4
Set it on a sunny
windowsill. BE PATIENT!
It can take anywhere from
2-4 weeks, and up to at least 8
weeks to get a sprout. Here is
what will happen:
Grow an
Avocado
Pit
after you are
finished making
guacamole with
your avocado, save
the pit so you can
grow your own
avocado tree. It's
easy and it will
grow Huge!
1
After you remove the pit
from the avocado carefully
(without cutting it), wash
off all the avocado fruit. Be
careful not to remove the
brown skin on the pit – that is
the seed cover.
Avocado pits have a 'bottom'
(from where the roots will
grow), and a 'top' (from which
the sprout will grow). The
slightly pointier end is the top,
and the flat end is the bottom.
In order to get your pit to
sprout, you will need to place
the bottom root end in water.
2
Push three or four
toothpicks into your
avocado pit about a 1/3
of the way from the bottom
(large end of the pit).
3
Suspend the avocado over
a glass (the toothpicks
will hold it up). The pit
should be in 1/2 inch or so of
water. Keep the level constant
by adding water as needed.
DON'T change the water too
often.
Root
The upper portion of the seed
must be exposed to allow new
stems to grow so don't bury it
all the way under the ground.
The avocado should be potted
in a large clay pot in a light
sandy soil mixture.
Sometimes avocado plants will
begin growing fruit after they're
3 or 4 years old, others take
15+ years to grow fruit,
and some never do.
But it's fun to
grow it anyway!
Toothpicks
• The top of the avocado pit
will dry out and form a crack,
and the outer brown seed skin
will come off.
• The crack will extend all
the way to the bottom of the
avocado pit, and through the
crack at the bottom, a tiny root
will begin to appear.
• A stem will start to grow
from the top of the pit.There
may be more than one stem
and these should always be
left alone. When the stem
reaches 6 inches, cut it back to
3 inches; this will make a bushy,
leafy plant.
5
You can plant your tree
in soil after it's about 6
inches tall. Remove or
break toothpicks off before
planting.
Stem
avocado tree!
OfficialKidsMag.com • SepteMBer 2020 • 27
