After Dinner Gardening

One book that I flip through time and again is The After-Dinner Gardening Book by Richard W. Langer. It is witty and entertaining—both a guide and a series of anecdotes about growing plants from fruits and vegetables bought at the grocer’s or supermarket. The author describes his battles and triumphs growing all manner of things, from pineapples to litchis, papaya plants to coconuts. He usually starts with the seeds (sometimes the roots or the top of the plant, as with pineapples), and then takes us along on his journey discovering the conditions, planting techniques, history and uses of each plant.

When I was growing up, my father often had avocado pits stuck with toothpicks and balanced precariously over small jars of murky water, although I cannot actually remember any avocado plants that thrived after being started this way. I can also remember growing apples and oranges from seeds in the upstairs study, in labelled pots, and then tracking the unfurling of leaves and the plants’ growth for a school science experiment. The love of growing plants from seeds that would otherwise be tossed into the trash or compost bin is something I have never outgrown.

Avocados

Like the author, I had thought that the best way to grow avocado plants was to take the pit, skewer it with a toothpick on either side, and then suspend it over a jar of water. I learned the hard way that the tendency is for the water to sour, meaning that the pit would have to be thrown out. The better way to do things is to use a potting mix, and plant the pit directly in the pot. Be sure to leave a few centimetres of pit uncovered right at the top, since sunlight will help the process along. Many people give up on their avocado pits well before they should. Keep watering regularly and hoping for the best, since it may take several months for the roots to emerge and the pit to split so that the stem can develop and emerge. Leaves will follow shortly.

Make sure that your avocado plant gets plenty of sun, and that you rotate the plant if it is further from a light source, since the stems will bend towards the light and grow crookedly if you are not careful. The good news is that after all that waiting, avocados develop rapidly once the stem and leaves begin to emerge. You will find that the plant grows upwards at an almost alarming rate—sometimes, with several sets of new leaves emerging since the last time you checked. Prune some of these back if you want to encourage fuller growth and a bushier plant.

Langer suggests letting some avocado plants shoot upwards, and repeatedly pruning others, to fit particular locations in your home. He does caution you, though, to make sure you have a series of large pots on hand, and even a sturdy stand, since avocados outgrow their pots at an alarming rate, so that you may soon find yourself with a plant so tall (and a pot so heavy) you barely know what to do with it. Make sure you let the pit sit out for a day or two before planting it, so that the thin layer around the pit can dry and be peeled away. I have kept some of the avocado plants I have grown, and have given away dozens as gifts—some even to people I have lost track of, now. I would love to know how some of my first plants are doing—they may well be ten or fifteen years old by now, and I would love to know what they look like!