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!

Best Vegetables to Grow in the Shade

If your garden has a limited sun, it doesn’t mean that you won’t  be able to grow vegetables. While it is true that all vegetables do require a certain amount of sunlight in order to grow and thrive, some vegetables need significantly less sunlight than others. Gardeners who have shady yards can grow shade loving vegetables with no problems.

Generally, leafy vegetables are your best bet if you are gardening in a shady area. Vegetables to grow in your shade garden include all types of lettuces, cabbages, spinach and endive. Although they are not as shade tolerant as the leafy types of vegetables, such as lettuce, root vegetables are your second best bet when growing vegetables in a shady garden. Potatoes , beets, turnips and carrots are root vegetables that you can grow in you garden. Here are some shade loving vegetables that you may consider growing this year…

Kale

Include kale as one of the vegetables you grow in your garden if you want to receive the fantastic health benefits provided by the cruciferous vegetable family You’ll notice only a small reduction in growth if comparing kale grown in partial shade with kale grown in full sun.

Lettuce

Lettuce is perfect for shadier gardens because the shade protects it from the sun’s heat, preventing it from bolting as quickly. Lettuce needs rich, fertile soil that holds moisture, so work in plenty of well-rotted organic matter in advance.

Mesclun

One of the best crops for shady gardens. Grows in as little as two hours of sun per day and handles dappled shade well. The delicate leaves of this salad mix can be harvested in about four weeks, and as long as you leave the roots intact, you should be able to get at least three good harvests before you have to replant.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a great choice for your home garden. It is filled with much needed vitamins and minerals. Broccoli prefers cooler temperatures and it is one of the few vegetables that doesn’t require full sun, which means it can thrive in partial shade. You can even grow broccoli in containers placed in partial shade. Partial shade can even prevent plants from bolting (going to seed) in areas with warm spells. Provide a rich, well-drained soil, with plenty of compost.

Cauliflower

Just like broccoli, cauliflower can be grown in partial shade as it is a cool crop as well. If trees are the reason for the shade, you can consider thinning the branches to increase light penetration in the gardening site. Check for powdery mildew and other diseases that usually infest cauliflowers. To ensure that you get a pretty white head of cauliflower like this one, you may need to pull the leaves up over the head and tie them together to shade, or blanch, it.

Culinary herbs

Volumes can be written on the healing aspect of herbs, so plant some in your garden you won’t regret it. While many culinary herbs need full sun, chives, cilantro, garlic chives, golden marjoram, lemon balm, mint, oregano and parsley will usually perform well in shadier gardens.

Cabbage

The cabbage, or brassica, family is huge, and includes everything from the familiar red, white or green varieties with tightly packed leaves, to cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts .Give cabbage plenty of moisture and be sure to feed it through the season,a  compost tea every two weeks will do the job.

Potato

Potato is an important food staple and the number one vegetable crop in the world.The potato belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos. Plant your potatoes as soon as soil is workable in early spring.

Peas and beans

Beans and peas are relatively easy to grow, making them a good choice for a first-time gardener or a new garden plot Growing these crops in partial shade, getting a good harvest will take longer. Try bush and dwarf varieties rather than pole varieties.

Beets

Garden beets are a cool-season vegetable with a richly colored root that can be cooked or pickled, the greens can be sauteed or used in salads. Beets are nutritious vegetables that grow in partial shade. Grow beets in rows, and make sure to plan the rows in east-west length. By doing so, the vegetables can harvest maximum sunlight for better growth.

 

Best Vegetables to Grow in the Shade

Easy Vegetable Seed Sowing Guide

Growing your own vegetables is so rewarding. You have total control of the process and can be certain that what you eat is healthy and safe. And it is easy if you know what, when and where to sow!

Most veggies are easy to grow even by beginners. Of course, different vegetables require different conditions. This is why you should plan the sowing and growing carefully. To make things easier for you, we are sharing useful tips on how to sow and grow the most popular vegetables out there.

Usually the sowing of the vegetables starts when the weather gets warmer which is around March, depending on the climate and the year of course. It is probably the best to wait for April especially if you are sowing for the first time. For those who want to sow outside, in the garden choosing the right vegetables is very important. Try carrots, turnips, beetroot, lettuces, rocket, radishes, broccoli, calabrese, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts, leeks, leaf beet and spring onions. If you have weeds, than sowing in pots and trays is a smarter choice. March/April is the perfect time to sow brassica crops, lettuces, leeks, beans and peas. If you have a greenhouse consider summer salads, French beans and herbs.

When May comes the weather is already nice and warm and you can sow lots of vegetables. If you have already done the job in March/April your veggies might have already started to grow so prepare for weeding! Besides the crops we have mentioned for the previous two months, for outside sowing you can add herbs, summer salads, fennel and sweetcorn (only if the weather and soil are warm). If you can place your trays and pots somewhere warm you can sow courgettes, squashes, cucumbers and melons this month as well.

June is the last month to sow summer crops. Keep your courgettes, squashes, cucumbers and melons in pots and trays and add some oriental salads (mizuna, mibuna, mustard greens etc) to your garden.

July and August are the months when your vegetables will grow the most. They will need plenty of sunshine. but also enough rain to grow perfectly. This doesn’t mean you should stop sowing! Now is the time to start sowing vegetables for the winter and the beginning of the next year. For outside, sow winter radishes and swedes, oriental greens (mizuna, mibuna, komatsuna, mustard greens etc) and turnip greens, spring cabbage (from late July), bunching and spring onions.

The last sowing can be done in September/October. These includes winter salads and greens in the ground, bunching onions and broad beans and hardy peas. Also it is time to think about protecting your crops over the winter.

The end of the year is for tidying up your garden and getting it ready for the new year. You can still plant garlic outside just make sure you choose the biggest cloves. And don’t forget composting!

Before deciding which vegetables to choose and when to start sowing check out our easy “Sow What?” guide that includes when to start indoors and move outside the most popular plants for sowing in Spring:

Easy Vegetable Seed Sowing Guide