How To Grow Your Own Avocado Tree from Seed!

This Mexico and Central Africa native tree shares the same plant family (Lauraceae) with cinnamon, bay laurel and camphor. It is most popular because of its delicious green skinned fruit which has fleshy body and a single seed in the center. Avocados are rich in several B vitamins and vitamin K, with good content of vitamin C, vitamin E and potassium. They also contain phytosterols and carotenoids, such as lutein and zeaxanthin. Many studies has shown that Avocados are beneficial for lowering cholesterol. So it is obvious that this fruit should be frequently present on your table.

 

You won’t believe how easy and fun it is to grow your own avocado tree from the pit of a fruit. All you need is to learn the technique to make that hard stone at the center at the fruit sprout. However, this doesn’t mean you will soon have your own avocado fruits to harvest – your tree might start producing fruits after 7-15 years. But you will still get a pretty nice houseplant or a new tree for your garden. Who knows, with proper care you might be making guacamole with avocados from your own tree. Now lets learn how to grow an avocado tree from a pit…

The Method

What you need to do is to remove the pit from an avocado fruit. Now rinse it well and dry it as you don’t want it to be slippery. Have in mind that the broad part of the pit is considered to be the bottom while the pointed part the top. Get 3-4 toothpicks and insert them into the widest part of the pit, about halfway to it. Suspend the pit over a glass/jar of water with the pointed part up. Make sure the water covers about an inch of the seed. Place the glass/jar in a spot with good light, but not in direct light. The water should be warm and the level should be maintained. In 2-3 weeks the seed will crack and after 1-2 weeks a single root will appear. In the next 1-3 weeks a stem will start growing. Your avocado tree is ready to plant when the root is around 2-3 inches long and the stem is at least 1-2 inches. Once it is planted, the stem will continue to grow. You will notice different sets of leaves developing. As the tree grows, prune the top branches so it becomes bushier.

Avocado as House Plant

If you want to keep your avocado as a house plant cut it back to about 3 inches when the stem is 6-7 inches long, this will encourage new growth. When it hits 6-7 inches again, pot it up in a rich humus soil in an 8-10″ diameter pot, leaving the top half of the seed exposed. Place on a sunny windowsill. Avocados love sun – the more sun the better.

Frequent watering and occasional soaking is a must in order to have a healthy plant.

Avocado Tree in Your Garden

If you like to plant it in your garden do it in summer, but have in mind that if you live anywhere where it gets cooler than 45 degrees F, you’ll need to bring them back indoors in the fall/winter, before the temperatures fall.

If you are lucky enough, your tree might produce fruits after 3-4 years, although it will more likely take 15 years for the  first fruits.

How To Grow Your Own Avocado Tree from Seed!

Juicy Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Here is a great alternative to the popular Pulled Pork Sandwiches using chicken meat instead. Great for those who avoid eating pork or simply prefer chicken. These sandwiches are equally delicious, juicy and aromatic as the original version. You can use beef as well, the only thing that will deffer is the cooking time of the meat.

For making the sandwiches we used drumsticks as they are the juiciest and most tender part of the chicken. The drumsticks should be rinsed and dried. We used a sharp knife to remove all the skin and fat then proceeded with cooking the meat. There is a secret ingredient that will make the meat ever more tender – beer! Also, we prepared our own spice mix which makes the meat even tastier. You can find instructions on how to prepare it bellow or you can use your favorite mix. The recipe is simple although it takes around 4 hours to prepare it. Don’t worry though, most of the time includes the cooking of the chicken. Here is what you’ll need to prepare these delicious juicy Pulled Chicken Sandwiches:

Ingredients

• 2.2 pounds chicken drumsticks


• 2 medium onions, chopped


• 4-5 garlic cloves


• 1 carrot


• 3-4 bay leaves


• 1 tsp. mixed spices


• 1 tsp. thyme


• 200 ml beer


• 400 ml chicken broth or water

For the spice mix

• 1 tbsp. garlic powder


• 1 tbsp. onion powder


• 1 tbsp. minced smoked paprika


• 1 tbsp. salt


• 1 tsp. pepper


• hot peppers by taste

For Serving

• 200 ml barbecue sauce


• 100 ml gravy from the meat


• 8 buns by choice


• coleslaw


• cheese


• caramelized onions

Preparation

1. Wash and dry the chicken drumsticks. Using a sharp knife remove the skins and all visible fat.

2. Mix all the dry spices and set them aside

3. Sprinkle the spice mixture all over the meat. Cut the onions and the carrot, leave the garlic cloves whole. Arrange them on the bottom of a baking dish and add the bay leaves. Pour the beer and the broth then arrange the meat. Sprinkle with thyme. Cover and bake in a previously heated oven at 330F for 3-4 hours.

4. Remove the baked meat from the baking dish and leave it to cool a bit so you can pull it easier.

5. Using 2 forks pull small pieces out of the meat. If you see any fat remove it together with the bones. Strain the gravy from the meat and set aside as you will need it later.

6. Mix the barbecue sauce with the gravy.

7. Add the mixture to the meat and mix it well.

8. Cut the buns and arrange 2 tbsp. of the meat. Add some caramelized onions, some cheese and coleslaw on top. Do the same with the rest of the buns.

Your delicious, juicy, aromatic Pulled Chicken Sandwiches are ready! Enjoy them with your family and friends and tell us how did you like them in the comments bellow.

 

 

 

 

Juicy Pulled Chicken Sandwiches