. Darn near made me cry. Once they get ripped out and blown over, forget it... you can't save them. LESSON LEARNED: I don't care WHAT you think - TIE THAT MOTHER UP GOOD!

[@edwardsaucedo9223]

I live in Washington state so mine is kept inside most the year. It's 3 feet tall and skinny trunk. It has yet to branch out.. Any ideas?

[@chan_for]

Fruits planted by your ancestors are always GREAT

[@joshuafreeman6585]

hi mark, just wondering if you can give me some advice on the dates for the frost white quails start laying season... thanks, much appriciated Joshua (Uk)

[@yessir863]

I planted mine in clay soil they are about 5 years old and thriving i think the fact they were planted on a slope has helped alot with drainage.

[@ms.goodenergy]

Same here. I relocated to a very hot/dry country in Africa. I threw an avocado in a hole in the clay soil (where I fee the birds). It grew a sprout on its own with no amendments. So, I am Positive that it CAN INDEED grow in clay soil...just needs proper drainage. 👍

[@sirjohnahayfalcon]

I threw an avo seed in a clay hole in nc i didnt even cover it, and it has sprouted

[@margaretmarshall3645]

Thanks for that thought! I do have a slope near where I was going to plant my avocados. I will try planting them on that slope instead, since I have hard pan clay not too far down.

[@zacharyolson8767]

I have a slope, too. For other fruit trees, I dug a lateral trench from the hole on the downhill side for draining, then backfilled the trench with wood chips to allow draining and prevent pooling. Seems to work so far. But I'm only a few months into it.

[@anthonylemkendorf3114]

Here in San Clemente California ( coastal clay ) I have seen six foot retaining walls at the bottom of hills back filled with good soil . This solves the stagnant water hole problem and Avocados flourish.

[@racebiketuner]

Anyone considering growing avocados would do well to read the following papers by Dr. David Crowley at UC Riverside: Cutting Edge Technologies for Avocado Production, Irrigation and Salinity Management of Avocado and Fertilizers Programs for Avocado Production. These are all available online for free.

[@angiemercedes7345]

Thank you so much Mark. Finally this video the answer of my problem, .live in Sydney the soil is no good a clay. i wonder what happened to my avo going to die. thank you so much this information

[@lonefoxbushcraft]

Love see update on these I'm UK I have 2 x 2 year old cold hardy Mexicola negro avocados -11 hardy there going in a big greenhouse tho. Can u do update please Danny

[@janabradford]

We LOVE this site come visit us in our little 3.3 acres on maui farm you’ve done all the brain damage for us MAHALOS LOVE & ALOHA JANA & DELMAR

[@hossharton7017]

Great video thanks so much for all your information I'm in South Australia and have solid clay next to zero drainage in winter How high do I need to mound to be safe with say a bacon or a wurtz? I have a few 560mm 1 metre wide planter boxes but they have no bottom and I'm worried they will send a tap root to the clay and the years would be wasted. I guess my long question is... Large pot for ever? Open bottom planter box 560mm high Or is it a mega mound? My least favourite option as I don't have a huge block and mounds take alot if room Thank you👍

[@leonflemingeugeneflemingal1273]

My soil is clay from the top to bottom not even a cm of top soil. I have started using grow organic fert I highly recommend. And I'm trialling microstart farming soon to increase life. I did the regual bucket hole with hugel culture and about 50cm high mound. It's doing ok but slow growth. I had a hass that I stupidly put in as a hole and bury. Surprisingly, it made it 2 years and it just died rapidly this summer with a few straight 36 degree days. This time I'm doing a 80cm deep hole with 1 x 1 sizing and trying to hit 60cm high mound. The mound will go about 1.5 out and slop down gradually. The hole is full of eggs a dead rooster, lucerne from the paddock logs and leaves bark chips etc will level out. The land is slightly undulating So I'm considering installing an ag pipe from bottom of pit heading down about 1 m away to help keep the whole empty. I don't think the avacado dies from wet feet though I think it was just 5.5ph and not feeding tree enough and the sun did it in.

[@madeirafoodforest2107]

I am guessing you know avocados are not true to seed...so by growing from seed (not grafted), you will not know what your avocado will taste like once it bears fruit.

[@davidschmidt270]

Hey brother how ya are....I hail from Phoenix AZ and enjoy your videos.... anyhow I was listening to you talk about the weak root system of the avocado.... anyways the other day I came across something rather peculiar.... it's called yucca extract...it's from yucca plant hear in the desert drought tolerant and can this and can that, basically you give the yucca properties to the roots of another plant....think something like this would work??? Check into it and let me know ....if you ever get a chance....might just be what the doctor ordered

[@carolemcinnes9060]

I just bought 2 avo trees 1 Wurtz &1 Sheppard&your video on planting &care was really informative &interesting (I like your style of gardening) I think it will be the raised bed method for me 😊 in nth qld

[@digitalranger4259]

Ahhh, mounds..... perhaps this will improve my reputation and the avocados will no longer fear me as the Tree Killer. :) Greetings from CA!

[@grima0482]

What about trimming the taproot? I know that this technique is used for bonsai trees, but it could probably also be used to encourage root branching in the upper soil layer, while avoiding the formation of a deep taproot which then starts to rot.

[@santushabihari2020]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. I understand now why my avocado plant died.. I will try your method. Thanks!! 🙌🏻

[@rockers7889]

Here in California , Gary's Best Gardening Channel says no organic material in the soil by the roots . I dig a deeper hole up to 3 feet . Put a 50lb ($3.50) bag of sand in the hole . Then i fill the rest with my soil mix i make of sand , peat moss ,vermiculite , perlite and 5% charcoal (from dried tree branches ive pruned in my yard) . Mulch and fertilize the too of the tree . It will drain . Any organic material around the roots will turn to sewage and kill your tree . The peat moss is so old , it slowly breaks down no sewage

[@Xboxkid-el5vy]

SELF SUFFICIENT ME GROW KIWIS :D

[@teriwyatts4428]

Don't forget ...Like the Rain Forest....they NEED a Parent to shade them Before simi mature...I lost 4 trees here in Riverside til I was talking to gardeners & my soil was 8 ft of river bottom clay brought in to build our suburbs.....so I tilled the soil and prepared but when I still lost trees I started using an umbrella during the youth & now the hottest days and it is now 8 yrs old and a dwarf. Started fruiting here & there. And has a great oil content so far/

[@Hansulf]

Hass avocado on a stony soil claylish soil, 70cm Deep until bedrock (limerock, so basic pH soil). 450mm rain a year. Wish me luck 😂😂😂

[@bcupcake]

We have an avocado tree which is about 8 meters tall, gives about 200 avocados every year and we live in rocky-clay area in Mexico. 😄😂 Maybe we just got lucky. Not sure of the exact variety but looks like a Bacon.

[@_general_error]

It's not "sweet soil," it's alkaline soil. Alkaline materials have the same taste as if you put the positive (+) pole of a battery to your tongue and put your finger on the other side (it is safe to do so, in limits). It is an "electric taste", but definitely not "sweet". If you don't like the idea of licking batteries, try licking some drain cleaner... just remember to wash your mouth at least 3 times afterward. :)

[@clivesmith5604]

Hi Mark, I got lost a bit with your commentary towards the end, you say your grandparents got better result from graphed avocado and dug up the seeded one, then you sum up that until better graphed come along it better from seed. Could you please clarify which you think is better? P.S enjoy your videos immensely

[@jonathancox9501]

so when you mound them up above the soil...what do you use please? ...potting mix? compost? leaves etc?........I have pure sand in my garden....so i am thinking of putting it straight in there with no additives and then compost and mulch around the outside......the soil drains really well with all that sand.

[@ainlalima1677]

I was thinking of growing Avocados from seed... but after this valuable lesson I wont waste time on the experiment... I may die before the tree avos appear.... hopefully I will find a young avo plant from one of the nurseries in the neighborhood.

[@kezzaobee1462]

So Mark exactly how long to fruit, from a seed grown avocado. I just Hope I’m still around to eat the fruit. Sth Burnett Region Qld.

[@camwells9726]

Sounds complicated, I haven’t got normal clay , but that rich red mountain soil , gets quite wet in winter , Local Forest and bush is very green and healthy ,fern’s flourish in the area , what do you think ?

[@cociascarlet4152]

Thank you for all your hard work making these videos. They have been very helpful in learning and understanding how to invest in yourself and backyard.

[@drdiscostu]

Whenever I did gardening my 3 year old would "help" by burying avocado seeds that I saved for her. Reckon she buried 100 over a year or two. Grew 7 trees through.

[@MillaHarper]

Hi Mark Is this still the best method you recommend . I have type A & B ready to plant out (bought from Bunnings). Thank you

[@khoofelicity6713]

Hi amazing...how come my avo .... tree can't bear fruit? It's quite tall already. So sad

[@Ev1LAngeLXIII]

It's crazy, I visited my parents homeland in the Pacific Islands. My Mum's cousin has avocado trees that you can sit under, they're huge. He gets annoyed now, that he can no longer give away the avocados, there's just so many.

[@derekmiller627]

Just discovered this video. I have just planted an Avocado the WRONG way in our soil. Should I dig it up and mound plant it. Will it survive that transition?

[@tiffany9720]

Hi Mark , I have a Lamb Hass 2 years old still in pot, do you think a raise bed with 1m diameter x 500mm would be ok to plant in ? Thanks, Tiffany

[@soulstalgiarecords77740]

9:22 how is that Avo Tree doing today? Did it fruit yet? And if so, how is the quality of the fruit... Really wish you get to anser, as I grew two avo trees from Different seeds and I am hopeful that either or both of them will give us some edible fruit (one is 5 years old and the other 3 years)... They are seemingly growing well, apart for the fact that our winters battered them before, but this last winter did not damage them as the previous winters did, and they are looking pretty healthy in our spring here in Johannesrurg.