By Kathy Chouteau
They’re known as “green gold” in Mexico and it’s an apropos moniker for avocados amid rising grocery costs. But now, one Richmond man is making it possible for people to save money by growing their own.
Gary Gragg, who owns Richmond’s Golden Gate Palms nursery, recently revealed to ABC-7 TV that “One thing you can do if you live in California as we do here, in this beautiful environment, you can grow your own.”
Gragg told the station that, generally, there’s an avocado that can be grown anywhere in low elevation throughout the Bay Area. He added that while “it’s a big process to create these things,” he’s taken the legwork out of it for consumers and sells locally grown avocado trees starting at approximately 5 ft. tall that are ready to bear fruit right away.
Prices span the gamut from $250 to $950, depending on the tree’s size.
The Richmond nursery owner told ABC-7 that, unlike tomato plants, you don’t have to get a new plant and plant it every year. On the contrary, “Once you plant an avocado tree, two or three years of coddling at the beginning, after that, the thing should be on its own and you should be able to do nothing and have food forever,” Gragg said.
Gragg walks the talk with his YouTube channel called ‘True Plant Stories’ with 11,000 subscribers that looks to help more avocado trees survive in the U.S. He told the station that his goal is to educate people on the best ways to grow these plants and keep them healthy.
“Everybody needs an avocado tree, for not only the tariffs to save some money but for the environmental ethic and the fact that you’ll be the coolest kid on the block if you’re giving avocados away,” he told ABC-7.
To that end, Golden Gate Palms will be hosting an “Avocado Festival” on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) from 12-4 p.m. during which the business will have many different avocados to taste test along with avocado trees for sale grown by Gragg himself. Approximately at 2 p.m., Gragg will give an avocado seminar, while Mexican food and drink will also be for sale.
Want your own avocado tree? Gragg has plenty of avocado trees for sale right now at Golden Gate Palms in Richmond. Questions? Contact [email protected] or call 925-325-PALM. Find the nursery at 425 Cutting Blvd. in Richmond. Learn more here.
