Stick three toothpicks into the seed at an angle, avoiding the fault lines and place in a plastic drinking cup or jar with the bottom submerged in water. The height of the battens should be 1.5 to 2.3 m long, which allows for 30 to 50 cm burial of the batten and 1.2 to 1.8 m height for the shelter. REMOVE & CLEAN PIT. Add a layer of citrus & fruit mix to plant into. There are no set rules when it comes to pruning avocado trees. So, by mixing a bit of warm water, I made sure that the water in the jars stayed at room temperature. Being from a tropical country, it’s no wonder that I miss some of our beautiful fruit trees. Thereafter granular fertilizers can be applied to the soil 40 cm around the stem, being careful to avoid contact with the stem. Avocados are unusual as they do not ripen on the tree, they only ripen once they picked. Avoid stamping the soil too firmly or with your feet as this can damage the roots and avocado roots like loose soil to grow into. Your experience is fairly typical though growing avocados from seed tends to produce fruit and physiologies that can be highly variable. Avocado trees grown from seed may produce fruit after about 3 years, may take 12 years or more, or may not ever produce fruit. Let’s grow big healthy Avocado Plants together! If your avocado seed is perfectly round it can be hard to tell, but most will have a slightly pointy end. Instead, I stuck three toothpicks on the seeds – just enough to provide a support for the seeds without damaging them. Selection, ripening, preparation & storage, Remove the seed from the avocado and clean the flesh from it. Place the stake facing the prevailing winds so that the wind pushes the tree away from the stake. It’s also recommended to create a shelter using 4 battens and some shade netting. Avocados naturally grow huge so to keep it small, pinch out the top two or four leaves when it is about 17cm. The main harvest season for Hass avocados (the main variety) in New Zealand is September to April. Varieties. You likely won’t find out until the plant is between 8-20 years old. When watering your tree, soak the soil inside the dripline well and then allow it to dry out before watering again (7-10 days) to maintain good soil aeration. The New Zealand avocado industry is vibrant and growing with a vision and strategy in place to quadruple sales to $280m and triple productivity by 2023. The top of the potting mix should sit 1 – 2cm above the level of the surrounding soil. My parents have a huge avocado tree in their backyard, which was given to them as a sapling by a friend. ... All avocados sold in New Zealand are grown in New Zealand. Come mid spring you can plant. If they are picked before they are mature avocados will remain rock hard and never ripen. Tree should be soaked as soon as possible after planting, however, to avoid rots, it is important that water does not form a puddle around the collar of the tree. Pot up your germinated avocado seed into a peat-free compost mix. Push the toothpicks in far enough that they feel stable. Just pop a fresh seed into some quality potting mix with the wider side of the seed facing downwards. Wet the soil around the hole prior to planting. In summer, fertilize weekly with a fertilizer with nitrogen, indicated by a … There is often a crossover period during the day where both male and female phase flowers are present, providing the opportunity for pollination to occur ‘A’ type avocado trees typically open as female in the morning of day one and male in the afternoon day two. The dirt method is just as simple. Check the depth of the hole is correct by placing the tree, still in it’s bag, into the hole. Trees grown from seed are incredibly variable and therefore might not ever produce fruit. When she said that she grows the avocados herself, I thought “I can grow avocados too!”. Some of the plants grew legumes, but not enough to feed the family   This time, since the avocado seeds are much bigger than beans, I didn’t think that by putting them on damp cotton balls would work. Deadwood removal at any time is encouraged and major structural pruning in summer should be avoided to prevent sunburn. Fertilize Weekly in Summer. The question was how to get those seeds to sprout when I didn’t have a glasshouse? Choose a container that has good drainage holes in the bottom and fill it with loose, fast-draining, rich soil. Growing avocados has become popular as gardeners recognise that given the right conditions, growing avocados isn’t too difficult. Roots and a stem will begin to grow and when they are 6 … Be sure to have irrigation and shade house ready to go. 1. Step 2: The Seed - Dirt Method. A well-resourced 6-7 year old tree in the right climate and environment with little fruit can produce in excess of 400 pieces of fruit. Now it’s time to share with you how easy it is to grow an avocado seed into a beautiful and unique indoor plant, or a fruit bearing tree! Remove the seed from the avocado and clean the flesh from it Skewer the seed around the centre with four toothpicks ensuring you locate the small bump at the bottom of the seed. Weather, tree size, nutrition and the previous seasons current crop load can all influence return flowering and the amount of fruit in a season. Still in its plastic wrap, place the base of the tree into a bucket of water and fully submerge for a few minutes until all the potting mix is soaked. It’s taken me about 4 months to see any sprouting happening. Ensure the bottom of the seed remains in contact with the water by topping up the water in the glass as required. Irrigation in the first weeks will probably be more frequent because most of the roots (all of them for the first days) will be in the potting mix which can dry very fast. The best way to find out if your avocados are ready to be picked is to pick one, if it ripens within two weeks then the rest should be ready too. To my big surprise, avocados do grow here in NZ (forgive my ignorance! 6 Blake Street, Waimakariri, Rangiora 7400, Eat the Rainbow - The Health Benefits of a Colourful Diet, Unlocking the Omegas: A Guide to Omega Fatty Acids & How to Get an Optimum Ratio, VitalityNZ are winners of the NutraIngredients-Asia Product of the Year Award - Omega 3, NZ Blackcurrants Raise cGP in Parkinson's Patients in 28 Day Trial.