There are only a few people out there that will say no to a good guacamole dip, but with the price of avocados going through the roof, many are beginning to give up on the tasty, healthy vegetable as of late.
However, things don’t have to be this way, and you could save yourself hundreds of dollars every year on avocados alone, so long as you’ve got a sizeable garden of your own to plant an avocado tree in.
Contrary to popular belief, avocados don’t necessarily have to be grown in a hotter, more humid climate, and they can easily thrive in the much more dry climate that we have here in the US.
Sure, you’re going to end up with avocados that won’t live up to the name of those grown in South America, but considering these will be grown with your own effort, they may just end up tasting better than ever before.
Backyard avocados for dummies
Even though we did say that growing your own avocados in the US is possible, this doesn’t apply to every state, and unless you’re in Florida, California, or Southern Texas, your chances of successfully growing a tree are slim.
Despite this, there’s no reason not to try, and if you can set up a greenhouse large enough to house an avocado tree, you may be able to have fresh guac on your table within only a few years.
At the end of the day, it’s all about learning something new, and even a failed tree can be considered a learning experience, as it’ll help you understand what you should do differently next time and what can be improved upon.
Naturally, you’ll want to grow the tree in a climate similar to that of Mexico, which is where avocados come from, but slightly lower temperatures will suffice if all the other conditions are met.
What are avocados
You may be surprised to find out that not all avocados are created equal, as Mexican avocados are much more tolerant of the cold than their Indian cousins, and the same applies to Guatemalan avocados.
Another thing to note is that the most popular variety here in the US is a crossbreed of Mexican and Guatemalan, which was actually created by accident, as one horticulturist Rudolph Hass had accidentally grown both varieties in his garden back in the 1920s.
Upon discovering that the anomaly in his garden tasted better than any other avocados his family had eaten prior to that, Hass saw a business opportunity, patenting his tree and creating a contract with a commercial grower, which now supplies 80% of America’s avocado market share.
Avocado flowers
While growing avocados in your garden may be a great thing for your wallet, it’s often overlooked that the avocado tree blossoms beautifully in the spring, and while these trees can self-pollinate, bees can certainly lend a helping hand.
An interesting thing about these flowers is that even though they have both male and female parts, only one set is active at a given time, meaning that a male flower that opens one day will reopen as a female flower the day after.
As complex as this may sound, it’s not too common, and it only happens when the temperatures fluctuate between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, at which time pollen-hungry insects will aid the plant in cross-pollination, allowing for further genetic mutations and improvements to the end product.
This helps create new varieties of avocado, and with careful cross-breeding of avocado varieties, we may just be able to create the ultimate guacamole in just a few years.
The prep
Essentially, growing avocados in your garden doesn’t require a lot of space, but you’ll have to put in a lot of work and dedication to make that tree grow to its full size one day.
A big hole is one way to start, and you’ll want to keep all the dirt you took out to put back in the hole once you’ve planted your young avocado tree in it, after which you’ll want to water it regularly and protect it from hail and snow at all costs throughout the year.
The roots are fairly delicate, and if you want the tree to grow without any difficulties, handling the roots will be your main concern, as a single one of them snapping off during the planting process could impede the tree’s growth.
Finally, you should go to your local agriculture store and get any supplements they may have for avocados, as American soil may not be packed with all the minerals that would normally be found in soil from the land your avocado variety is native to.
Keep trying, and even if your first tree doesn’t work out, there’s no reason not to try again.