Home Gardening: The Avocado

As a healthy source of nutrition, the avocado provides for a nutritious key dietary supplement whether purchased at a local grocer or grown right in your own home garden. For many individuals seeking to improve dietary health, avocado fruits have become a common staple of a dietary program. Unfortunately, with the cost associated with purchasing avocados often preventing consumers from enjoying the savory taste on a frequent basis, some American families are beginning to grow and produce their own avocados right in the home backyard garden.

With a nutty and smooth flavor, avocados obtain their richness and creamy texture, best, when grown in ideal climate conditions. Since California provides the most optimal of growing conditions, many avocados we eat today are grown in the southern California region. However, avocado trees can be grown in any home garden provided the soil and care are provided as recommended ensuring optimal growing. When growing an avocado tree, in a backyard, choosing to plant a grafted plant will, generally, produce a beautiful and tasty avocado in as little as two years in comparison to growing the avocado tree from seeds which can take up to 20 years to produce fruit. With the ease of pollination, it is not uncommon to find many avocado trees adorning a yard where one tree may have been initially planted.

Planting an avocado tree in a backyard is not a decision to be taken lightly. Producing, in most cases, an average of 60 pounds of avocado fruit per year, finding a method for disposing of excess avocado fruit can be challenging. As an alternative to eating the fruit, some home gardeners consider grinding down the avocado leaf, avocado skin and avocado seed into a powder like substance for use to relief symptoms associated with diarrhea, stomach upset and even for use to remedy bacterial infections.

When unable to grow your own avocado tree, finding the perfect avocado at your local grocer is easy to do. While purchasing an avocado at the local grocer may be more costly then growing your own, the selection is plentiful. When purchasing a grocer provided avocado, look for indications of ripeness, including dark coloring, average size with a feeling of heaviness and an avocado that is firm to the touch with some resistance to slight squeezing.

As with any home gardening project, researching the gardening requirements will ensure a more optimal avocado growing experience. When unable to provide the right gardening environment, purchasing avocado fruit at a local grocer will provide for the best nutritional alternative. For more information regarding avocado plants and home gardening, visit www.hgtv.com.