Growing Things: Avocado Pits And Mango Seeds

It started with the green onions, and now the growing bug has expanded to include the avocado pits and mango seeds. Why, you ask, when fruit is unlikely (or, if at all, very far off in the future)? Because they’re living plants, absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen!

I was a tiny bit skeptical when I first began this growing experiment, thinking that it simply seemed too easy to sprout seeds this way…but it really works! It takes patience because the seeds don’t sprout overnight; it really takes about a week to see noticeable activity, and it’s subtle.

With the avocado pits, the first sign of growth was that they began to split. And continued to split, the crack growing larger. One day soon, I know a recognizable sprout will emerge.

With the mango seeds, it was particularly interesting to see what lay beneath that woody, almost furry husk.

Honey mango seed on top

Surprisingly, it was a flat but meaty-looking seed that quickly began to grow under the right conditions. Today, two obvious sprouts are visible growing from the top of the seed.

To get these dormant seeds to come to life, a little moisture, warmth, and dark worked their magic. The instructions I followed said to place the prepared seeds in damp paper towels, but the towels dried out quickly, so I began to spray them lightly each day with a mister to keep them damp before I put them back in the cupboard. Worked like a charm!

I’m already saving lemon seeds from water kefir-making to try to sprout next, as well as having a bit of ginger root that’s taken it upon itself to sprout without any assistance.

I also have some honey mango seeds, a different variety from the ones I’ve already begun growing, to sprout, too.

A more petite mango, so a more petite seed

If this becomes too successful, I’ll be overrun with houseplants grown from food – a wonderful example of using as much of a food item as possible!

Want to try sprouting fruit seeds and roots, yourself? Check out Empress of Dirt’s instructions.

2 thoughts on “Growing Things: Avocado Pits And Mango Seeds

  1. I also have grown a small avocado tree over two years in a pot in South Carolina. I put it outside and it got hit by the cold weather and all the leaves died. If I plant it, do you think the weather is good enough in zone 7B for it to survive and produce eventually? Or will it continually or eventually die from the cold?

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