Are you avocado fans? Do you like to eat it on your toast, in salads, in smoothies or in guacamole? Excellent habit! Fruit of the avocado tree, originally from Mexico, this food has incredible virtues for the body: it is full of essential fatty acids, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins (C, E and K) and fiber . Suffice to say that it is strongly recommended to include it in a healthy and balanced diet. Not to mention that with its smooth and creamy texture, it gives the taste buds a fresh and exotic flavor. But why keep buying them when you can grow an avocado tree at home and harvest all the fruits for free?

Many people continue to empty their wallets, even though they can easily plant their favorite vegetables and herbs in a vegetable garden or on a patio. If you are a big avocado consumer and have a bit of a green thumb, this article is for you. You may not know it, but planting and growing an avocado tree from a pit is not complicated. You just need to follow a few steps correctly to hope for good germination and stock up on avocados at home. However, you will have to be patient, because it takes time!

How to plant, grow and properly maintain your avocado tree, starting from a simple pit? We will explain everything to you.

How to germinate an avocado pit?

First buy a ripe avocado and remove the pit. The bigger it is, the better. Then wash it with clean water: no pulp should remain on the core, as this increases the risk of mold developing during germination.

Next, you will need long wooden sticks, like toothpicks. Insert them shallowly (5 mm) into the core in 3 different places so that they provide support. The tip should be upwards. Dip the end into the water. Make sure the water level is still correct: the base should still be submerged in water, but the places where you planted the toothpicks should not be affected by humidity at all.

After 3-5 weeks, small holes should appear on the core, from which roots and shoots develop. Don’t forget to add water periodically so that the roots are still present.

When the shoot reaches 5 cm high, plant the seedling in a  pot . It is best to choose a fairly large pot (20 to 25 cm in diameter), so that the plant can grow comfortably.

Be careful, avocados don’t like excessive humidity. Therefore, add a good drainage layer to the pot at the bottom. The substrate must be light. The best composition for avocados grown with the pit is garden soil and peat combined in equal proportions with humus and large-grained sand. Do not completely cover the core with the substrate, only 1/3 of the surface should be covered. After planting, water the avocado with sterile water. Wait until the soil becomes dry before watering to avoid excess moisture!

NB: To make the soil more draining, you can pour a few balls of clay.

How to take care of grown avocados?

It is best to place the pot directly on the window, as avocados love the sun. It must always receive sufficient light and heat. So expose your avocado tree to light, but never in direct contact with the sun. In winter, buy a special lamp to illuminate it.

The substrate must always be moist. It must therefore be watered frequently, but with small quantities of water. The plant can easily become waterlogged and its leaves will begin to turn yellow. Spray the foliage with non-calcareous water.

Since avocado is a tropical fruit, it is necessary to provide it with the necessary conditions in the house. The temperature of the room should not fall below 16°C nor exceed 28°C for the  plant  to develop easily.

In spring and summer, when the avocado is actively growing, fertilize it with natural citrus fertilizers.

It will take several years for the plant to fully flower. In 5-7 years the first flowers will appear and this is normal, this process takes a long time. In rare cases, the avocado can even produce fruit  , but for this you need at least 2 plants for pollination.

NB  : Unlike most fruits, the avocado does not ripen on the tree but only once harvested.

After applying this tip, you will easily succeed in growing avocados from the pit. Enough to consume it at leisure and bring a tropical breath into your daily life!