Avocados

[Smooth Hound]

Does anyone out there have any idea how to grow avocados?

[digiveg]

Growing them is easy enough...but getting a crop is a whole other thing. First, you can sprout the 'pips' by sticking toothpicks into them and suspending them so that the lower half (the fat end) is in water. Once they put out a few roots and a main shoot they can be planted into any reasonable soil. That works just about anywhere. However, avocados require male AND female plants in order to pollinate and produce fruit, and as a long season is needed they won't do well in the UK.

In Mendocino county, n. California, are possibly the northenmost avocados in the continental USA that actually produce fruit. In s. Cal they're common - nice long sunny season!

I wouldn't try them in Inverness...

Where are you, by the way?

[the.fee.fairy]

oooh, i've been trying to grow them for years!

Where do you stick the toothpick? I've always just planted them in soil before...they've never grown mind, just rotted slowly. However, now you've said about letting the roots grow, i understand!

[ina]

It does work in soil too - but they need it nice and warm. I've been successful on top of the immersion heater or the electric radiator... But the best results were achieved with seeds that I'd thrown on the compost heap!

[the.fee.fairy]

ooh, i'll have to try putting them on the radiator in the winter then (radiators no on at the moment...).

Not sure what mum's going to say... :D

[hmk]

My children and I have just got one to root by balancing the base on water in a small vase, like you do with hyacinths. Must pot it up this week, but they've been interested to watch the germination.
The last one I grew I just stuck in compost and forgot.

Hazel

[Wormella]

there's a very useful book called 'the pip book' by kieth Mossman. it's out of print but there's still a few copies floating around.

It's worth a try and has step by step instructions on growing most things, avacados included

[caithnesscrofter]

I've got a 5 year old avocado I just recently gave to my mate... it's huge.. but, nae fruit. They need tropical conditions to bare fruit. I've heard of people in the north of Scotland getting bananas off plants in indoor greenhouses so... possible then... but, I know it takes years before they are ready to bare fruit anyways.

Avocados take up to a year and half to germinate if just buried in soil. I've done this without using any heat source at all. You can take an old spaghetti sauce jar and fill with water. take four toothpicks or in my case i used match sticks and punched tiny holes half way up on all four sides with the pointy side up... rest it over the mouth of the jar with the bottom half immersed in water and keep topping it up, keep it sited in a windowsill.. it will germinate in no time.. just keep remembering to top it up.

[chadspad]

I had no trouble getting mine to grow just in pots. I only planted them a few months ago and theyve all come up - 1 is a good couple of foot tall now.

[digiveg]

Caithnesscorfter - I gotta ask: is that tipi something you live in? 'Cos I used to live in one, and loved it. But mine was a bit further south than Caithness...

[the.fee.fairy]

Wooh! i got a copy of the pip book on its way.

I was bidding for one on ebay, but it went too high for me. So, i looked on abebooks.com and they have a copy! It did mean i had to buy other books too...

Avocadoes, here we come!

[caithnesscrofter]

Caithnesscorfter - I gotta ask: is that tipi something you live in? 'Cos I used to live in one, and loved it. But mine was a bit further south than Caithness...

no... my brother-in-law lives in it in Perthshire... we were just there a few weeks ago.. that's when I took the pic. :-) I think they are going to take it down for the winter tho.

[2steps]

I planted an avocado stone years ago. It took ages to come up but did and grew fast. Unfortunatly it got damaged when we moved and never recovered. None of us like avacado but both my babies did so when weaning this one I'm goin go plant another