Discover how to grow an avocado from seed
We hardly ever think about it, but the seeds of the fruits we eat are treasure chests of life --- they can create a new plant and of course, eventually new fruit.
For example, the next time you buy an avocado, think twice before throwing the seed in the garbage. Continue to read this article to learn all the steps that will allow you to grow in your home a beautiful avocado plant from seed!
To do that, you just need three toothpicks, a glass of water, and obviously an avocado seed.
An avocado seed is quite large and is easily removed from the pulp.
First, remove the seed from the fruit without damaging it and clean it in hot water to remove residual pulp and to eliminate any pathogens.
Gently wipe and dry the seed, taking care not to remove the thin brown outer layer.
Attention! The seed has a " high" and a "low" end that is recognizable by its location inside the fruit.
In fact, the high end or tip of the seed, from which the next plant will sprout, is near the pointed end of the avocado. The low end of the seed instead, is facing the base of the fruit itself.
Skewer the seed with three toothpicks (as shown in the figure) and fill the glass with water --- the bottom of the seed must be covered by water.
The tip of the seed should be facing upward.
Now you just need to wait and, of course, in the meantime take care of your future avocado seedling. In particular, you need to change the water in the glass 1-2 times a week to ensure enough oxygen gets to the roots. Germination (sprouting) takes place after 3-6 weeks and to speed up the process, you can keep the seed in a warm place in your house.
You can transfer the seed into the ground or a vase with soil as soon as you see one or more white roots sprout from the bottom of the seed.
However, it is not guaranteed, that the plant will produce fruits. You may need to get a graft from a productive avocado plant. In any event, even without producing any fruit, the avocado plant is lovely to keep in your house. It looks like a tall tree with large green leaves.
In addition, watching an avocado seed sprout can be a very interesting process to follow along with a child --- remember that gardening helps small children to develop patience. Gardening also teaches them to work and to wait to enjoy the results of their efforts --- and in this case, to actually eat and enjoy the fruits of their labor!
