Are you a fan of avocado? Do you like eating it on your sandwiches, in your salads, in a smoothie, or in guacamole? Excellent habit! The fruit of the avocado tree, native to Mexico, this food has incredible benefits for the body: it is rich in essential fatty acids, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins (C, E, and K), and fiber. Suffice to say, it is highly recommended to include it in a healthy and balanced diet. Not to mention that with its soft and creamy consistency, it gives the taste buds a fresh and exotic flavor. But why continue to buy them when you can grow an avocado tree at home and harvest all the fruits for free?
Many people continue to empty their wallets when they can easily plant their favorite vegetables and herbs in a vegetable garden or on a patio. If you’re a big avocado consumer and have a green thumb, this article is for you. You may not know it, but planting and growing an avocado tree from a hole isn’t complicated at all. Just follow a few steps correctly to hope for good germination and stock up on avocados at home. However, you’ll need to be patient, because it takes time!
How to properly plant, grow, and care for your avocado tree, starting from scratch? We’ll explain everything.
Also read: Practical guide to planting lemon seeds in pots
How to sprout an avocado pit?
First, buy a ripe avocado and remove the pit. The larger the better. Then wash it in clean water: there should be no pulp left on the pit, as this increases the risk of mold growth during germination.
avocado pit
Next, you’ll need long wooden sticks, like toothpicks. Insert them shallowly (5 mm) into the pit in three different places to provide support. The tip should be raised. Dip the end into water. Make sure the water level is always correct: the base should always be submerged in water, but the places where you planted the toothpicks should not be affected by moisture at all.
After 3-5 weeks, small holes should appear in the pit, from which roots and shoots will grow. Remember to periodically add water to keep the roots there.
When the shoot reaches 5 cm in height, plant the seedling in a pot. It is best to choose a pot large enough (20-25 cm in diameter) for the plant to grow comfortably.
Be careful, avocados don’t like excessive moisture. Therefore, add a good drainage layer to the bottom of the pot. The substrate should be lightweight. The best composition for avocados grown in a pit is garden soil and peat combined in equal proportions with humus and coarse sand. Do not completely cover the pit with the substrate; cover only 1/3 of the surface. After planting, water the avocado with sterile water. Wait for the soil to dry before watering to avoid excessive moisture!
NB: to make the soil more draining, you can add a few clay balls.
How to care for cultivated avocados?
grow an avocado
It’s best to place the pot directly on a window, as avocados love the sun. It should always receive enough light and warmth. Expose your avocado tree to light, but never to direct sunlight. In winter, purchase a special lamp to illuminate it.
The substrate should always be moist. Therefore, water it frequently, but with small amounts of water. The plant can easily become waterlogged, and its leaves will then begin to yellow. Spray the foliage with non-calcareous water.
Since avocados are a tropical fruit, they must be kept in the right conditions at home. The room temperature should not fall below 16°C or exceed 28°C for the plant to thrive.
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In spring and summer, when the avocado is actively growing, fertilize it with natural citrus fertilizers.
It will take several years for the plant to fully bloom. In 5-7 years, the first flowers will appear and this is normal, this process takes a long time. In rare cases, the avocado can also bear fruit , but for this you need at least 2 plants for pollination.
Also read: Your plants will grow twice as fast thanks to this natural fertilizer
NB : unlike most fruits, the avocado does not ripen on the tree but only once harvested.
After applying this tip, you can easily grow avocados from the pit. Enjoy them with peace of mind and bring a touch of the tropics into your daily life!
Also read : Put a drop on each plant in February: the clever trick to make them grow quickly