Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Prepare the wick
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

The next time you eat an avocado or use it in a recipe, save the pit. Growing your own avocado tree is fun and easy. It is suitable for all ages, you can do it in the garden or indoors and it is a fun project for the classroom or at home.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Prepare the wick

1. Remove the pit. Carefully cut the avocado in half so that you don't damage the stone. This is in the center of the fruit. You can do this by cutting the pulp about 1 cm all around and then twisting the two halves against each other so that they separate. Carefully remove the wick and set it aside.
   • Do not throw away the pulp, but make tasty Guacamole.
2. Pick the fruits when they are large and thick. They do not ripen on the tree. Take them off the plant and put them inside a brown paper bag to ripen. You can eat them when they feel soft.

Tips

• Have patience. If you think that nothing is going to happen, it sometimes suddenly seems like a stick is sticking out of the ground. Don't pull it out! That's your seedling growing there! This stem sometimes grows to 15 to 20 cm before the leaves appear.
• It always remains to be seen whether two trees are suitable for pollinating each other. This is not necessarily the case. In some varieties the trees bear both male and female flowers, which can pollinate themselves. You can also graft an existing fruit-bearing tree onto your home-grown rhizome (but grafting is quite a process in itself).
• In winter it is better to put the baby tree in a flower pot and not in the open ground. Place the plant behind a sunny window and keep the soil moist, but not too wet.
• Although an older school claims that you can only successfully grow an avocado-producing tree in 1 in 1,000 attempts, or that it takes at least 7 years to have your first crop and that even then the fruit will not be edible yet. there are also known cases that prove the contrary. One avocado variety that grows very quickly from seed and produces beautiful fruit is the black skinned avocado, from Sabinas-Hidalgo, Mexico. The skin is smooth, very thin and can be eaten just like the fruit. The peel is very healthy.
• It may take a while for the kernel to sprout. To mimic the natural conditions for sprouting, you can leave the top half of the wick in the light while packing the bottom half (and the container with water) so that no light gets to it.

Warnings

• If you do not change or refill the water, contamination can form in the water and in the roots. Mold, root rot and fermented water can quickly poison the entire plant. Keep the water fresh and level.
• Cold (below 10ºC) can shock your avocado plant. Keep your plant out of drafts and away from cold windows. If your tree is in a pot, keep it indoors until the temperature is high enough. For young avocado plants and most avocado trees that are in pots, it is better to wrap the leaves with a blanket or bubble wrap when it gets very cold. Well-established trees can survive mild frosts. To be on the safe side, you can pack your tree when in doubt.
• If you let the bottom of the pit dry out, the plant will not germinate properly.
• Pruning too much (too much or too often) can stop or diminish the growth of the leaves. After the first pruning, cut only the outermost leaf buds on the trunk or branches. Pruning produces fuller branches and thicker, stronger leaves.
• Until the tree is well rooted in the pot, the plant should not be placed directly in the ground. A strong root system with good air-permeable soil ensures a good condition for planting it in the ground.
• Once in a pot, too much water can cause the leaves to turn yellow. Water just enough to keep the soil moist. Too little water is also bad for your tree and the leaves will turn brown or black and curl. If these situations are not addressed properly, your avocado tree will recover slowly or not.
• Too little light or improper watering can result in a weak trunk and branches, eventually collapsing your plant under its own weight.
• If you want a plant that will bear fruit, buy a small avocado tree from the garden center and follow their instructions on pollination, etc.

Necessities

• A whole, ripe avocado
• A narrow glass or container
• Four toothpicks
• Water
• A pot
• Stones for drainage
• Soil