"Avocado is extra. Is that fine?" I mean no, but yes, go ahead and add it. When I was younger and spent all my money on toys and chicken nuggets, I wished that I had a houseplant that grows money. Now that all my money goes towards adding avocado on burgers and tacos, I definitely need an avocado tree.
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Not only do I spend a lot having avocado as a topping on my food, but y'all, sometimes I get too lazy to make a fresh bowl of guacamole, and I settle for dipping Doritos in an avocado. Don't knock it 'till you try it. If you're like me and basically hop on the bandwagon of all trendy foods, you know avocado isn't a trend. It's here to stay, so start growing your own avocado fruit tree.
How to Grow an Avocado Houseplant: DIY Pit Method
You'll need a clean avocado pit, three toothpicks, and a glass of water. The avocado pit will sit in the cup for several weeks until there's a sprout. During this time, it needs sunlight. It's best to sit your plant near a sunny spot like a windowsill. Be sure to keep indoors at room temperature during this time.
Once your avocado plant has reached six inches, cut the stem back about three inches. This helps with new growth. When you see leaves, that's a good sign that it's ready to be in the soil. Make sure the soil has good drainage. You also want to avoid over-watering since it can lead to root rot.
How to Care for Your Avocado Plant
California Avocados recommends that you cut the stem back six inches after its reached 12 inches while planted in soil. Follow their outdoor planting, watering, and fertilizing and mulching advice for continued care.
Note that you must be patient with DIY methods. It may take 7-10 years, or possibly longer before your fruit tree can bear fruit.
1. AvoSeedo Avocado Tree Growing Kit
This kit comes with a boat for the avocado seed to sprout in. With the DIY pit method, the pit needs toothpicks poked into it. Often times, the toothpicks break, causing it to sink in the water. An advantage with this kit is that it doesn't need to be perforated. This is a great way to minimize the risk of early root rot.
2. Hass Avocado Tree
Want to skip through a few years of the process? Buy a grafted tree. Since these trees are grown from rootstock and not avocado seedlings, it will produce fruit much earlier than a DIY method.
3. PELEG DESIGN Seed Guard
If you've always had green thumb or have just been interested in producing fruit, go for a complete DIY method. It would be fun to document the experience. Just make sure your seed doesn't get submerged in water. I wouldn't trust a toothpick in water for a long time, so I would go with these seed floats. It's a mini buoy for your seed, how adorable.
Get to growing your own avocado plant soon if you're interested. The process could take a decade depending on which method you go with. You'll thank yourself later when you have your own avocado tree in your backyard. After all, who knows when the next idiot is going to start licking avocados at the grocery store as some disgusting viral trend.
