Do you want to grow avocado? Avocado is a bright green, sometimes black fruit with leathery skin. It is said to have originated from south-central Mexico. What comes to mind when you think about an avocado? You immediately think about guacamole dips which ideally is a portion of Mexican food.
Another fun fact is that an avocado is a berry containing a single large fruit. Interesting right?
Not only is this one of the best-tasting fruit but it is also highly beneficial to our bodies. It contains a lot of fats. Do not get me wrong when I say it is high in fats. The fruit is high in ‘good fats’ (monounsaturated fats). Believe it or not, it lowers your cholesterol levels due to the high amounts of the nutrient; beta-sitosterol. Hence, if you eat avocado often, it can help to make you more healthy. Natural fruits essentially help in boosting the immune system.
So start planting avocado at home and adding it into part of your organic garden! Click here to read more about how to start an organic garden while you work from home!
How to Grow Avocado From A Seed?
Step 1: Remove seed from inside of avocado and clean the pit
Firstly, carefully remove the pit from the avocado fruit by slicing the avocado in half. Do not remove the brown skin from the pit because this is the seed cover.
Avoid using things like knives so that you do not damage the cover and the pit itself. After removal leave the pit in water for a few minutes to soak and the fruit will come out easily without damage to the seed cover.
Step 2: Locate the ‘up’ and ‘down’ sides of avocado seed
The next step is to locate the ‘up ’side and the ‘down’ side. This is simply because the avocado grows from the bottom side and you need that part submerged in water for it to sprout.
The top part is a bit pointier compared to the rather flat bottom part.
Step 3: Pierce avocado seed with toothpicks (three or four)
Acting as a scaffolding, these three toothpicks will suspend the avocado pit well enough that only the bottom half is in water.
To achieve this, carefully pierce your toothpicks in a downward direction evenly around the circumference. They should be deeply pierced to give the pit more support for only the bottom part to be submerged.
Step 4: Place avocado seed in a glass of water
Remember that only the bottom half should be submerged in water since it will only sprout from that side.
Carefully place your glass of water near a window for maximum light. Avocados thrive well in sunny conditions.
Using a clear glass jar is recommended so that you can easily keep an eye on the water and change it when needed. It also allows the maximum amount of light to reach the pit and speed up the sprouting process.
Step 5: Wait for the avocado seed to sprouting
It takes an average duration of about 6 weeks for the avocado pit to start sprouting. This will depend on how you take care of your plant and the amount of sunlight it is receiving.
The sprouting process starts when the unsubmerged top side of the pit dries out causing the seed cover to peel off. The crack will run from the top side to the bottom where a tiny taproot will emerge from.
This root will continue to mature and sprout through the top of the avocado pit. This is when you need to keep a close eye and ensure the taproot growing is submerged or your plant will die.
Step 6: Move the sprouting avocado seed into a pot – be careful!
Once your stem is about 15cm long, trim it down to about 8cm to stimulate new and faster growth. When it gets back to 15cm, pot it in some good potting mix soil preferably in a pot with a diameter of 25cm. Make sure the top part of the seed is exposed and return it near a window or outdoors for maximum light.
Water your plant frequently but be careful not to overwater to saturate it. If you notice the leaves are turning yellow it is time to leave the plant to dry out for a few days. It will then return to normal. This is one of the signs you are over saturating it with water.
As the plant matures, trim off the top two sets of leaves to encourage bushiness. You can begin this once your stem is about 12inches tall and continue every time it grows another 6inches.
Benefits of Avocado!
The avocado is a powerhouse of nutrients. This fruit contains up to 20 different nutrients. Due to this fact, it is branded “The Olive Oil of the Americans”.
Some of the nutrients include potassium, folate, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, Vitamins like K, B5, B6, B3, E, and C.
Benefit # 1: Avocado fruit aids indigestion. The fruit has high amounts of insoluble fiber that helps prevent constipation and keeps your body regular.
Benefit # 2: It is rich in potassium, hence lowers sodium levels in your blood. Additionally, it eases tension in your blood vessel walls thus leveling your blood pressure.
Benefit # 3: The monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) lowers cardiovascular inflammation and lowers cholesterol levels in your body, this majorly boosts heart health.
Benefit # 4: Avocados can also boost weight loss. They are high in fiber and low in carbs. Fiber takes the longest to digest, this makes you feel full for longer periods preventing bingeing thus weight loss.
Benefit # 5: Helps the body absorb nutrients from other food sources which contain fat-soluble nutrients. Some vitamins such as Vitamin A, D, E, and K need to combine with fats for them to be utilized by the body and avocados provide the right amount of fats for this.
Benefit # 6: Zeaxanthin and lutein are good for maintaining and boosting your vision. These two antioxidants are present in avocados. They prevent cataracts, macular degeneration while also protecting the eye tissues from harmful UV ray damage.
Benefit # 7: For pregnant women, you require about 400mg of folate a day to prevent defects in your baby’s spine and brain. One avocado gives you up to 41% of your daily requirement!
Benefit # 8: Finally, it can help keep your skin healthy due to the high amounts of Vitamin E and C.
Plant your avocado from seed effortlessly! Good Luck!
Avocados are generally one of the best fruits you can consume if you are not allergic. It contains so many nutrients essential for your body’s health as seen above. Do not hesitate to add it to your diet regularly and you will get good results by doing so.
Growing avocados is simple as illustrated in this article. As long as you have all the raw materials, it will be a smooth process.
‘If you do not take care of your wellness you will have to take care of your illness ‘ so why not do some simple things now and remain healthy and happy?
Image courtesy: Unsplash.com and Pixabay.com
