[Midnight Angel]

I'm assuming this goes here? If not, please move to appropriate forum.

You will need: An avocado, 3 toothpicks, and a jar.

I'm taking this straight from a book called "The Hippie Handbook: How to Tie-Dye A T-shirt, Flash a Peace Sign, and Other Essential Skills for the Carefree Life" by Chelsea Cain (a must read for any repressed hippie like me :beatnik: ).

1. Peel and eat the avocado. Save the pit.
2. Let the seed dry for 48 hours.
3. Peel off the papery brown skin
4. Insert 3 toothpicks equidistant from each other around the middle of the seed, pushing them in far enough to feel securely lodged.
5. Place the seed, pointed end up, in the jar so that the toothpicks rest on the edge of the jar's mouth, suspending the seed.
6. Add warm water to the jar so that the bottom third of the seed is submerged.
7. Put the jar in a warm spot away from direct sunlight.
8. Check the seed daily, adding warm water to the jar so that the bottom third of the seed is always in water.
9. When the seed begins to sprout roots, move the jar to a windowsill.
10. Soon you will see a stem push up through the pit. When the stem is 3 to 4 inches high, you can plant the seed in soil.

I'm going to have to buy more avocados and try this (plus an excuse to buy even more avocados besides the fact I love them)!

[karenlovessnow]

I tried this a while ago and it didn't work...not sure if I did it exactly right, though. So I may try again now that you posted the directions! :)

[Quinoa]

I’ve read this before elsewhere, incl. a note to expect many many weeks go by between steps 8 and 9. Sounds like an excellent way to school oneself to patience. :p

[Envy]

Feh, I'm never gonna have enough patience to do that, even if it sounds like a good thing.

[Mrs. Skittles]

I wish I lived somewhere warmer, so I could grow an avacado tree.

I love avacados. :lick:

[delicious]

^ you can grow one in your house. they make pretty houseplants.

[jeneticallymodified]

i did this about 2 years ago. i started 10 pits, got 2 to grow. one died at about a foot tall, the other one is now 9 foot tall and 6 foot wide and i keep having to hack bits off cos its taking over the apartment and hits the ceiling.

[Shamandura]

hoodedclawjen said:

i did this about 2 years ago. i started 10 pits, got 2 to grow. one died at about a foot tall, the other one is now 9 foot tall and 6 foot wide and i keep having to hack bits off cos its taking over the apartment and hits the ceiling.

Do you get a successful amount of fruit off of it? I'd like to try doing this, but I don't really need anymore houseplants. If I could get a good amount of avocados off it, i'd reconsider.

[jeneticallymodified]

Shamandura said:

Do you get a successful amount of fruit off of it? I'd like to try doing this, but I don't really need anymore houseplants. If I could get a good amount of avocados off it, i'd reconsider.

i'm pretty sure that i won't. i read that they need to hit 15 foot, and get much more sunlight and heat than they will in an apartment in canada. if i was in california and it was outside, maybe, but no way here.

[wutaweirdo]

This is from our avocado tree. When we opened the avocado, there was a sprout coming from the bottom of the seed, so we stuck toothpicks in the sides and hovered it on the top of the water, like you see here.

However, it's from a grafted tree to make a Fairchild Avocado (it's such an awesome kind *nom nom nom*) which means that any fruit that comes this seed won't be exactly the same as a Fairchild. But anyways, we didn't want to abort this little baby seedling, so we're helping it grow instead.

We let it hang out in the window and one of the cats jumped up there earlier in the week and knocked it down, which caused the two sides of the seeds to break apart. If you can see in the bottom, the other half is down in the water, which I should probably fish out. But it's cool because now you can see the top of the root system in the seed. :D We should probably pot this soon, hmm? Haha.

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