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co)

THE COMPLETE GUIDE ON

GROWING AN AVOCADO
TREE FROM SEED

Five out ve avocados agree

How does an avocado even have an opinion?

The avocado is a food

without rival among the fruits,
the veritable fruit of paradise
(A random quote from the internet)

HOLY GUACAMOLE
Simple to follow instructions.

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 AN INTRODUCTION TO AVOCADOS
If you know anything about fruit, anything at all, you have probably heard
of an avocado before. But how much do you really know about this fruit?
Well, let's start with the basics. The avocado is one of the more popular
fruits around, and while it may not have the same widespread
consumption as the apples or the bananas of the world, it is still readily
available in almost any country and region. It's a fruit that is popular
around the world due to its tastiness and its adaptability, making it so it
can be eaten in a myriad of dierent and creative ways, while still
retaining its great taste.
Avocados are dark green on the outside, and light green on the inside.
The rst time you eat an avocado, you may be surprised at just how
large the seed is. It is one of the largest seeds in terms of size of fruit to
size of seed ratio, in the world. Although as a whole, the avocado itself is
actually quite small and quite child friendly, as it is not big enough to
potentially choke a small child, and you don't have to be as wary about
giving your small child an avocado, the way you would be with a banana
or an apple which are traditionally a lot more dicult for young children
to swallow.
Avocados are actually extremely rich in bre, too, which is always a
good thing! An average sized avocado usually has about 10 grams of
bre in it. This really helps digestion and is a very benecial advantage
to eating avocados over other fruits. It is generally recommended by
most doctors to incorporate foods that have bre into your daily diet, and
an avocado not only contains bre but is also a fruit, which means it
doubles as tasty delight that is also very good for your health.
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Finally, something you may have not realised about avocados is that
they are really good for anti-aging! In terms of natural anti-aging
remedies, you won't nd anything better than the avocado. Its natural
nutrients have long been known to slow down and reverse aging eects.
 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AVOCADO FRUIT
Avocados, in their present incarnation, became a prominent type of fruit
about 500 years ago. As seen from reports by the Spanish
Conquistadores, during the time of the Spanish conquest avocados were
actually known to be grown from the Southern border of Mexico, all the
way down through Central America into the north west of South America.
The stretch of land where avocados were grown actually extended down
into Peru.
This is one of the earliest series of mass production of the fruit on
record, at least the fruit as we know it today. The fruit, in its earlier forms,
is known to have been around for thousands of years, all the way back
to the times of the Aztecs. In fact, the Aztecs had actually been known to
use the avocado as a sex stimulant. They referred to the avocado as
ahuacatl, essentially meaning testicle. So even in these very early
days, there was a lot of evidence that the avocado was being used as a
common aphrodisiac.
Avocado trees became popular in the United States in about 1871, when
the rst successful introduction of avocado trees occurred, being planted
by Judge R. B. Ord of Santa Barbara. These trees were originally
brought in from Mexico. There had been attempts to plant trees brought
in from other countries in the past, however this was the rst successful
attempt at planting the trees on American soil, at least from a public
standpoint. Since then, the avocado has become a popular fruit and a
part of the diet of many people across the world, as trade has increased
and more and more people became exposed to the fruit.
The oldest living avocado tree can be found at the Berkeley campus of
the University of California. It was planted in 1879, only 8 years after the
rst ever successfully planted avocado tree on American soil, and still
lives on providing fruit to this day.
 AVOCADO VARIETIES
There are a number of dierent avocado varieties, all often having their own special features
and their own facets that make them stand out from the rest of the avocado family. There are
hundreds upon hundreds of dierent avocado types, but here are some of the most well-
known varieties.

Bacon
The bacon avocado is of the green skinned variety, and usually
becomes available at the late fall or into early spring. It is an avocado of
good quality, and is very well known for its special oval shape. Its seed is
pretty large compared to most fruits, although when you look at just the
avocados, it would fall closer into the medium range. It can be easily
peeled, as its skin is softer than a lot of its counterparts. Its taste is also
light, somewhat reecting the texture of its skin. The smooth, thin skin
covers a yellowish-green esh that is also light and rather soft in texture.
You know that this type of avocado is ripe when it begins to yield to
gentle pressure, meaning it has become suciently ripened. The skin
doesn't usually change as it ripens, although occasionally it may darken
slightly compared to its unripe form.

Fuerte
As already discussed, there is strong historical signicance behind this
avocado. The Fuerte is the original California avocado, the rst of its
kind to be brought from Mexico, and planted in the United States in a
concerted, professional eort to bring avocados to America on a large
scale. It diers from other types of avocado, such as the bacon, as it has
a pear-like shape. Its seed is medium when compared to other types of
avocado seed. It has soft skin and tends to peel really easily. Similarly to
the bacon avocado, it tends to be harvested either late autumn or in
early spring. It has green skin, with a smooth and thin texture. Its esh is
not yellowish green like the bacon, but rather a creamy, pale green color.
You can tell that it has been ripened enough when it get softened to the
point where it yields to gentle pressure, such as the touch of your hand.
The skin does not change color at all, so the skin cannot necessarily be
used as a way to dierentiate between a ripe avocado and an unripe
one.

Gwen
The Gwen avocado has one of the more lopsided ratios of seed to
avocado size. It is very similar to the Hass avocado, especially when it
comes to the texture and the taste. The appearance is slightly dierent
though, as the Gwen is a little larger than the Hass. It is an oval shaped
fruit, appearing rather plump and although the seed may look huge in
comparison to the fruit itself, it is actually rather small compared to the
majority of avocado seeds. It is really easy to peel, and has a great
taste. Its skin is rather thick compared to other avocados, possessing a
somewhat pebbly texture. The esh inside however is really soft, a
creamy gold-green color. You can tell this avocado is beginning to ripen
as its skin will start to go a dull green color.

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 AVOCADO VARIETIES

Hass
The hass avocado is very similar to the gwen, aside from being slightly
smaller. They share many similarities, including their appearance, their
texture and their taste. The hass is famous for its skin, which turns from
green to purplish-black once it becomes ripe. When you look at the
whole variety of avocados grown in California, the hass is the most
popular and the most mass produced. Due to its thick skin, and the
texture of its esh, it has the longest shelf life out of the California based
avocados. Once it ripens, it will last longer and be edible for longer than
any of its counterparts.
It has an oval shape, similar to the gwen and the bacon, and is very
easy to peel, despite its hard skin. It is great tasting, and has very sweet
and juicy esh inside its hard outer layer. Its seed is quite prominent, but
still rather smallish compared to the seeds of certain other avocado
types. Its dark, pebbly, rough skin is the outer layer to a soft, creamy and
pale green colored esh on the inside.

Lamb Hass
The lamb hass is very well known for its exceptional avour, surpassing
many of its counterparts in that particular facet. It is a robust fruit, with a
size that is quite a bit larger than usual. It is of the California summer
sun variety, often taking longer to go through its growing process due to
the amount of nutrients and nuture it needs, as well as its impressive
size. It is known for its pebbly skin, which is not too hard although is not
one of the softest avocado skins around! Its green esh, and smooth,
creamy and nutty taste make sure it stands out from the rest as one of
the more unique avocado varieties around. It displays really well,
meaning that people who grow fruits as part of competition often use this
avocado as it often has a great display while it is being grown. This is
partly due to its impressive size and symmetrical shape, as it really
catches the eye. As it ripens, its skin darkens slightly.

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 GROWING AN AVOCADO FROM SEED
PROPAGATING AVOCADO TREES & GROWING AVOCADO TREES IN COLDER CLIMATES

Step 1 remove the pit and make sure it is clean

The very rst step of growing an avocado from the seed is to rstly
identify the pit (which is where the seed is held), and then remove it. You
have to take care as you do this, as it is possible to damage the pit,
which in turn will damage the seed and it will be a struggle to grow. You
need to remove the pit from the avocado, and then wash o the fruit
residue to make sure it is completely clean. Soaking the avocado in
some water is often a good way to make sure it is suciently clean,
followed by scrubbing the remaining residue o.

image source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/wp-

content/uploads/2006/02/how-to-cut-avocado-method-4.jpg
Step 2 Locate Which End Is 'up' And Which Is 'down'
Okay, well, this can be a little tricky. Avocado pits can be a few dierent
shapes, depending on what variety of avocado you are taking the seed
TOP END from. Some of them are oblong, or more of an oval shape, while others
may be close to perfect spheres. One thing they all have in common
though, is that they all have a top and a bottom. The bottom is where the
roots will grow, and the top is where the sprout will (hopefully!) start to
grow. You obviously want to make sure which end is which, because if
you plant it the wrong way, the roots won't get enough water, as avocado
seeds need to be in water bottom end rst. So make sure you know your
ups from your downs before you go any further!

BOTTOM END

image source: http://www.blackgirlhealth.com/wp-

Step 3 pierce with four toothpicks
content/uploads/2016/04/avocadopit.jpg
Yes, you read that correctly. You are going to have to start poking your
seed with toothpicks. Don't worry, I'll explain. You take four toothpicks
and stick them into your avocado seed, spacing them out evenly and
covering the circumference of the avocado. This will be the base, which
will act as a type of scaolding for your avocado. It will let you lay the
bottom half of the avocado in water, so you need to make sure they are
suciently wedged into the pit so that they don't fall o at a later point,
which could be critical for the health of your potential avocado tree.

image source: http://pad2.whstatic.com/images/thumb/b/b1/Grow-an-

Avocado-As-a-Houseplant-Step-9.jpg/aid1540891-728px-Grow-an-Avocado-
As-a-Houseplant-Step-9.jpg

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 GROWING AN AVOCADO FROM SEED
PROPAGATING AVOCADO TREES & GROWING AVOCADO TREES IN COLDER CLIMATES

image source: http://www.othegridnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/avocado-2-wikipedia.jpg

Step 4 place the avocado seed with the bottom half

submerged in a glass of water
Okay, at this point you have done a lot of work with the preparation for
growing your avocado tree. Now, you will set it on a windowsill or a
similar place where the tree can get sucient amounts of sunlight. The
glass that you use should be clear, so you can have a clear view of the
growth of the roots, which is an important part of the process. Also, you
need to be able to see when the water needs to be changed, which will
be regularly. Some people tend to change the water every day, but it is
probably best to change it every ve days or so. Changing the water is
pivotal, as without regular changing, problems like mold, bacteria and
fungus growth will set in, which can cause untold damage to your
avocado sprout. So make sure the water is changed regularly, it is
possibly the most important step from here onwards!

image source:
http://cdn.instructables.com/FGW/CLDE/FXP6OBZO/FGWCLDEFXP6OBZO

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 GROWING AN AVOCADO FROM SEED
PROPAGATING AVOCADO TREES & GROWING AVOCADO TREES IN COLDER CLIMATES

Step 5 Now, Just Sit Back And Wait For Your Avocado
Seed To Sprout!
There isn't an exact science for when your avocado should start
sprouting. Sometimes in can happen in as little as 2 to 4 weeks, but if it
doesn't happen in that timeframe, do not be alarmed. It is completely
normal for sprouting to take at least 8 weeks, and sometimes a lot
longer. So keep at it, and don't give up on your seed prematurely.
Patience is an important part of this process. As this happens, these are
a few things you will signs you will see to let you know things are on the
right track.
Firstly, the top of the avocado pit (if you placed it in correctly, of course!)
will begin to dry out. Then, you will notice a crack forming on the top of it,
and the skin will start to slip o a bit. This means it is preparing to sprout.
The crack will likely extend all around the avocado pit, even reaching the
bottom. Through the bottom, a tiny root will appear, and continue to grow
larger and larger, possibly even branching out into other roots. This is a
very good sign, as it shows the seed has taken to the environment, and
the moment when your sprout nally emerges is not far away. Here is a
vital tip. Never let this root dry out, which it will do if you take too long in
between changing the water. If it does, the whole plant will die
immediately, and it will be the end of the process. This is extremely vital
to remember. Also, remember to expose your plant to the sun as much
as possible. Avocados are fruits that love the sun, and it is dicult to
overexpose them to it. The more sun, the better as far as this plan is
concerned.

image source: http://www.arteblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Plantar-

abacate.jpg Make sure to water to plant very frequently. The soil should remain moist
throughout the duration of the growing process. Make sure not to
oversaturate the soil with water, however. If the leaves begin to turn
yellow, it is a sign you may have overwatered the plant, and let it dry out
a little bit over a few days.

Another problem you will likely experience at some point during this
process, is the unwanted attention your plant will receive from small
insects that cannot resist the tasty avocado leaves. You want to make
sure these little critters are taken care of, as they can impact negatively
on the growth of your avocado tree. You can get rid of them by spraying
down your plant with water, to wash of the little insects inhabiting it.
Using a teaspoon of neem oil on your plant will not damage it at all, but
will help in keeping the critters away. Make sure you check your plant
regularly after this, and make sure to clean it every few days to make
sure they stay away.
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image source: http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-

content/blogs.dir/1/les/2012/06/Baby-Avocado-Tree-537x357.jpg

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 WILL IT FRUIT?

How to get your tree to fruit

Now, even after doing all that perfectly, there is still huge question mark
over whether your plant will actually fruit. It is actually very dicult to say.
The aim for most people who grow avocado plants is for them to fruit,
but the process is long, arduous and there is no guarantee that there will
be any fruit at the end of it.
Sometimes you will nd your plant starting to grow fruit after 3 or 4
years, while others take 20+ years to grow fruit! And then there are
those which just never grow fruit at all. It is pretty wise to grow multiple
avocado fruits at once, so you can improve your chances of getting fruit
that grow. Also, you should not expect the fruit that is grown to mirror the
one that you originally took the seed out of. Common consensus would
imply that the child fruit should mirror the parent fruit, but the one you
took the seed out of was likely a commercially grown avocado, meaning
the people who grew it used specially grafted branches and controlled
much of the process in order to engineer the fruit they wanted, making
image source: http://pioneersettler.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/02/Avocado-2.jpg
the most aesthetically pleasing and tasty avocado possible, seeing as
the whole aim for them is to make something that will succeed
commercially as a product.

With your naturally grown avocado, it will likely end up looking very
dierent to the parent avocado simply because it grew with more
freedom and its makeup will look a lot more random. So don't be
surprised if it looks nothing like the avocado you originally to the seed
out of, it's completely normal!

Some people decide to bypass this whole process and buy an avocado
tree that has been ready made. This isn't a terrible idea, but there are a
few things you should really know before you do this. The most
important thing will be to be able to know how to inspect the tree, and
how to know if it is healthy enough to survive long term. You don't want
to spend your money on a dying tree. Often looking at the colour and
quality of the leaves and the roots really helps, as they often show tell-
tale signs of any ill health the tree is suering through.

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 BUYING AN AVOCADO TREE

image source:http://www.benjoynursery.com/landscape-trees.html

How to buy an avocado tree

Also, you should know the type of avocado tree you are buying and what
kind of avocado it will eventually fruit. This is imperative, as you don't
want to get a nasty shock years down the line when it bears fruit.
Choosing a cold-hardy avocado tree may be useful if you live in a colder
climate, as these types of avocado trees are able to survive through
much harsher weather. These are just some of the things you really
should spend a lot of time considering before you decide to commit to
buying an avocado tree. Make sure you do your research, and you are
sure to nd a tree that you will love.

image source:
http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/socal10b/media/IMG_20131011_142248

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 THE AVOSEEDO

Advantages of using the Avoseedo over the toothpick

method
As already mentioned earlier, the toothpick method is the way most
people create a stabilised base of support for their avocado pit when
they are going through that stage of the process. However, did you know
that there is actually a much better and more reliable way to do this,
without having to use toothpicks?

Using Avoseedo is a proven way to improve the likelihood of your plant

surviving through this vital early stages. Avoseedo is a small plastic
bowl, and it has an indentation and hole inside of it. The seed can be
inserted into the bowl, and it is set in a way that guarantees the bottom
image source: http://www.desima.co/blog/2015/7/4/how-to-grow-an-
avocado-tree-from-seed
of the seed will always be in the water, while the top of the seed gets
some leeway up top.

The Avoseedo bowl is created in such a way that it always remains at

water level, changing its position as the water level goes up and down.
Avoseedo has been proven to drastically improve the chances of
success during this early period, with the Avoseedo bowl providing a lot
of sturdy and reliable stabilisation of the seed, in comparison to the old
school tooth pick method.

One of the best things about Avoseedo, is that is eliminates completely

the need to poke at your vulnerable seed with toothpicks. This is a
dangerous stage of the process, and many seeds have taken irreparable
damage at this point in the process. So Avoseedo eliminating this
completely is a huge step towards a higher standard of successful
Avocado growth.

Avoseedo is essentially a perfect tool for any Avocado tree grower to

use, and one that is becoming more and more irreplaceable as an
integral part of the avocado tree growing process.

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 GREAT WAYS TO EAT AVOCADO

Whirl it in Hummas
image source: https://ziploc.com/~/media/components/ziploc/inspirations/recipes/creamy%20avocado%20hummus/299_creamy_avocado_hummus_gallery_2_2x.jpg

When you have your avocado fruit, I think it's safe to assume that you
will want to eat them. Enjoy the labours of your hard work with these
ingenious avocado meals.

Avocado Fries
This is a really unique way to eat avocado, and a really tasty one too!
Just cut the avocado into slices, dip in egg and roll it up in bread crumbs.
Then cook it and nd a unique little side dish, which tastes amazing.

Avocado Fries Avocado Gelato

image source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
nHIJ7qOEJL8/UaXzBrH08UI/AAAAAAAAXMs/RVjSoEc8NWw/s800/Crispy+
Baked+Avocado+Fries+500+1153.jpg
What can be better than avocado ice cream? Not much, that's for sure.
Experience a tasty, creamy and fruity gelato that will leave you oohing
and ahhing for sure.

Whirl it in Hummus
Hummus is good, but you know what is better? Hummus with avocado
swirls. Take your hummus up a level by adding some creamy, sweet
avocado.

Avocado Gelato Add Avocado to Guacamole

image source:
http://pregelrecipes.com/image.php?img=recipe_images/05b656d4235444fe
bfd1eee05586f121.png&width=640&height=424&maintainaspect=true&crop
=autoBaked+Avocado+Fries+500+1153.jpg
Adding that extra special avocado avour to your guacamole can make
your whole meal. Although, its advised that you hold the lime that may
be a avour explosion you may struggle to recover from!

Add Avocado to Guacamole

image source:
http://www.markon.com/sites/default/les/styles/product_banner/public/prdim
g//RSS_Avocado_Guacamole.jpg?itok=hDVIlfNP

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 COMMON QUESTIONS

image source: https://cdn.daily-harvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/o-FACIAL-AVOCADO-facebook.jpg

A lot of stu has been covered here, but there are still a couple few
common questions that people often have about avocados that may
have been left unanswered. So here we go!

Why are avocado seeds so big?

Well, the avocado usually grows in the wild in subtropical jungles. The
fruit has always had to ght with its many competing neighbours for
nutrients and sunlight, so it has evolved a way to make itself more
successful in surviving the early stages. The reason the seed is so big is
because the sprout often has to grow several feet tall, in order to
compete for sunlight with its neighbours. So while it continues to grow
through the shadows, it needs a large seed to be able to compensate. If
its seed was any smaller, it likely would not be able to survive the initial
growing process.
image source:http://www.melaniecooks.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/06/giant-avocado-half.jpg
Why are avocado face masks good for you?
The most popular fruit used for facial masks has always been the
avocado. But, have you ever wondered why that is? Well, the avocado
contains the vitamins A and E. These two vitamins are very crucial in the
battle against dry skin and ageing. The vitamins help repair damaged
skin, and the avocado mask has been more than proven to help ght
aging, dull skin, dry skin and a lot of other related skin issues. There are
also a lot of lotions that incorporate avocado into their mix, to ght
against aging and damaged skin.

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 REFERENCES

GUACWARD

Persea americana Mill., The Plant List, Version 1". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical
Garden. 2010.

"What's in a name?". University of California. Retrieved March 27, 2016.

Morton JF (1987). "Avocado; In: Fruits of Warm Climates". Creative Resource Systems, Inc., Winterville, NC
and Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, IN. pp. 91102. ISBN 0-9610184-1-0.

Storey, W. B. "What kind of fruit is the avocado?" (PDF). California Avocado Society 197374 Yearbook 57:
7071.

Galindo-Tovar, Mara Elena; Arzate-Fernndez, Amaury M.; Ogata-Aguilar, Nisao; and Landero-Torres, Ivonne
(2007). "The avocado (Persea americana, Lauraceae) crop in Mesoamerica: 10,000 years of history" (PDF).
Harvard Papers in Botany 12 (2): 325334, page 325. doi:10.3100/1043-4534(2007)12[325:TAPALC]2.0.CO;2.
JSTOR 41761865. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2015.

"Fossil avocado leaves found in California" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-08-25.

Villanueva, M. and Verti, S. "El aguacate: Oro verde de Mxico, orgullo de Michoacn" (PDF). Gobierno del
Estado de Michoacn. Retrieved 2007-11-06.

Smith, K. Annabelle. "Why the Avocado Should Have Gone the Way of the Dodo". Smithsonian Magazine. The
Smithsonian. Retrieved 25 October 2013.

Barry, PC (2001-04-07). "Avocado: The Early Roots of Avocado History". Canku Ota. Archived from the original
on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-29.

"Avocado History". IndexFresh.com. Bloomington, CA: Index Fresh Avocado. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-29.

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