The avocado, which is considered a superfood, is enjoying a real hype around the world. However, industrial cultivation to meet the strong demand is also heavily criticized – especially in times of water scarcity, record droughts and sustainability.
Unfortunately, in our latitudes it is very difficult to harvest fruits, but the decorative tree is all the easier to pull out of a seed. In the following guide, you will find out how you can enjoy the frugal houseplant and in your apartment in the future.
Starting an Avocado Seed: What is Required for Successful Cultivation in Soil?
You need the following utensils for avocado seed cultivation in soil:
- Seed of a ripe avocado (e.g. Hass variety)
- Plant pot (plastic or terracotta)
- Potting soil (if possible, rich in humus with clay / sand)
- Sharp knife & tablespoon
- Water
- Bright and warm location
- Patience
In the following paragraph, you will learn how to best prepare the avocado pit for successful cultivation.
Prepare the Avocado Seed Optimally
First cut a ripe avocado (e.g. Hass variety) lengthwise with a sharp knife and remove the seed (alternatively with a tablespoon). Now wash off the remains of the pulp under running water and also carefully remove the brown skin.
This is important to keep the risk of mold to a minimum. Be careful when slicing the fruit and peeling it, be careful not to damage the core!
In the next paragraphs, we explain the further steps in detail.
Plant the Avocado Seed in Soil and Let it Germinate
There are two well-known methods for growing avocados. How to germinate an avocado seed in water is summarized for you in a separate guide. In the following, we therefore deal with the direct method in soil.
First, fill a suitable container (terracotta or plastic pot) with humus-rich soil. Tip: Cultivation also works well with commercially available flower or green plant soil, but this is ideally mixed with mineral components such as sand / clay and loosened up (ratio 1:1).
Next, stick the flattened side of the avocado seed about halfway deep into the soil in the pot. Make sure that the top half is not covered in soil and is exposed to the air.
Now all you have to do is water the seed well and place it in a bright and warm place (caution: no direct sun).
The balancing act of correct irrigation is essential for successful cultivation. Constant but moderate moisture in the container is ideal so that the core can germinate well. Make sure that there is neither waterlogging nor dryness.
Tip from our editors: Put the core in a medium-sized pot (e.g. 14 or 17 cm in diameter) with a drainage hole and saucer right at the beginning, then you don’t have to repot for a certain period of time and the young plant has enough space to grow powerful.
The drainage hole in the bottom helps prevent waterlogging. Whether you prefer a clay or plastic pot is entirely up to you. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
After a few months, you can watch a small seedling fight its way up from the cracked core and grow bigger and bigger. The cultivation was successful!
As already mentioned, there are two well-known ways of growing the avocado seed. Below is an interesting comparison.
Video: Potting a Successfully Sprouted Avocado Seed
In the following YouTube video, you can see the individual steps of potting a successfully sprouted avocado seed in dirt.
Finally, you will receive a brief summary of avocado seed cultivation in soil.
Conclusion: Plant Avocado Seeds Directly in Soil
In our attempt to germinate the avocado seed in a pot with soil, everything worked perfectly.
Compared to the water bath method, however, we were able to determine that the first visible successes were a long time coming.
The simple reason for this is that you cannot see the subterranean rooting in the ground, but first have to wait until the seedling has broken through to the top.
We have also found that the soil variant requires a little more finesse when it comes to watering, as it never dries out completely, but also never Waterlogging with associated mold may occur.
A major advantage of the soil method is, that you can save yourself repotting later in the cultivation process and simply leave the core with the plant in the pot.
This significantly minimizes the risk of plant shock and possible mistakes when potting the fragile little plant with fine roots.
We wish you lots of success and fun with the avocado seed cultivation – just try it yourself!
This page was created by Micha Gengenbach. Have a look at Micha’s author page to get further information on his background, a list of all his articles, as well as an overview on his other responsibilities on Nature Globe.