How to grow an Avocado

How to grow an avocado

Growing an avocado from a stone is easy but you need patience. It takes weeks! During lockdown we perfected the technique so we thought we'd share it with you 🪴

Buy an avocado, cut it in two and take out the stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wash the stone well with water so no green avocado is left anywhere on it. Leave it somewhere at room temperature for a couple of days – this dries out the skin which surrounds the stone, making it easier to peel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peel the stone. The stone is what will give the plant energy to germinate and grow.Try not to damage the stone in this process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get 3 cocktail sticks or similar and stick them around the equator of the stone with roughly equal spacing. Pointy end up. But be careful not to put a stick in the lines that run from top to bottom – you can see one in the photo. This is because after a time the stone will split along that line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place the stone with sticks in place onto a small dish. We use an old glass Gü dessert dish and fill it with tap water to just below where the sticks are. Now leave it somewhere at room temperature and not in direct sunlight, but where there is good daylight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change the water every week.After around 8 weeks the stone will split and you’ll see a root and shot emerging.Keep changing the water regularly

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the root gets too long for the dish move It to a bigger jar – we use an old glass Whole Earth peanut butter jar.Eventually leaves will appear and the root system will have many branches. Keep changing the water weekly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you feel the leaves and roots are big enough, plant the whole thing into a plant pot with earth- we use an old terracotta pot with plant compost like John Innes #3. Water it well.Keep the plant pot at room temperature -somewhere bright but not in direct sunlight and water at least once a week or more - The leaves will droop slightly when the plant needs water so that's an easy cue to see.

 

 

....Good Luck and Be Patient- It will happen for you!

 

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