BajaNomad - Avocado Patdown no more?

Avocado Patdown no more?

Hook - 2-6-2007 at 09:48 AM

Editorial in today's LA Times about how FINALLY, after almost 100 years, avocados can finally be imported into California from Mexico. This took effect February 1.

So, I am wondering if this means we can bring avos back, in amounts for personal consumption, now?

Who is willing to be the first "test case"???? :lol:

Avos have been the green substance that I have been smuggling into this country for some time.

DanO - 2-6-2007 at 11:17 AM

According the lecture I got when I was first issued a SENTRI pass, you can bring back guacamole, but no avocados. I don't think that will change because of the lifting of the embargo, which likely applies only to commercially transported fruit. For example, tomatoes are legally imported into California from Mexico, but you can't bring them across the border unless they're in a pico de gallo. Frankly, the whole things is so confusing I just stopped bringing anything back years ago (well, except for the occasional ceramic surfing monkey).

Hook - 2-6-2007 at 11:22 AM

DanO, I was hoping you would be willing to do the stupid thing first, here.

Come on, man, take one for the team.......

DanO - 2-6-2007 at 12:09 PM

No way. They'll have to pry that SENTRI pass out of my cold, dead fingers, and I'm sure not going to give them the opportunity to pull it for the price of a contraband avocado. They will pull the pass even if you didn't know you had the contraband on board (and I've been subject to a couple of "random" SENTRI secondary inspections already). This may be an urban legend, but I was told by a DHS officer (who seemed rather embarassed about it) that they pulled a lady's pass because she had a rose on the dashboard of her car. No mercy.

Hook - 2-6-2007 at 12:17 PM

Understand completely, DanO. Should have indicated this was in humor.

Anyone else??????

Taco de Baja - 2-6-2007 at 01:29 PM

I doubt it.
The reason for the ban was to stop the import of avo pests along with the avos.

Any avos will probably have to come from a "certified pest free" farm before they can LEGALLY be imported. The ones in the Calimax, could have come from anyplace....

Oso - 2-6-2007 at 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Taco de Baja
I doubt it.
The reason for the ban was to stop the import of avo pests along with the avos.

Any avos will probably have to come from a "certified pest free" farm before they can LEGALLY be imported. The ones in the Calimax, could have come from anyplace....

BS. The ban was to protect CALAVO. You have always been able to bring in avocados, just without the pits, which gives you maybe 15-20 minutes before they turn brown and rot, although squeezing lemon juice over them might stretch that to 1/2 hr.

I hate CALAVO for a somewhat different reason. There are many different wonderful varieties of avocados in existence. Among my favorites: Zutano, Bacon and Hass. But the CALAVO goons have steadily pressured growers to abandon anything "exotic" and conform to growing nothing but Fuertes, the least flavorful variety, simply because, as the name implies, they ship well.

:mad:

Oso - 2-7-2007 at 08:15 AM

I'll stand corrected by more knowlegeable authority. One thing I'm sure of- Florida avocados are the most watery and flavorless.

Cypress - 2-7-2007 at 08:41 AM

There are over 60 varieties of avacodos.

The Gull - 2-7-2007 at 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
There are over 60 varieties of avacodos.

...and which one is the best tasting?

Cypress - 2-7-2007 at 08:55 AM

Best I ever tasted was a "Butter?" or 'Butler?", not sure, grown in Hawaii. :bounce:

It makes a big difference if they're allowed to ripen on the tree. :yes:

Hook - 2-7-2007 at 08:57 AM

my vote is for the Hass. Nothing I've had has the creamy consistency. I think its the oil content. A little Spike, a little high end balsamic vinegar.....UMMMMMMMM! Great for guac, too.

Thanks for the info, Don Jorge.

PS. I dont like Zutanos. They are the epitome of the watery variety that seems to come from Florida mostly.

[Edited on 2-7-2007 by Hook]

Bajalero - 2-7-2007 at 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Gull

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
There are over 60 varieties of avacodos.

...and which one is the best tasting?

Cypress , I think there are several hundred varieties of avocados. They are classified into 3 main groups , Mex, Guatemalan and West indian. Growers im the U.S. think mostly in terms of Mex and Guat varieties whereas the Marketers think in termes of "green skin- dark skin" varieties.

Gull, my favorite avos are Pinkerton , Reed and Hass near that order. The pinkerton is reported to have the highest oil content -i don't know- but the flavor and texture are great . Reed has a nuttyness I like. The only bad thing I can say about the Hass is the trees tend to produce every other year

The variety(ies)you see in the store are there for a purpose --mainly shipability and the Hass is favored for several reasons . You can pick it hard and green ( that doesn't mean not ripe) , you can store it on the tree for a nimber of months depending on the weather, it doesn't bruise easily & if it does it's camouflaged by the dard outer skin, and for the consumer there is no mystery when it is ripe because it turns black. "Green skin" varieties are shyed away from because untill you actually squeeze one, you have no idea if it is ripe or not. Imagine the condition of a green avo after a hundred shoppers
queezing it before someone finally buys it. It will be bruised and mush and you run the risk of losing a consumer. That is why Hass is favored - the consumer doen't have to be a rocket scientist to "see" if it's ready or not.

Every one seems to have their own taste preferances. I don't care much at all for the Mexican varieties ( mostly smooth skin) like bacon , zutano . They tend to be watery , less dense and bland imo. I won't turn down a fuerte in a pinch though and for colder climates a mexicola grande is a good cultivar. When shopping in Baja for avo's try to stay with the pebbly skinned ones.

jimgrms - 2-7-2007 at 04:10 PM

Avacados seem to have dropped in price in colorado since the calif freeze
but all other fruit has skyrocketed 1.00 a lb for orange and they are from chile ,other fruit the same

Bajalero

The Gull - 2-7-2007 at 04:36 PM

Thanks for the Baja shopping hint. I had two avo trees at one of my residences in the past. I planted them so I knew the name. It was a hybrid called 'Jim'. No kidding. It was smooth green, fell off the tree as the top part ripened, but the bottom was like cement and four days later they were totally ripe without bruises - bango - they were served as guac.

Great taste as you say because they were ripened on the tree.

Had to get to them before the dogs ate them. Damn fool dogs were as addicted to them as we were, but their central processor unit wouldn't handle 2-3 avos as well as with humans.

Taco de Baja - 2-7-2007 at 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Gull
Thanks for the Baja shopping hint. I had two avo trees at one of my residences in the past. I planted them so I knew the name. It was a hybrid called 'Jim'.

The Jim was 'developed' by James (Jim) Bacon...he also 'developed the Bacon, along with a bunch of others....The Jim is nice for cold areas, as it will tolerate temps down to 24 degrees, but is watery to my taste.

My favorite is an old fashioned variety called the Edranol. A close second is a Guatemalan variety called the Pueblo (smooth thin purple/black skin and a wonderful taste). For show offs I used to like to give away the Nimleo, they got up to 5 pounds

....not much flavor though

Oso,
I have no love for Calavo either, they were our main avocado pickers/packinghouse for years (since the 1920's at least). Since the mid-1970's, we usually got just enough to pay the taxes and water on our last 2.5 acres of Fuertes (Another good variety - but got a bad rap, because produce managers in stores labeled any greenskin avocado "Fuerte" and people then thought the watery avocado with no flavor was a Fuerte, when in fact is was something else).

Our last year with Calavo in 1998 they picked our largest crop ever 50,000 pounds....after they calculated the price per pound, and deducted the picking and hauling charges, we got a BILL for $780! :mad:

bancoduo - 2-7-2007 at 06:20 PM

Why do you continue to grow at a loss. Just the facts ma'm. :rolleyes:

Oso - 2-7-2007 at 06:38 PM

Taco,
Thanks for clarifying my several years old impressions. Seems I was a bit off the mark but not entirely mistaken about the general Calavo situation. I used to buy at a small stand on the Nipomo mesa between Santa Maria and the 5 cities area below SLO. The Zutanos I got there were small and curved, but very flavorful, I don't remember them as watery. My favorites have always been Bacon, well because they taste like bacon.

Taco de Baja - 2-8-2007 at 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bancoduo
Why do you continue to grow at a loss. Just the facts ma'm. :rolleyes:

I don't.
After my dad died in 2000, we sold the last 2.5 acres we had in San Juan Capistrano. My Grandfather bought the land in 1914 and still had his house on it. My dad kept the property as his "playground". We had at least 10 avocado varieties (majority being the Fuerte, as that was the popular avocado when most were planted), peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, figs, several varieties of oranges, limes, lemons, figs, apples, olives.....

It gave him something to do that he enjoyed, when he was not in Baja

, and he did not really need the money, as he had invested well. And it was not really a "loss" except for all the time he put into it. Hell, the property taxes on the 2.5 acres with a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house were only $425.00 a year.

The person who bought the land has ripped out most of the trees, some planted in 1914 were close to 80 feet tall, and demoed the house. He plans on building 8 custom homes. Needless to say, I don't drive by the old place anymore.

I still hate to buy avocados in the market; they are usually bruised and battered, and they still charge $2.00 each….And to think I used to squish dozens of them driving in and out of the driveway…

Hook - 2-8-2007 at 08:35 AM

Taco,

Is this the land at the corner of Del Obispo and Avion, up on the knoll? Or is it more towards the Birtcher's area?

I almost never see any other avos in stores anymore, except Hass'. I'd have to go to a Pavilions or Gelsons to get any variety.

This has been a very educational post on my favorite fruit.

[Edited on 2-8-2007 by Hook]

Bajalero - 2-8-2007 at 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Jorge
are a wonderful fruit. Good to see so much knowledge being shared.

Right now, here in So Cal, the Fuertes are the best, in their prime. But Reeds, Pinkertons and even Hass are great eaters in their prime slots. Give me the fats!

Many Mexican green skin varities get a bad rap because they are grown and harvested in California in the fall, winter and early spring months, the rainy season. Where these varieties come from, subtropical Mexico, those months are the dry season. So in California the green skins have a very noticable watery texture and taste. This is really apparent in our wet, el niño years.

I planted a few avocados in Guadlaupe. A freeze in February of 1991 killed them. I gave up on that idea.

Lunch today: pheasant-avocado soup.

Don Jorge : you sound like you know enough about avos that I probably don't need to suggest planting up off the valley floor on the slopes where cold air can't collect. A good indicator for where a cado will survive is where the native laurel sumac grows ( malosma laurina)

This last freeze a couple of weeks ago killed most of my yearlings ( mostly Hass and Lamb Hass) & the several Pinkertons I have were all scorched badly as well as the Reeds. The mature Fuertes seemed to have come through suprisingly well and faired better than the mature Hass's.

By the way, has anyone seen any avocado trees for sale from Mulege south??

Mexitron - 2-8-2007 at 12:24 PM

One more thing about Calavo that Taco's Dad Myron told me about was the time they caught them putting lead weights in the crates when they were weighing them empty and then removing the weights before filling the crates with avocados so as to have a pay a lower amount for the poundage to the grower. I think this was a long time ago though.

Come to think of it the only time I ever got stiffed in my landscaping business was from a fruit buyer/distributor guy. Imagine that.

Hook - 2-8-2007 at 12:27 PM

This is all very interesting about Calavo. I was always under the impression that they were some kind of co-operative set up by the growers themselves, to facilitate distribution. Doesnt sound like that's what they were at all.

Taco de Baja - 2-8-2007 at 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hook
Taco,

Is this the land at the corner of Del Obispo and Avion, up on the knoll? Or is it more towards the Birtcher's area?

It was at the north end of town on Camino Cap., between J. Serra and Avery.

Taco de Baja - 2-8-2007 at 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hook
This is all very interesting about Calavo. I was always under the impression that they were some kind of co-operative set up by the growers themselves, to facilitate distribution. Doesnt sound like that's what they were at all.

It may have started out that way, but now they have shareholders to answer to.
If you want, you can buy some stock too...

....."CVGW" on the NASDAQ.

Jack Swords - 2-9-2007 at 07:15 AM

http://ucavo.ucr.edu/AvocadoWebSite%20folder/AvocadoWebSite/...

BajaWarrior - 2-9-2007 at 07:55 AM

I have a 20 year old Hass Avocado tree at my home here in San Diego. After the freeze we experianced in January the leaves have all turned brown as well as many other plants in my yard and neighborhood. The leaves have not fallen after a month now.

Does anyone know if a Avocado Tree will come back with new growth in the spring? Or is it a "gonner"?

Taco de Baja - 2-9-2007 at 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaWarrior
Does anyone know if a Avocado Tree will come back with new growth in the spring? Or is it a "gonner"?

Is there any green left on the leaves?
Dead leaves can hang on a dead branch for months without dropping, but they will all be brown. A frost-bitten leaf will still have some green left.

You just will probably just have to wait and see. It may bud out in the sping. Many nights with temps in the mid 20's will kill a cado though

How cold did it get at your place?

Most cados can take 28 degrees and above without a problem.

If it is still alive, you should paint the trunk and main branches with white paint to prevent sunburn, since there will be minimal leaves to shade these areas in the first summer after a frost . A sunburned trunk and branch can kill the tree too.

BajaWarrior - 2-9-2007 at 08:34 AM

There are no green leaves on it but the stems of the leaves are still green, most of them.

It got pretty cold here, not sure on the temp, I was in Baja at the time the freeze occured. We are on the edge of Tecolote Canyon in the Mission Bay area and it is colder than the surrounding neighborhoods to the east of us that are on the Mesa.

I am hoping for the best come spring, it has been an awesome fruit giver each year.

Bajalero - 2-9-2007 at 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaWarrior
I have a 20 year old Hass Avocado tree at my home here in San Diego. After the freeze we experianced in January the leaves have all turned brown as well as many other plants in my yard and neighborhood. The leaves have not fallen after a month now.

Does anyone know if a Avocado Tree will come back with new growth in the spring? Or is it a "gonner"?

Worst thing you can do is to cut it down . Wait! and do just as TDBaja says. After a freeze , it takes time to show the true extent of the damage.

What's going to happen now is all the leaves that were frozen too long will dry up and fall , the branches will slowly turn brown and become brittle back to the live portion. You eventually will want to trim off all the dead wood and seal things up and most likely your tree is going to be just fine. Just make sure when it comes back you protect it from the sun.

BajaWarrior - 2-9-2007 at 11:34 AM

I'll have to be patiant then, thanks for the advice.

synch - 2-13-2007 at 04:30 PM

Huell Howser did a TV mag on his show (Backroads, I think) about avacados in SD. A very easy crop to pick because they pull 'em when they're green and dropping doesn't hurt them.

oladulce - 2-17-2007 at 05:33 PM

I came through Tecate 2 days ago, Feb 15, and the list of "Permitted's and Prohibited's " they gave me in Secondary is unchanged from the previous with regards to Avos- not permitted in to California, blah, blah.

We had donated our last avos to the hills of TKT on the way to the border so I didn't try to bring them across. But we did receive a lecture for not claiming the dry cat food and frozen chicken I'd brought from CA and those items were confiscated. oopps

woody with a view - 2-17-2007 at 08:20 PM

Quote:

We had donated our last avos to the hills of TKT on the way to the border so I didn't try to bring them across. But we did receive a lecture for not claiming the dry cat food and frozen chicken I'd brought from CA and those items were confiscated. oopps

BASTARDS, the lot of 'em.....................:moon: