How to grow an Avocado plant from the seed fast
My obsession with eating avocados came from my goal to eat clean whole foods. As an easy addition to my morning eggs I quickly became a fan of the taste with a little added freshly ground black pepper and hot sauce for flavor. The more it became a plant food that I couldn’t live without the more I wanted to learn about it’s proven health benefits as I started to consider the food I was eating and how it relates to my personal health.
Why eat Avocados?
Avocados are good for your gut. They have a fair amount of fiber(~12g per fruit) that is proven to help you maintain a healthy digestive track.
They also promote a healthy heart. Avocados are proven to have more potassium than Bananas. Potassium being a heart-healthy nutrient as it is linked to controlling your blood pressure by reducing the effects of sodium.
These are not the only health benefits of eating the fruit, but these are the ones that motivate me when I’m deciding what to grab in the kitchen and what inspires me to learn how to grow them!
First, you’re going to need a few supplies to get started:
- Paper towel
- Ziploc bag
- Avocado seed
- Preparing the Seed
When you take the seed out of your avocado, you’re going to want to clean it first, then peel the brown skin from it right after. Many will skip the peeling of the skin, but it’s very important that you don’t as it can get moldy and will only slow down your growth.
2. Sprouting the Seed
The common way to sprout the seed is it puncture the seed with toothpicks and sit it in water, but that method can take weeks on end. We can speed up this process by wrapping the seed in a wet paper towel and placing it in a ziploc bag for a week. This technique ramps up the humidity and creates the perfect storm for a seed to split open and start sprouting quickly!
3. Transfer to Water
Once your seed is sprouted you are ready to put it in water. You want to suspend the seed in the water or just above it with the sprout submerged in the water.
I suggest using a clear glass or cup to keep the seed in so you can keep an eye on your roots. They will get dirty and it’s important that you keep them clean. I used a small brush and rinsed them under water about once a week to keep them clean. If the roots get dirty it will stunt the growth of your seed.
4. Wait
Avocados are not terribly fast growing. It might be a month or longer before you can see some real progress. There is no real time you should transfer the seed to dirt, but I potted my plant when the leaves were about the size of my thumbs. The picture above is my plant after about 8 months of growth in a small pot.
5. Maintenance
Keep your soil moist and your air humid. I kept my plant by the window most days to keep warm and indoors through the winter as I live in the Pacific Northwest in a less than ideal climate for avocados. Whenever the leaves started to slouch, I would thoroughly drench the soil and it would continue to be in great shape.
Although growing this plant indoors in the Pacific Northwest may not ever bear any fruit. I keep it as a plant to remind me of my “why”. My why to eat foods that are nourishing and plentiful so I can feel better everyday. Happy Growing!
