Planting Avocado Seed

Planting an avocado seed is a lot of fun and most all of us have attempted it at one time or another.

One of the best ways to start an avocado from seed, however, is not by soaking it in water!

Try this fast and ideal way to start an avocado from seed:

1. Soak a healthy, undamaged seed in hot water around a temperature of 106 to 130°F (40 to 52°C) for 30 minutes

2. With a sharp, clean knife, cut off about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of the pointed end of the seed

3. Plant each avocado seed in a 6 inch (15cm) container that is filled with moist, light soil, like a good potting soil

4. Make sure the cut top of the seed sits just above the surface of the soil mix

5. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy and wet

6. Keep in a warm area that is in bright, but not direct light

7. The seed should germinate in bout 4 weeks

As the plant grows, you can either keep potting it up into larger containers, or you can plant it out of doors if you live a climate that will support avocados.

Just remember, most avocados need another one to pollinate and grow fruit. But the bottom line is, even if it never produces any fruit, you will have a beautiful tree for your yard.

Planting avocado seed was never easier, and it beats starting them in water for many reasons, plus, you'll never have that green icky water in a glass ever again!

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!

Never Lose Your Tools Again!

Have you ever been working outside, and you needed to go do something else, so you put your tool down only to come back and wonder where you put it? Well no more!

Paint the handles of your trowels, hoes, shovels, rakes, etc. Paint them with your favorite color, or with really loud, bright colors like red, bright orange, yellow, or even pink. This will serve 2 purposes:

1. You’ll never lose your tools again

2. If anyone wants to borrow your tools, there is never a question that it’s yours when you ask for it back!

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!

Saving Seeds From Hybrid Plants

Saving seeds from our favorite plants in order to grow them again next year, is a great way to propagate your own fruit, flowers, and vegetables.

A word of caution however if you're thinking about saving seed from hybrid plants. You need to understand that any plants grown from seeds of hybrids will not come true to type.

Let me explain.

Hybrid seed is created by crossing two highly inbred cultivars.

When the two inbred parents are crossed with each other, the result is F1 hybrid seed.

The seed companies have to repeat this exact same cross every year to produce F1 hybrid seed, such as 'Bolero' marigolds, or 'Early Girl' tomatoes.

These F1 hybrids have the best of both parents giving them hybrid vigor, but any seed that comes from a hybrid will be something completely different.

This is no bad thing. You just might come up with a really great new tomato growing seeds from hybrids. Just keep in mind, that any seed from a hybrid plant will not be true to type, and will not resemble the plant it came from.

You will always easily know if the plants you have are hybrids or not because every plant and seed packet is marked on its label.

For more about seed saving and how to do it - read: How To Save Seeds

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!

How Temperature Affects Tomatoes

Tomatoes have to be one of the all time favorite fruits for people to grow, but they can also be one of the most troublesome.

One thing that can really affect tomatoes from growing and producing properly is temperature.

Temperature: Many tomatoes don't produce fruit when temperatures fall below 50° F (10° C) or rise above 90° F (32° C).

If you live where summer temperatures are either too cold or too warm, try special cold or heat tolerant cultivars.

In warm areas: a good solution is to grow an indeterminate, small-fruited cultivar such as a cherry tomato because they flower continuously, so you get more opportunity of successfully getting fruit set throughout the summer.

In cool areas: choose early fruiting cultivars such as 'Oregon Spring' which mature quickly and tend to tolerate cool conditions better than others.

For more about successfully growing tomatoes, read our Complete Guide to Growing Tomatoes & Tomato Growing Tips

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - www.weekendgardener.net

Have good week!