Dancing with Avocados

All my friends tell me I have a green thumb but I just like the work of making something grow. As long as I can remember I have always had plants around me. I’m one of those people who gets a cutting from something and then begins to grow them like mad. This is where the green thumb part comes in because plants seem to respond to my touch. All kinds of plants! In fact, the only plant that has refused to fall under my spell are African Violets. They are a rather high strung lot and despite lots of care have consistently resisted the pull of my caress so I stir clear of them. Everything else if fair game.

I like avocados but Alex loves them and probably if given a choice would eat nothing else. One day recently I decided to try my hand at growing them. Alex gave me a million reasons why they would not grow but I pressed ahead anyway.

As always click each photo for a better view.

First comes the rooting

The rooting process is pretty straightforward in that you should first eat an avocado and save the seed. No problem there... Let the seed dry out and next suspend it in a glass of water with toothpicks.

This little beauty is almost ready to go. I found out that in order to get fruit (an avocado) you have to have at least two trees so I have several in various stages of sprouting.

After about two to three weeks if lucky and patient you will begin to see signs of life sprout out through the top of the seed. You almost feel it is a chick trying to break free from an egg and you should provide encouragement.

Dirt and growth

Little by little the sprout works its way out of the seed. Once it does it is time to place it in dirt. I know this is going to sound strange but at this point you want to slow growth. The leaves at the top should be pinched back to allow the trunk to get strong and hardy, otherwise it will grow too fast and become stringy. The stringy part is important because they don't like wind.

While growing these I learned all Hass avocado trees are descended from a single "mother tree" that was raised by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass, of La Habra Heights California. He patented the tree in 1935.





The makings of a tree
Following the pinching stage the plant begins to get stronger and stronger, and once the trunk is strong enough the plant will override the pinching process and sprout more leaves to get taller.

It is truly a sight to behold as the tree gets bigger and bigger. And, true to form Alex asked me to grow one for him. He is now the proud owner of the beginnings of an avocado tree. I will keep you updated as we grow our avocado farm. If we only get a few avocados it will be well worth it because I learned in some cultures they are considered aphrodisiacs and contain 60 percent more potassium per ounce than bananas. Is this a great fruit or what?

Next stop... Jackfruit!