Today we are going to learn how to grow an avocado from its seed!
This is a fun activity that you can watch grow into a plant right on your own windowsill or porch!
(Photographed and explained by Tanith Lambi)
For this activity, we will need the following:
- ripe avocado
- some toothpicks
- container (preferably clear, so you can watch the root progress grow)
- water
- knife
Step 1: Get a ripe avocado, ready to be eaten.
Step 2: With the help of an adult, cut the avocado in half to reveal its pit.
TIP: The pit will come out really easily if the avocado is really ripe. The less ripe the avocado, the harder it will be to remove the pit!
Step 3: Remove the pit from the avocado and clean it of any fruit.
TIP: Avocado is used in all sorts of dishes, from sandwiches, to salads, to even chocolate avocado pudding!
Step 4: Take your clean pit and the three toothpicks that we will use to stabilize the pit in its vessel.
TIP: The pit is quite hard, so please ask an adult to help you pierce it with the toothpicks!
Step 5: Pierce pit about 1/3 of the way down from the top of the pit with your toothpicks. Evenly separated to distribute the weight of the pit.
TIP: The skin of the pit will begin to peel as it rests in water, you can help it along be removing the skin that comes off loosely. Don’t feel too obligated to do this though as it will eventually come off.
Step 6: Place pit in your container/vessel and fill up to cover half of the pit with water. Be careful not to submerge the whole pit in water, because it will not grow if you do!
TIP: Growing avocados in water is just one way you can grow them. You can also put them in damn napkins and then seal them in a container (make sure to keep the napkins damp or it will dry out) or you could just plant them right in the soil and water them. This is a great way to grow them though because you get to see the root system develop!
Step 8: Water your avocado plant once a week, making sure not to cover more than half the pit with water. Your avocado will begin to start sprouting after two months.
TIP: Change the water in your container at least every two weeks, preferably once a week. Water it with room temperature water.
Step 9: Eventually it will begin to grow leaves!! Keep your plant in the sunniest spot you can, because they need a lot of light to grow.
TIP: If you grow it in a not very bright spot, your avocados stem (that is developing) will continue searching for a good light source. This means it will grow really long but will not grow leaves until it finds enough light. This does make the stem very weak when you want to plant it so, make sure you get it a lot of light right from the beginning!
Step 10: Eventually you will be able to take it out of its container and plant it in soil or even in your own garden if you can!
TIP: Avocado trees take a long time to grow fruit, on average up to ten years. So get planting if you want to grow your own avocados for guacamole!
You can grow a whole lot of different plants from the scraps of food in your kitchen—from lemons to strawberries, carrots, celery, blueberries, tomatoes, lettuce, pineapple and more.
Make Up Your Own Kitchen Garden!
Tanith has shown us an example of how we can grow some of our own food from the seeds of the fruits and vegetables we eat daily! Have you ever grown any of your own plants from seed at home in your kitchen, in the garden or on the porch? If you have, you could send in the process here for a chance to have it published and shared with other youth! “Thanks, Tanith, for sharing this great activity!”