How to plant an avocado stone

In recent years, this fruit has been gaining prominence in our shopping basket. The avocado is not just the indisputable main constituent of the fittest and healthiest breakfasts, it also has many benefits. Among these, it helps to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels, it contains many vitamins, it is good for the heart (like olive oil, it contains oleic acid) and it helps you to feel full. As an added extra, it strengthens the body so that it can better absorb the nutrients from other vegetable foods.  

Apart from the positive aspects of the avocado, its texture and flavour are ideal for including in different dishes. It can be sliced on toast with cheese, oil, salt and some pepper; as guacamole accompanied by some nachos or it can even be used as a pesto sauce in pastas.  

And what’s the best thing of all? That with the avocado stone you can grow our own plant. But how do you plant an avocado stone?  In fact, it’s a very simple process.

Don’t despair. Perhaps, before you ask how to germinate an avocado seed you may feel a bit reluctant to do this, but it’s actually a very simple process. We tell you how below.  

How to germinate an avocado seed

Firstly, you need one of these fruits. Here is all the information about how to plant the avocado seed which, by the way, is more recommended during the spring than at other times of the year.

What you will need:

• An avocado (from which to remove the stone)
• three/four toothpicks
• a glass of water
• A lot of patience!

Steps to follow:

• Remove the stone from the avocado and wash it well.
  
  
• Insert three or four toothpicks horizontally into the centre of the stone leaving a bit of space between them. These will be the support during the following step.
  
  
• Fill a glass with water almost to the top and place the avocado stone on it so that the toothpicks hold it up and only half of the stone is immersed in the water.
    
• Which end should I place in the water? The part that is slightly pointed is the upper end, that is, where it sprouts from, so this has to be out of the water. The lower part should be submerged, as this is where the roots will grow from.
  
  
• Leave your glass with the avocado in a place where, preferably, it will get the sun. The water temperature should be warm.
  
  
• And now for the main ingredient: patience. You will need to wait for some weeks, approximately three or four, until you see the first stem. In the meantime, we recommend that it does not dry out and that the water is changed every two or three days.
  
  
• After this time, the stone will crack at the top and the stem will begin to grow. When it grows to around ten centimetres, it’s time to transplant it.
  
  
• To plant it, you will need some soil and fertiliser in a plant pot. Follow the same steps as you did at the start: leave the seed half covered by the soil, so that the top half remains uncovered.
  
  
• Finally, you need to water it often so that your avocado plant has the best conditions for growth.