Avocados are suddenly popping everywhere in restaurant meals, home food recipe and even fast food menu. This trend is not so bad considering that the fruit is packed with essential minerals and vitamins. Avocadoes contain vitamin C, E, K, B5, B6, as well as potassium and fiber.
If you are looking to add avocados to your home cooked meals, there are many recipes available online. the goods news is growing your own avocado tree is easy. In addition to saving yourself some grocery money, the bonus is that you get fresh and organic (if you so choose) avocados.
Although it is called an avocado tree, it is actually a small-sized and easy maintenance plant. You do not need a large space.
To start, prepare your selected avocado seed for sprouting. Clean the seed to remove any pest and chemical. Stick four toothpicks into the seed at equal distances apart around the middle. Make sure you can tell the top from the bottom. Place the seed in a container of water. The toothpicks are meant to keep the seed upright while soaking in an inch of water. A glass will do fine as a container and it is also easy to see when the roots are grown. Place the container in a warm place but out of direct sunlight. The seed will sprout leaves and roots in about two to six weeks. When the stem has grown about six inches/ 15 centimeters, cut it back to three inches / 7.5 centimeters. Wait for more leaves to grow and for the stem to reach six inches again before planting into the soil.
Get a large planting pot. It should be at least ten inches/ 25 centimeters in diameter. Make sure that the pot has proper drainage holes at the bottom. Cover the drainage holes with big stones that will allow water to flow through while holding back the soil. Fill the pot with soil and leave a small hole in the top to plant the seed. The hole should not be too deep. The top half of the seed would be exposed to the air.
Move the potted plant to a sunny area. Water the plant liberally and regularly. The soil should be constantly moist but not saturated with water. This is why proper drainage is important.
The avocado fruits are mature before picking, but they are not ready to be eaten. They must be softened after picking. The longer the fruit is left on the tree, the higher the oil content and richer the flavor it will develop. However, pluck the fruit too late the oil inside will turn rancid. ANy fruit that drops off naturally is already rancid.
The best way to tell whether the fruit is ready to be harvested is to pick one and then leave it to air at room temperature. The fruit will be rock hard. If the fruit softens evenly within a week or two, then the rest of your avocados are ready to be harvested. If the fruit turns rubbery or shrivels up, repeat the checking process with another fruit.
After picking, storage the fruits in a dry and cool place. The softening process takes between a few days to a week.
If you are looking to add avocados to your home cooked meals, there are many recipes available online. the goods news is growing your own avocado tree is easy. In addition to saving yourself some grocery money, the bonus is that you get fresh and organic (if you so choose) avocados.
Although it is called an avocado tree, it is actually a small-sized and easy maintenance plant. You do not need a large space.
To start, prepare your selected avocado seed for sprouting. Clean the seed to remove any pest and chemical. Stick four toothpicks into the seed at equal distances apart around the middle. Make sure you can tell the top from the bottom. Place the seed in a container of water. The toothpicks are meant to keep the seed upright while soaking in an inch of water. A glass will do fine as a container and it is also easy to see when the roots are grown. Place the container in a warm place but out of direct sunlight. The seed will sprout leaves and roots in about two to six weeks. When the stem has grown about six inches/ 15 centimeters, cut it back to three inches / 7.5 centimeters. Wait for more leaves to grow and for the stem to reach six inches again before planting into the soil.
Get a large planting pot. It should be at least ten inches/ 25 centimeters in diameter. Make sure that the pot has proper drainage holes at the bottom. Cover the drainage holes with big stones that will allow water to flow through while holding back the soil. Fill the pot with soil and leave a small hole in the top to plant the seed. The hole should not be too deep. The top half of the seed would be exposed to the air.
Move the potted plant to a sunny area. Water the plant liberally and regularly. The soil should be constantly moist but not saturated with water. This is why proper drainage is important.
The avocado fruits are mature before picking, but they are not ready to be eaten. They must be softened after picking. The longer the fruit is left on the tree, the higher the oil content and richer the flavor it will develop. However, pluck the fruit too late the oil inside will turn rancid. ANy fruit that drops off naturally is already rancid.
The best way to tell whether the fruit is ready to be harvested is to pick one and then leave it to air at room temperature. The fruit will be rock hard. If the fruit softens evenly within a week or two, then the rest of your avocados are ready to be harvested. If the fruit turns rubbery or shrivels up, repeat the checking process with another fruit.
After picking, storage the fruits in a dry and cool place. The softening process takes between a few days to a week.
