Guacamole, salsas, soups, salads, even spread directly on toast, however you use it in the kitchen, avocado is good . This fruit has fans all over the planet and at Campos del Abuelo we are no exception.
It is not entirely clear what makes it irresistible. Is it the texture? That softness? Its original color? The benefits of having it in your diet?
In this article we will try to find out. We will review its history, its cultivation, the type of pollination and, of course, the factors that make it a superfood.
So, if you are a fan of avocado, let's go! And well... If that's not your case, you are still invited, who knows, maybe you can convince yourself and give it another chance.
The avocado seed was planted millions of years ago…
We know that every seed, in agriculture, is synonymous with hope . To bear fruit, plants use various resources: some let them fly in the wind, others let them run in the water, and there are even those that adhere to the skin of animals to find the soil that will see them grow.
In the case of the avocado, its seed is large and can range from 2 to 4 cm in length. But what is this about the heart of the avocado? Well, this plant, from the Lauraceae family (of course, the laurel) has its origins in the period known as the Pleistocene.
The Pleistocene period is known as the period of the “big mammals”. At that time, huge herbivores such as mammoths, giant sloths and American horses inhabited the earth.
According to scientists, the avocado was just the right size for these animals to eat it whole , carry it around inside and then deposit it - well fertilized - somewhere else, ensuring their survival.
For science, the avocado is defined as an “anachronistic” fruit since it did not evolve correctly because today there are no animals that can eat it whole and carry the seed inside.
Luckily, we, their fans, are here to continue eating them, and of course, our farmers are here to take care of them and ensure that they grow healthy, strong and tasty.
From sprouting in America to growing throughout the world
We already know that the avocado was around the world before us, but most sources cite its origin in Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. Others say that it also existed in northern Guatemala.
The truth is that its name comes from a word of Nahuatl origin, “ahuacatl” which means “testicles of the tree”. Nahuatl is an indigenous language that is still spoken in Mexico, specifically in Puebla, where, in turn, remains of avocado trees dating back 10,000 years have been found.
Let's move forward in time and history. The avocado began its true expansion when the first Spaniards who arrived in America succumbed to its color, taste and smoothness.
As a true fan, I can only imagine that first time trying an avocado, it must be no small feat. As I said, it was thanks to the Spanish that Persea Americana - as it is scientifically known - began to travel in the year 1600 .
The 1970s and 1980s were the year of the craze for the so-called “green gold” in the United States, with large production in the California region. Years later, in 1993, the country also allowed the entry of Mexican avocados.
In the case of our continent, studies by the European Union claim that between 2000 and 2017, consumption of this fruit has quadrupled. In addition, its cultivation and marketing are also growing.
Wow! Quite a journey this wonderful fruit has taken to get to Spain. Now, from Campos del Abuelo we invite you to learn some facts about avocados in Spain and how they are grown from the hand of Javier, our fellow farmer.
Avocado cultivation in Spain, its cycle, its trees and varieties
More than 18,000 hectares of avocado are cultivated in Spain. Most of the production is located in Andalusia, with plantations in Malaga, Granada, Cadiz and Huelva. Next comes Valencia, the Canary Islands and, finally, Tenerife.
The fruit is harvested depending on the variety and the climate. As we saw when reviewing its history, it likes so-called subtropical climates, that is, temperate and hot. However, over time, various varieties have been born that adapt to less hot climates.
In the Spanish case, avocado cultivation has an annual cycle . The beginning of flowering - that fantastic moment when the plant produces new shoots - occurs between the months of March and April. At this time, during the month of April, our beloved avocado trees are full of flowers that will later drop, to give birth to fruit.
In mid-June , where there were flowers, there will be little avocados . Each one of them will fight to obtain all the necessary nutrients from water, sun and soil. By the summer and autumn season, the fruits will begin to grow fat and look like they are known in our homes.
Avocado fruits, or “palta” as they are known in Latin America, do not ripen on the tree, but rather once they have been harvested. In turn, the harvesting process depends on each variety.
But before we dive into the varieties, I invite you to learn more about the tree that houses them, walking with Javier through an avocado field.
Getting to know trees up close with our fellow farmer Javier
Javier walks proudly through the field. When asked about the size of his trees, he answers: Avocado trees can grow very tall, but they are pruned to keep them under control.
First, because if the avocados get too high you can't pick them, and the other thing is to ensure the quality of the fruit is good. These are ten years old and we are still planting more.
Some of its green leaves shine in the morning sun. Where large avocado trees now hang, there used to be small, slightly yellow and slightly green flowers.
Javier stops under one of his trees, picks up a fruit, weighs it in his hand and tells us: this tree begins to bear fruit three years after it was planted. Once it begins to bear fruit, it never stops .
It makes you want to keep talking to him, to have him share his wisdom with us... So we asked him about the harvest: it is done with short scissors, the fruit does not ripen on the tree, but is picked when the avocado has just the right amount of fat . It is not picked earlier simply because the fat is not well developed, if you take it earlier it does not finish ripening outside the tree.
Taking advantage of the moment, and speaking of ripe avocados... If you need help to know how to ripen your avocados naturally, we recommend that you read this article. You will find some tips and some very simple steps to follow. But let's continue, we are still in Javier's field.
In the shade of his avocado trees and with the fruit still in his hand, he adds: this is what happens in many countries, it is harvested for export, it may arrive here hard and never ripen... and, worst of all, when it ripens it turns black. In Campos del Abuelo We make sure that this does not happen so that it reaches the consumer's table at its perfect point.
The avocado is a climacteric fruit. Climacteric fruits are those that continue to ripen once they are removed from the tree, such as bananas. The curious thing about the avocado is that it is part of this group, but it needs to be harvested to ripen. In other words: its ripening begins no matter what once it is harvested.
The harvest time depends on the variety, but to understand it better we have Javi's words: the variety that is harvested first is the Bacon, then comes the Pinkerton, then the Hass and, finally, the Lamb Hass. That depends on each fruit, but if you distribute the varieties well you have avocados all year round .”
It sounds great to have avocados all year round, doesn't it? The journey with our fellow farmer is not over yet, we have some questions to ask...
How to plant and how to get an avocado tree to bear fruit
Javier walks through his avocado trees, stretches out his hand, moves the leaves aside and looks at the fruit. In all that he has told us, there is still important information missing, and how avocados are planted is one of them.
So we asked him. Javi moves a branch to get closer and tells us: a hole is made in the ground, with a machine that is like a drill, the small avocado plant is inserted into the hole and a mesh is placed around it.
That is, you have the root covered, the stem of the tree and a mesh surrounding it. This mesh is on the outside and acts as protection, it makes sure that the rabbits don't eat anything or, if you are working with a heavy tool, the tree is protected. Then it is a matter of feeding it with water.
To better illustrate Javi's words, you can see the process in the following photos:
In this first image we see the hole already prepared and, in the hand of our farmer, we see "peat". Peat is a compost made of different organic materials that is placed at the bottom of the hole . This type of soil makes the roots unblock, grow stronger and faster.
Then the plant is placed on top and covered with sand, as we see in this second image. We have to keep in mind that it is a baby plant and needs its care .
In this third photo, the little tree has a mesh around it, which, as Javier told us, serves to protect this newly planted avocado tree. Also, the black tubes you see around it are the drippers . You have to water them at the beginning because they arrive dry and we need them to hold on well to the ground.
Okay, now that the process of planting an avocado tree is clear, let's continue, as our farmer has more information to give us about avocado trees...
Another fact that Javier gives us directly from the field is that we have to be careful with the sun : when it is very hot, they suffocate and die. Last year many died from the heat. We have to be very careful.
We continue among the avocado trees, and although the flowers are already fruits, Javier tells us about the same: every year the avocado, when it starts to grow, produces a flower. From that flower comes the avocado, when you see a lot of flowers it means a lot of fruit, but it is not good because if you load the tree with a lot of flowers, many small avocados become and people want them bigger and tastier.
He explains in a concentrated way that there is strong competition because the tree has to distribute all its vigor and strength - which are limited - among too many avocados. So, he says, you don't end up getting a good avocado:
The important thing is that it is balanced . When there are a lot of flowers it is a problem, so we start removing those that are coming out, so that the tree focuses on the rest and ends up producing large and good avocados. With a lot of flowers the tree loses strength , the leaves fall, leaving it exposed and without protection from the sun.
In the end, you have an avocado that has no protection and is too small. You have to control the flower, you have to see that it produces flowers but not too many, which is ideal for having good avocados.
Growing avocados requires hard work. Something that we farmers always keep in mind is that working on the land is a job that requires a lot of energy and also a lot of love. Hard work is essential for these avocados to arrive at your home well cared for, healthy and strong.
One last fact that Javier tells us about his field has to do with how the avocado plant needs to be grafted to bear fruit. Are we going to find out what Javi tells us about this process?
In the avocado plant, like in the orange, you have the rootstock and the graft . There are no avocado plants per se, what you have is the rootstock of an avocado or an orange and you graft the variety you want to produce onto that rootstock.
Many tourists, for example, have seen orange trees in Valencia full of fruit. But these oranges are not edible, and the trees that produce them are known as “border” trees, meaning they do not have grafts. It is the same tree that has grown and produced a fruit that is not edible.
The fruit of the foot has many seeds that are used to make more “border” or foot trees, but you must graft it before it grows and becomes a border. The graft depends on the variety . On the same foot you can put a Bacon, another Pinkerton, all avocado and orange trees have a graft.
I didn't have that information, though. So now you know: not every tree produces fruit, but they need to be grafted . Now let's continue, and to what Javier has provided, we add four key factors for the good growth of avocado trees.
Four factors for avocado trees to grow healthy and strong
Being a subtropical fruit, it needs a lot of humidity, so having good water resources is important for its cultivation. Luckily, in our area, the existence of the Júcar River means that water is not a problem. Another reason why it needs abundant water is that its roots are not very deep.
With the exception of a few varieties (which we will see below), most avocado trees like warm-temperate climates . Experts say that the ideal climate ranges between 10º and 30º. The ideal is to avoid sudden changes in temperature between day and night.
Some producers in the area remember the years 2005 and 2010 as very tough seasons for production. Frost ruined all (yes, all) avocado production in those years, causing losses worth millions.
Another important point is to ensure that they receive plenty of sunlight for a good part of the day . But remember that, as Javier told us, they also need to be protected from extreme heat.
The type of soil also has an influence: it should not be compact, but should be easy to drain. Excess moisture can cause diseases in the roots, leaves, branches, and even in the fruit itself, lowering its quality.
These four factors are essential to ensure that crops do not become stressed and grow strong and healthy. The last thing we want is for a stressed avocado to arrive at our home.
As we can see, the world of avocados and their cultivation is very broad and interesting . And there is still one fact about avocados that you probably don't know and you will be surprised. Let's see what it is about.
Cross-pollination of avocado
The tree, its branches, flowers and leaves, hide a function that has a scientific explanation, but that also makes us think about magic .
Pollination has a bit of that: seeing a bee with its legs covered in yellow dust, coming across a colourful butterfly moving from flower to flower, being lucky enough to see a hummingbird in full flight.
Thinking that these little bugs and animals that carry pollen are essential to our lives, in the case of the avocado, this process is a bit particular.
To begin to understand this avocado pollination, you have to know that we have two types of variety: A and B. Within group A, for example, we have the Hass variety and within group B, the variety known as Bacon (be patient, below you will learn about more varieties).
In turn, all avocado trees are hermaphrodites. At one moment their flower is ready to be fertilized and, at another, ready to fertilize. But (be careful) never in a single type of plant coexist a male and female flower. That is why we need, in the same plantation, trees of type A and B.
This is where the magic happens, because within two days the following happens:
- The type A flower is in the female state on the morning of day 1, but closes and goes dormant in the afternoon. On day 2, it is closed and blooms again in the afternoon and in the male state.
- The type B flower is closed on the morning of day 1 and opens in the afternoon in the female state. On day 2, it opens its petals again in the morning, but in the male state.
In the following graph you can see better what it is about and understand why they do need each other in both varieties.
Of course, they not only need each other, but they also need bees and bumblebees, their main pollinators. And now, it is time to learn about the varieties that our beautiful avocado trees give us.
Hass avocado , the most popular
The Hass avocado variety is undoubtedly the most well-known in the entire world. Not only that, but in Spain it is the one with the largest number of plantations. The skin is rough and quite thick, it works as an efficient protector of the pulp, that is one of the characteristics that make it the type of avocado that moves the most around the world . If you want to know why, we invite you to read this article about the Hass variety .
The pulp is not very fibrous and very tasty, which makes it ideal for making, for example, a delicious guacamole. It must be protected from frost because it has little resistance to cold. Its harvest begins in December and lasts until April.
The Bacon variety straight from Californian lands
We have seen that avocados like warm and temperate climates. This variety was born in California, precisely, to create a type of fruit that is more resistant to cold. The Bacon variety can be harvested in the autumn-winter season, which is why in Spain its harvest begins in October.
That is why our farmer Javier names it as the first one to be harvested. The Bacon avocado is characterized by being very creamy , so much so that it is sometimes compared to butter, despite being the avocado with the least fat. It is dark green, with small white spots that later disappear. Its skin is thinner, making it easy to peel.
The Lamb Hass variety, the new one in Spain
This avocado is very similar to the Hass , since that is where it comes from. Some farmers claim that the Hass variety is the grandmother of the Lamb Hass. One of their similarities is their harvest season: it starts in December and ends in April. On the other hand, one of the differences is that it is somewhat larger.
Cultivation in Spain is still recent, but producers welcome the fact that it has a greater chance of extending its harvest than other varieties, in addition to its resistance to cold and wind . The skin of this variety of avocado is green at first and then turns black as it is ready to be picked. The seed is smaller so it is possible to take better advantage of the fruit.
Pinkerton, the soft and irresistible variety
The great creation of Californian John Pinkerton. As we saw with the Bacon avocado, in this case, the crossbreeding that produced it took place between the famous Hass and the Rincón. The Pinkerton avocado reaches maturity between spring and summer, so its harvest begins in November and can extend until March.
This is one of the great benefits it has for farmers: its harvesting time is long . We add two more benefits to this: first, its very high level of productivity, since it produces a large quantity of fruit, and second, the size of the tree is rather modest, since they grow up to 4 meters high and wide.
All avocados have been compared to pears at some point, but the Pinkerton is the one most often compared to pears because of its elongated shape. The skin, unlike others, is greenish in color and is easy to peel because it is very thin.
Inside, the pulp is creamy and soft. Like the previous variety, it has a small stone, so it can be used for a long time. The green color of the inside of the avocado is very close to the peel, while towards the inside it turns yellow.
I don't know about you, but I've been craving some good guacamole. We're almost there on this journey of this subtropical delight . For the final stretch, I invite you to learn about the benefits of having this superfood on the table.
Superfood, super avocado
- One of the most popular benefits of our friend avocado is that it contains monounsaturated fats , also known as “good fats.” They are called this because they help lower blood cholesterol levels.
- It is rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium. It has even more potassium than a banana.
- Another positive point for our beloved avocado is that it provides large amounts of fiber , giving a feeling of satiety after eating it.
- Vitamins abound in it: it has vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant), vitamin C and vitamin B6.
- Finally, it has been used in treatments for skin diseases such as psoriasis, giving highly positive results.
The journey of the avocado has come to an end for now. I hope this article -from fan to fan- has left you happy and eager to eat at least one or two avocados.
Remember, Campos del Abuelo avocados are sent to your home once they have been harvested at the right fat content , so to eat them at their right point they must go through the ripening process. For this reason, we recommend this article in which we tell you how to ripen your avocados naturally .
In my case, I already have one at its ideal point to enjoy with tender garlic and lemon . Well, as I said above, if you don't count yourself in the fan club, I hope that you at least give this green-yellow delight another chance.
At Campos del Abuelo, you can get top quality avocado and a variety of fruits and vegetables directly from the farmer , from 1 kilo onwards and without any post-harvest chemicals.
Until next time and thanks for reading!
