Hello, good morning...
Another Thursday, your trusted newsletter arrives, straight from the Spanish countryside 😁.
It seems crazy, but we're almost at the end of 2024. Here, the work doesn't stop for a second; we continue harvesting and packing every box to send to our customers in different parts of our country.
Fruits and vegetables accompany us every day in our daily lives. Well, in my case even more so because it's my job, but we all consume fruits and vegetables. And the truth is that their presence is so natural to us that we rarely think about the story behind them.
Not long ago, I read the story of how the Hass avocado came to be. And, since we've started harvesting and shipping Hass avocados these days, I'm going to tell you how it came about because it's really interesting.
But first... do you remember when I told you about grafting a while ago? It's that process where a small branch from a tree of a certain variety is cut and grafted onto another tree that doesn't have a variety.
Well, keep that in mind, because it has to do with this story.
The Hass avocado was born thanks to a postman from Pasadena, California, named Rudolph Hass. Rudolph bought a plot of land that had avocado trees planted on it, and he also planted two more avocado varieties: Lyon and Fuerte.
(Before continuing, let me clarify that the person in the photo above is Javi, an avocado farmer, not Rudolph the postman 😂)
That being said, I'll take the opportunity to tell you something as a farmer: the avocado tree needs a lot of care when it's a baby. We've planted some in my plots, and you have to keep an eye on them and almost be on top of them every day for them to take root well.
But going back to Rudolph, he had the large avocado trees that were already on his land (which didn't have a variety) and the trees he had planted and cared for of the Lyon and Fuerte varieties.
Once the Lyon and Fuerte avocado trees were strong and large enough, he grafted the avocado trees that were already on the land with both varieties and waited. And he waited and waited...
For three years he cared for the trees without them bearing fruit; he grafted them again and so on. I must say: I identify with that. Sometimes, when you don't see the results of your work in the field, it can be very frustrating.
But this man was patient. And in the fourth year of waiting, the grafted avocado trees bore fruit. On the outside, they looked strange, with rough, green skin. And not to mention when the skin turned from green to black once they ripened...
But what they were strange on the outside, they were delicious on the inside. And the Hass avocado quickly became popular. And not just because of its delicious taste, but because its skin is thick and protects the fruit during transport.
That's why among farmers, we know the Hass avocado as the king of export 😉.
The truth is, I really enjoyed learning this story and wanted to share it with you.
That's all for today.
If you want to know more about this story and the cultivation of Hass avocado, I recommend this article about Hass avocado where I answered many interesting questions.
Until next week...
A big hug!
