Avocado season is the best season. ~by Jill

I feel summer winding down. We have made it over the crescendo of peak growing season. As it’s my first full year here on the farm, I do not have a lot to compare for reference. But, I feel it. The mornings are a little cooler. The days are ever so shorter. The avocados are almost ripe! Here at Mountain Sol Farm, we grow several well known and some lesser known varieties. They include- Sharwill, Fujikawa, Kahaluu, Hass, San Miguel, and Greengold. I think avocados are their best served cold, cool, or at room temperature. In other words, do not cook avocados! It’s doing a disservice to this amazing fruit.

Towards the end of last year’s avocado season, I wondered what to do with so many avocado pits. We can only plant so many to use as rootstock for grafts. The chickens, who typically eat anything and everything tossed into their coop, completely ignore them. Homemade avocado oil perhaps? 
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I recently read about Amish avocado pit liniment, a folk remedy made by steeping grated avocado pits in rubbing alcohol or white vinegar. To make, take your extra avocado pits, grate into a small mason jar or similar vessel (be careful-they can be very slippery!), cover with the liquid, pop the lid on and shake vigorously 1-2 x day for about two weeks. No worries if it sits longer. The resulting strained liquid is said to create an anti-inflammatory tincture for topical use on muscle pain, joint discomfort, or spasms. I will be trying it out this avocado season! 

​To be continued. . . .