Tim's Report on Florida Hass Avocado November 2013
Tim, is in central Florida and since 2012 have been cooperating with detail report about this cultivar. There the problems experience by me are in deed similar. My gratitude to him and I'm sure from the hundred who visit my Florida Hass pages for accurate information about this cultivar.
Hi Carlos,
My apologies for being derelict in my reporting but now that all fruit has recently been harvested, and I have the time to provide the Fall update for my tree, here it is.
To begin with, I have read all the updates for the Florida Hass trees in your grove that you have so diligently provided. In all honesty, there isn't much more I can add to what you've observed. I can say that your experience with this variety is not that different from mine.
As you recall, I reported last February about the tree's flowering. Just like the season before, my tree began a growth flush and flowering in January. By February the tree was in full bloom and, in March, begining to set fruit. During the growing season, my tree had at least 3 growth flushes. The height of the tree is at or near 10 feet after only two seasons in the ground. This is a very fast grower. I suspect that it's mature size may be very large.
The fruit set nicely during the spring with no drop worthy of mention. If you remember last year, I only had 1 fruit to harvest after the tree's first year in the ground. You predicted that this season I might get 15 fruits. I actually harvested 33 fruits. Like last year, I began harvest at the begining of August. The first fruit was harvested on August 4, 2013. My indication that it might be time to start picking was that the first two avocados I harvested had fallen from the tree. Of all 33 avocados harvested, only those 2 and 1 other had fallen from the tree. The weight range of the three fruits that fell from the tree was 5.5 oz to 10.0 oz.
I am still learning when the best time is to harvest fruit from my tree. As a result, I waited until long into the season (October) before harvesting the bulk of the fruit. As it turns out, this may have been a mistake but more on that later. Below I compiled the harvest statistics for this season. What I get from these numbers is that the longer the fruit was on the tree the larger it became. This is nice if you want large fruit but I believe the longer the fruit is on the tree and the larger it becomes, the less desirable it becomes for consuming,
The later, and larger, harvested fruit ripened unevenly and the pulp did have a propensity to stay with the skin when peeling as you mentioned. Another curiosity I saw in my fruit and did not see mentioned in your updates was the skin of the pit would remain attached to the flesh when cut in half to be removed. In other instances of the later harvested fruit, there was a sure indication the fruit had been on the tree too long...a tiny root growing from the pit into the flesh. Yes, a couple of fruit had begun germinating. None of these flaws were experienced with fruits that were harvested in August and September. Only in those picked later in October.
I have determined, based on this year's harvest, that there is a peak harvest period. In my case I believe it to be mid August to mid September. Next season I will keep this in mind and be sure to get all fruit off the tree by the end of September. My experience to date is that if you pick too early (in my case, maybe July) you will have fruit without the proper oil content for best flavor. If you wait too long, you'll have the problems I mentioned above and that you have also experienced. I have faith in this tree. I believe if the harvest timeframe can be mastered and I don't let the fruit get too large or, more importantly, leave them on the tree too long, the avocados will ripen properly and taste like a Hass avocado should taste.
The best avocados from this year's harvest were exactly what I would expect from the variety. The only exception would be that Florida Hass avocados naturally have a slightly lower oil content than their Mexican/California cousins. Still, my exprience is that you'd need to taste them side by side to really be able to tell the difference. I am not at all disappointed with the fruit that came from my tree during the best harvest period this year. Taste, texture, appearance and ripening were all very satisfactory. I can't say the same for the late harvest fruit.
I do need to mention that I too experienced some scab. I kept a close watch on it when it was first observed. Due to my ignorance as to what the affliction was, I provided no copper or any other solution to prevent it. Regardless, it proved to be very minimal and affected only about 3 fruits. It did not affect the flesh in any of them and all were fine for consuming. The remaining fruit was unaffected by scab and the exterior skins were flawless.
I did find one tiny mutant "fingerling" fruit that weighed in at 1 oz. I don't know how long the "fingerling" was on the tree because I didn't discover it until I was clearing the tree of the remaining fruit at the end of harvest. It looked normal except for it's shape and size. I let it ripen then cut it open to see what I had. There was no pit in it but the flesh was just like a normal mature fruit and it was very edible. Good taste and texture. Wish I had taken a photo of it...it was about the size of my little finger.
I would also agree with your observation that Florida Hass avocados have a larger pit when compared to the Mexican/California varieties. But I also feel they are not overly large to the point of being a detriment. There's still plenty of flesh surrounding the pit of my avos.
The tree seems to have settled in for it's dormant period. No growth flushes. All fruit gone. I did some judicial and minor pruning to shape the canopy after harvest. Nothing was pruned at the top of the tree but a little bit at the lower and side canopy. I'll report back after the start of winter or when the tree starts showing signs of the new growing season.
Best regards,
Tim
P.S. Below are the numbers for this year's harvest.
Season Totals:
Date of first harvest: August 4, 2013
Date of last harvest: October 28, 2013
Total Number of fruits Harvested: 33
Total Harvest Weight: 22.16 lbs.
Individual Fruit Weight Range: 5.5 oz-17.4 oz.
Average Weight of all fruit: 11.08 oz.
Median Weight of fruit (half of harvest weighed more, half less): 11.0 oz.
Number of Fruits Harvested by month:
August: 4 fruits. Avg Wt: 6.7 oz.
September: 4 fruits. Avg Wt: 8.8 oz.
October: 25 fruits. Avg Wt: 11.9 oz.
Fruits by Weight:
Less than 10 oz.: 10 fruits
10-14 oz.: 20 fruits
15 oz. or more: 3 fruits
My apologies for being derelict in my reporting but now that all fruit has recently been harvested, and I have the time to provide the Fall update for my tree, here it is.
To begin with, I have read all the updates for the Florida Hass trees in your grove that you have so diligently provided. In all honesty, there isn't much more I can add to what you've observed. I can say that your experience with this variety is not that different from mine.
As you recall, I reported last February about the tree's flowering. Just like the season before, my tree began a growth flush and flowering in January. By February the tree was in full bloom and, in March, begining to set fruit. During the growing season, my tree had at least 3 growth flushes. The height of the tree is at or near 10 feet after only two seasons in the ground. This is a very fast grower. I suspect that it's mature size may be very large.
The fruit set nicely during the spring with no drop worthy of mention. If you remember last year, I only had 1 fruit to harvest after the tree's first year in the ground. You predicted that this season I might get 15 fruits. I actually harvested 33 fruits. Like last year, I began harvest at the begining of August. The first fruit was harvested on August 4, 2013. My indication that it might be time to start picking was that the first two avocados I harvested had fallen from the tree. Of all 33 avocados harvested, only those 2 and 1 other had fallen from the tree. The weight range of the three fruits that fell from the tree was 5.5 oz to 10.0 oz.
I am still learning when the best time is to harvest fruit from my tree. As a result, I waited until long into the season (October) before harvesting the bulk of the fruit. As it turns out, this may have been a mistake but more on that later. Below I compiled the harvest statistics for this season. What I get from these numbers is that the longer the fruit was on the tree the larger it became. This is nice if you want large fruit but I believe the longer the fruit is on the tree and the larger it becomes, the less desirable it becomes for consuming,
The later, and larger, harvested fruit ripened unevenly and the pulp did have a propensity to stay with the skin when peeling as you mentioned. Another curiosity I saw in my fruit and did not see mentioned in your updates was the skin of the pit would remain attached to the flesh when cut in half to be removed. In other instances of the later harvested fruit, there was a sure indication the fruit had been on the tree too long...a tiny root growing from the pit into the flesh. Yes, a couple of fruit had begun germinating. None of these flaws were experienced with fruits that were harvested in August and September. Only in those picked later in October.
I have determined, based on this year's harvest, that there is a peak harvest period. In my case I believe it to be mid August to mid September. Next season I will keep this in mind and be sure to get all fruit off the tree by the end of September. My experience to date is that if you pick too early (in my case, maybe July) you will have fruit without the proper oil content for best flavor. If you wait too long, you'll have the problems I mentioned above and that you have also experienced. I have faith in this tree. I believe if the harvest timeframe can be mastered and I don't let the fruit get too large or, more importantly, leave them on the tree too long, the avocados will ripen properly and taste like a Hass avocado should taste.
The best avocados from this year's harvest were exactly what I would expect from the variety. The only exception would be that Florida Hass avocados naturally have a slightly lower oil content than their Mexican/California cousins. Still, my exprience is that you'd need to taste them side by side to really be able to tell the difference. I am not at all disappointed with the fruit that came from my tree during the best harvest period this year. Taste, texture, appearance and ripening were all very satisfactory. I can't say the same for the late harvest fruit.
I do need to mention that I too experienced some scab. I kept a close watch on it when it was first observed. Due to my ignorance as to what the affliction was, I provided no copper or any other solution to prevent it. Regardless, it proved to be very minimal and affected only about 3 fruits. It did not affect the flesh in any of them and all were fine for consuming. The remaining fruit was unaffected by scab and the exterior skins were flawless.
I did find one tiny mutant "fingerling" fruit that weighed in at 1 oz. I don't know how long the "fingerling" was on the tree because I didn't discover it until I was clearing the tree of the remaining fruit at the end of harvest. It looked normal except for it's shape and size. I let it ripen then cut it open to see what I had. There was no pit in it but the flesh was just like a normal mature fruit and it was very edible. Good taste and texture. Wish I had taken a photo of it...it was about the size of my little finger.
I would also agree with your observation that Florida Hass avocados have a larger pit when compared to the Mexican/California varieties. But I also feel they are not overly large to the point of being a detriment. There's still plenty of flesh surrounding the pit of my avos.
The tree seems to have settled in for it's dormant period. No growth flushes. All fruit gone. I did some judicial and minor pruning to shape the canopy after harvest. Nothing was pruned at the top of the tree but a little bit at the lower and side canopy. I'll report back after the start of winter or when the tree starts showing signs of the new growing season.
Best regards,
Tim
P.S. Below are the numbers for this year's harvest.
Season Totals:
Date of first harvest: August 4, 2013
Date of last harvest: October 28, 2013
Total Number of fruits Harvested: 33
Total Harvest Weight: 22.16 lbs.
Individual Fruit Weight Range: 5.5 oz-17.4 oz.
Average Weight of all fruit: 11.08 oz.
Median Weight of fruit (half of harvest weighed more, half less): 11.0 oz.
Number of Fruits Harvested by month:
August: 4 fruits. Avg Wt: 6.7 oz.
September: 4 fruits. Avg Wt: 8.8 oz.
October: 25 fruits. Avg Wt: 11.9 oz.
Fruits by Weight:
Less than 10 oz.: 10 fruits
10-14 oz.: 20 fruits
15 oz. or more: 3 fruits