Lima beans seem to be touted as the ‘go to’ project for growing in school (see the fine work of a student named Noah on the right). Just hang the seeds in water or on wet paper towel and watch the magic happen. Everything seems to stop there. Kids go home with soggy beans encased in a wet paper towel and plastic bag only to discover that the dirt from the side of the house and the old coffee cup are not great potting mediums. Sometimes it works, other times not. When it does work you get a bean plant; then what? Were you prepared for the next step, the sticks, supports, trellises and the like that help the plant to fruiting, probably not. Now you have a plant that slowly dies, gets dried out, overwatered and otherwise forgotten.
When you age you get that fondness kindled again with the ‘grow your own avocados. You buy an avocado and make toast then follow the instructions you found on the internet for dangling the seed over water. Sometimes you get action, most of the time not. You celebrate when that first root emerges and starts growing in the container and maybe you get a shoot go up with cute leaves. AFTER THAT ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE, AND NOT THE POSITIVE LOOK AT THIS THING GROW TYPE OF HELL EITHER.
From Wikipedia (please make a donation to the Wikimedia Foundation) one learns that “The avocado (Persea americana), a tree likely originating from south central Mexico,[2][3][4] is classified as a member of the flowering plant family Lauraceae.[2] The fruit of the plant, also called an avocado (or avocado pear or alligator pear), is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed.[5]“
To be successful in any venture we should always consider our environment. Where we live is important and a lot of time we try plants in the environmentally controlled zone called ‘home’. We forget, if we ever knew, that an avocado is a tropical and moisture loving plant. Nothing says good luck like an 18C, 25% humidity, uncirculated air, north facing windowed environment like a kitchen table or plant stand. Are you sensing some of the issues here?
During Covid-19 I have worked from my desk at home more than I would like. On my desk I have 5 small succulents that are part of a terrarium, created as part of a brides maids outing (I got this from my daughter who is useless with plants so it was a survival gift) and an avocado plant that I have grown from seed. The succulents started at about an inch and were planted in a teardrop oval vase (fish bowl), they were so cute. Now one has been replanted with the avocado and is a comfortable 1/2″ tall and just hanging with the avocado. The other four are over 5″ tall, growing out of the top of the container, looking like a bunch of plants trying to escape.
I have been an amateur avocado-er for many years. Not an overly successful one but certainly one that merits the amateur status. One year, tired of seeing all sorts of cups with avocados full of toothpicks (the traditional way one might say) all over the kitchen the family gave me the AvoSeedo. It came complete with a little flag hole and ready to be labelled toothpick flags. Avocado 2.0 had begun.
This 21st century device would make the seeds grow better than ever and soon we would have a forest of avocado trees throughout the house. Really, the AvoSeedo works, but not much more than well placed toothpicks in a seed over a glass. What the AvoSeedo did was focus my attention on getting a plant worthy of display and that, it finally did.
Over time I noticed that once sprouted, the avocado is tender and fragile. I have had several make it to 6-10″ in height but then the leaves died and the plant thereafter too. The one that prompted this writing has by far outlived and outgrown all its predecessors. It has also helped me accept and contemplate the impact of Covid-19 and working from home. Watching it grow has given me comfort in the future and some needed distractions from the pandemic that is so harsh on so many. The succulents have also added to the enjoyment of growth. I am more aware of each day’s progress. I have even learned that succulent leaves will become tipped/ringed with red and that is a good thing as they are blushing and really enjoying their space.
Now the little escapee succulent you see in the bottom of the avocado pot is thriving under the watchful gaze of the avocado. I think sometimes that the little one is actually doing a ‘neener-neener’ to his four brethren over in the fish bowl.
“Neener-Neener”
This journey down the life of an amateur domestic avocado grower, with some succulents on the side, has prompted me to wonder why the leaves on my plant are dried at the tips. Searching the internet for “dry tips” presents everything from cotton swabs, sobriety, dental appliances and hair product. Using “avocado dry tips” at least gets you some horticultural information earlier but still, lots of products with avocado, mostly for the hair.
Eventually I found what I was looking for and now must consider factors such as soft or hard water, sunlight, soil type, nutrition, humidity and a whole lot of general horticultural stuff that reminds you there is not an ‘easy’ button when dealing with living things; not a big surprise. Avocado 2.0 is now 2.1 and I look forward to continued growth.
Life in the 3rd Sector 