People love to put avocados on everything. I’m as much an avocado fanatic as the next person, but they don’t come cheap. Here’s how to start an avocado seed at home.
Growing avocados at home
I’ll be upfront with you. Growing an avocado tree takes time and patience. And it’s not a task suited to beginners who kill most of their indoor plants. Your homegrown tree is unlikely to bear fruit, even if you’re a meticulous pro. And it can take over a decade for some trees to produce fruit. Yikes!
But even if you don’t manage to cultivate any edible fruit, starting an avocado seed is a fun project to do with kids. It’s also a challenge all on its own.
Steps involved in starting an avocado seed
Before you attempt to sprout an avocado, you’ll need an avocado pit. So get ready to make some guacamole and save that pit for later.
Make sure you keep avocado out of reach of any pets in your household. It can be toxic to some animals.
You can start an avocado seed one of two ways: In a glass of water or in soil.
The glass water method is slower but it’s fun to watch the seed sprout.
In soil, everything happens out of view.
If you’re starting an avocado from seed as an educational activity with kids, use the glass water method because it’s more visual.
To start your avocado seed in water:
- Pop some toothpicks in the avocado
- Set the tooth-picked seed atop a full glass of water, half of the seed should be submerged in water
- Put the water glass set up on a sunny windowsill or under a grow light
- Make sure to add water as needed to keep half the seed submerged
It can take several weeks for the seed to sprout. Small sprouts will appear and, eventually, the main stem will emerge. At this point, go ahead and plant the avocado seed in potting soil.
To start your avocado seed in soil:
- Pot the seed up in potting soil destined for houseplants
- Make sure the pointy end juts out slightly from the soil
- Keep the potting mix moist but be careful not to overwater
- Fertilize regularly
Need a visual? Here’s a helpful video on how to grow avocado from seed:
Steph Coelho is a freelance writer gardening in zone 5b. She is a certified Square Foot Gardener and has taught various garden-related workshops. When she’s not digging in the dirt or writing, she’s cooking up fresh produce, running, or listening to her favorite podcasts.
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