How to grow avocados from seeds that you can buy at the supermarket ~The Demogorgon's growth story~
Hello, I'm Shiraga, the CEO of SoCalization, which aims to turn Japan into Southern California through food culture!
As we enter our third year since business began, we have gained many talented marketing members who have been writing many blog articles. It's been a while since my last blog post, and today's article is about "How to grow avocados from seeds using avocados that you can buy at the supermarket!"
Avocados are an essential part of the food culture of Southern California. SoCalization was founded in February 2020, and the following year, on April 5, 2021, we started growing avocados from seeds at home.
We started by growing it hydroponically, then planted it in a pot, and it's now thriving nicely, as you can see in the photo above!
As a manager, I sometimes see the growth of avocados as the growth of my company, and when an avocado sprouts or puts on a new leaf, it gives me energy, like "This guy is working hard, so I'll work hard too!" This may be a recommended hobby for startup managers.
So, without further ado, I'll introduce how to grow an avocado I named "Demogorgon" (the reason will be explained later) along with its growth record. I've referred to various websites, and the contents include my impressions and advice after growing it, as well as how to deal with problems, so I hope it will be helpful.
table of contents:
- Seed preparation
- Hydroponics
- Growth Phase
- How to set
- Water change frequency/recommended containers
- Potted plants
- What you need
- Watering
- fertilizer
- others
- Summer management
- Measures against mold in winter
- Leaf management
1. Seed preparation
Avocados that are commonly seen in supermarkets come from countries such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Peru, but after doing some research it seems that those from Mexico are the best.
The reason is that Mexican avocados, which grow in Mexico, where there are both hot and cold climates, can withstand the cold winters of Japan, which has four seasons. Peru and the Dominican Republic are relatively close to the equator, so it makes sense that they would be vulnerable to the cold.
In my case, the timing varied, but I grew 4-5 seeds hydroponically from around April to June.
I didn't record where they were grown, but my advice to anyone looking to start growing avocados is that it's important to grow multiple seeds .
Some of the roots stopped growing, while others did not even grow roots. In the end, two of them grew hydroponically to the point where they sprouted, and I was able to grow them in pots.
Wash the seeds you have selected thoroughly . *As we will explain later, there is no harm in removing the thin skin of the seeds.
2. Hydroponics
Once you have selected your seeds, the next step is hydroponics.
Growth Phase
The phases of growth are as follows:
How to insert a toothpick
Insert a toothpick into the avocado as shown in the photo below and float the seed in water.
The core of an avocado seed is in the center, so it's fine as long as you don't pierce it too far in.
One thing to note is that the top and bottom are important ! When avocado seeds are grown hydroponically, they split open, the roots start to grow from the bottom, and a sprout appears from the top, so if they are upside down, the roots will not grow properly.
The correct orientation is the same as when the avocado is displayed, with the top and bottom facing the same way, and when you peel it and look at the seed, but the side with the soft, fluffed edges should be placed in the water.
Water change frequency/recommended containers
First, change the water every day !
You could start out using a small jam jar as a container, as shown in the picture, but my advice is that it's better to start by growing it in a tall container, such as a 500ml plastic bottle (with the top removed).
The reason is that keeping the water clean and having space for the roots to grow are important for growth, so a long container with more water has the advantage of keeping the water fresh and allowing more room for the roots to grow downwards.
Also, I think that if the avocados can feel the space to grow downwards, they will feel more motivated to grow.
Please don't make the mistake of raising them in such a careless way.
As shown in the photo above, the seed membrane will peel off in the sun, so remove it and discard it as needed. (It seems that it's fine to peel it off from the beginning.)
If it grows well, it will look like this:
Wow, it looks similar to something!!!
Yes, it's the Demogorgon from the popular American mystery drama series, Stranger Things ! (Doesn't the splitting look similar? lol)
So the avocados in our house became Demogorgon No. 1 and No. 2.
Demogorgon No. 2's roots were bushy, unlike Demogorgon No. 1's.
As an aside, the latest season of Stranger Things, which will be released on May 27th this year, will be set in California! I don't know yet if it's set in "Southern" California, which is within the scope of SoCalization, but I'm hoping that's probably the case, since Hollywood is there too.
3. Potted plants
Once the seeds sprout and the roots start to grow, you can move on to hydroponics. However, changing the water is quite a hassle, and they don't look very good as interior decoration, so I recommend transplanting them into soil once they sprout.
What you need
The pots and soil I bought are as follows.
The selection criteria were that the roots were the same length as when the plant was transplanted + @ deep. Also, since we sell wine , we like the grape design.
Natural Applied Science Newstyle Gardening Soil 5L 949 yen
The key to choosing soil is drainage.
After doing some research I found that coarse mixed soil such as Akadama soil and Hyuuga soil have good drainage and are good for growing avocados, so I chose this.
It's growing well so I guess the soil is pretty good!
Apparently it's best to have the seeds half exposed, but I didn't find any information that explained why. That's what I started with, but now they're covered.
(I'll explain my views in a follow-up article , so check that out later too!)
Don't forget to buy a saucer ! I bought mine at a 100 yen shop.
If you cut up a 2 liter plastic bottle like this and make a pot, be sure to sew holes in various places to ensure good ventilation and drainage.
Watering
It is important to give them plenty of water from spring to autumn. I gave each one 500ml of water (←).
Soil that is too water-retentive can cause the roots to rot, so be sure to buy soil that has good drainage!
In winter, it is said that it is fine to water it a little when the soil dries out.
P.S.: 500ml for each plant may be too much even in summer. Depending on the depth of the pot, it is better to limit the amount of water to the point where it does not accumulate in the saucer.
4. Fertilizer
As for fertilizer, I'm self-taught, and learned it from a plant-loving Tiktoker, but I use egg shells and coffee powder. It seems more natural than chemical fertilizer, and above all, it's great that SDG allows me to use things that I would otherwise throw away.
@creative_explained Eggshell Plant Magic 🌱🤩 #garden #trick #tips #hack #planttips #foryou #fyp #learnfromme #alwayslearning #learnontiktok #gardening #magic #wow #diy ♬ original sound - Armen Adamjan
After cooking eggs, remove the shells, put them in a mug, add hot water, and crush the shells. This will produce juice that can be used as fertilizer, such as potassium. It is also good to sprinkle the powdered shells on the soil. I also crush some of them and mix them into the soil.
Let it cool before watering it, otherwise the Demogorgon will get burned...lol
Coffee powder is also said to be good for you, as it contains nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, etc.
In the video, cinnamon powder and club soda are also used, but I find it a hassle and other Tiktokers do it that way, so sometimes I just add the powder itself.
@creative_explained How to feed your plants & save money! 🌱🤩 #plants #plantfood #recycle #coffee #plantsoftiktok #gardening #diy #howto #plantbased #lifehacks #recipe ♬ original sound - Armen Adamjan
5. Other
It is convenient to place it on top of the outdoor unit in summer.
There is a depression on top of the air conditioner's outdoor unit so water can drain away, so no tray is needed. It's easy because you don't have to throw away the accumulated water when you water it. In the unlikely event that the air conditioner breaks down, we cannot take responsibility, but I'm operating with the mindset that it's probably fine because it was designed to be able to withstand rain.
Beware of mold in winter
The Demogorgons have survived the winter, but I was troubled by mold that sometimes appeared on the surface of the soil during the winter. I looked it up online and it seems that the solution is to spray the mold with alcohol spray . Other than that, I think it's best to reduce the amount of water you give them in winter (about once every 2-3 days, about 200ml) and stir the soil frequently to let air in.
Be careful not to let the alcohol come into contact with the avocado.
To add a little about winter, they do not grow very well. However, sometimes they suddenly start growing vigorously as if they had a sudden desire to do so.
Leaf management
This is similar to wine grape cultivation, but if there are too many leaves, the nutrients in the leaves will be dispersed and the grapes will not grow taller. (In grape cultivation, various management methods are used to limit the yield so that each fruit is concentrated.)
Therefore, I recommend plucking out any overlapping leaves to reduce the number of leaves and encourage growth.
* Opinion corrected in sequel article !
Remove any older leaves that are on top.
That's all for this blog post. Thank you for reading to the end.
SoCalization specializes in Southern California and sells alcoholic beverages. If you are interested in avocado cultivation, you probably also like Mexican food and craft beer.
Please check out the Southern California craft beers we carry here , even if you just want to have a quick drink!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let us know on social media!
Read the sequel : "How to grow avocados from seeds that you can buy at the supermarket - The Demogorgon's growth story (sequel)"
