The avocado boasts a range of properties, offering a wealth of nutrients for our meals. Its advantages extend beyond benefiting our skin and hair; it is a versatile fruit worth having in your kitchen, even without refrigeration.
Surprisingly, cultivating it is a straightforward endeavor. By learning a few tricks, you can grow your own avocado plant and savor this fruit at home. Today, we will explore how to kickstart its germination.
What you’ll need:
- An avocado pit
- Damp kitchen towel
- A plastic bag with an airtight seal
- A glass container
- Recycled expanded polystyrene
- Water
Step-by-step guide:
- Thoroughly clean the avocado pit to remove any remnants of flesh, preventing it from rotting when exposed to moisture.
- Wrap the pit in the moist towel, ensuring it’s entirely covered. Adequate moisture is crucial for germination, as humidity and warmth create the ideal conditions.
- Place the wrapped pit inside the sealed bag.
- Position the bag containing your pit in a dark, warm location, such as under a stove, to encourage germination.
- Let it sit for 2-3 weeks, remembering to re-moisten the towel whenever it dries out.
- Once you observe sprouting and long roots, it’s time to remove the pit from the bag.
- Cut the styrofoam to match the glass’s diameter, creating a smaller center circle to securely hold the pit and prevent it from falling into the water.
- Fill the glass with water.
- Place the polystyrene with the pit and its roots inside the glass, positioning it in a well-lit area (e.g., near a window).
- Change the water weekly.
- Transfer it to a pot with soil (or into your garden) in the spring.
- All that’s left is to patiently wait until you can savor the delicious fruits!
Tips for potted growth:
- Pot size: Start with a 5-liter pot and gradually increase to 30 liters, which will provide strength to your plant and allow its roots to grow freely. Alternatively, you can go from 5 liters to 60 liters to minimize repotting.
- Soil mixture: Avocado trees prefer acidic soil with a pH between 5 and 7. A suitable mixture comprises equal parts peat, worm castings, and coconut fiber, with a bit of perlite for improved drainage.
- Watering: Maintain soil moisture, paying closer attention during the summer when increased watering is necessary. Ensure proper drainage, as avocados dislike waterlogged soil. Use the finger test to check substrate moisture.
- Pruning: When your plant reaches its first year, it’s time for its initial pruning. Trim the plant to encourage horizontal growth, ideally when it reaches a height of 60cm.
