1 Avacado = Avacado Tree

My current obsession is growing food from kitchen scraps. Not only is this highly cost-effective and eco-friendly, but really fun too!

This year Santa went exotic for our stockings which were adorned with mangos, pineapples and avocados. Excellent. I absolutely love avocados.

As strange as it may sound, I've never actually seen the inside of a complete avocado. I've had the avocado meat in some delicious sandwiches and salads, and in that marvelous invention, guacamole, but never have I actually dealt with the whole fruit.

I was surprised to the seed inside is smooth, egg-shaped and very hard - officially known as a pit.

After doing a little bit of research, I discovered that it was nothing but simple to 'grow your own avocado tree'. So here's what I did:

1) Rinse the pit under water (it was very slippery when wet so watch out!)
2) Dry off the pit with some kitchen towel.
3) Stick 3 cocktail sticks (toothpicks would work too) into the pit, spaced out equally around the centre of the pit.
4) Balance the pit on a glass or similar dish, pointy side up.
5) Fill the dish to the top with water, making sure that the pit is under the water by about 1/2-1 inch.
6) Put it out of direct sunlight, somewhere warm.
8) Wait.
9) Remember to check it at regular intervals to make sure it has enough water.

My Future Avocado Tree

Apparently, in 2-6 weeks some roots will start to appear and then a stalk with sprout from the top. Once the stalk is (I think) around 10 inches, you are supposed to cut it back to about 3 inches and plant it in some soil with the top of the pit visible.

I'll let you know when I get to that bit in a few weeks!!