Growing Avocados

To give your grafted avocado the best start, dig a square hole a bit deeper than the pot, loosen the soil at the bottom, and plant with care — keeping the crown above the soil line to prevent rot. Topdress with compost, organic fertilizer, and mulch (but never cover the crown), and water a few times a week. It is best to use a drip line like tek-line (brown poly with drippers built in) and spiral a single line inward to the middle totaling 6ft diameter with each ring 1.5-2ft apart. This line can be under or on top of the mulch layer. If hand watering at first, water every other day. With any irrigation system, it is best to not wet the leaves as with sprinklers but rather use drip or water the roots directly. Avocados develop a large and shallow root system. Keep this in mind when thinking about irrigation, fertilization, and mulching.

 

Young trees appreciate some shade and protection from strong wind and deer. For those that do not have a perimeter fence, build large rings (at least 6ft diameter) or use pallets to protect young trees. It is advised to attach a shade cloth around the tree ring, but is unnecessary if using pallets. They grow best surrounded by companions like bananas or papayas, which create a gentle microclimate — just as they would in nature.

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Trees are likely to flower within the following year or two after planting. While this is exciting, we advise to clip the flowers off to redirect energy to the root system to better ready the trees for fruiting and to allow for a better, stronger start. Wait until the third or fourth season before allowing fruiting, and even then, it is best to thin some of the fruits.

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*Avocados continue building fat all the way up to harvest. Many varieties reach full size first and only then begin rapidly increasing their oil content, so leaving fruit on the tree longer is key for maximum fat and flavor. There are a few reliable ways to tell when fruit is mature enough to pick, and early in the season it often takes a combination of cues.

• Stem color change: The fruit stem will lose its bright green color and shift to a more yellowish or brown tone.
• Dulling of the skin: Some varieties lose their glossy sheen and develop a slightly duller appearance (though not all cultivars show this clearly).
• The lift test: Gently lift the fruit to a 90° angle. If the stem cracks or snaps cleanly, the fruit is physiologically mature and will finish ripening off the tree.
• Animal pressure: When rats begin targeting the fruit, it's often because the oil content is finally high enough to attract them—an unfortunate but accurate indicator of ripeness.

 

Each tree we sell carries years of observation, selection, and care — grown on Molokai with the intention of helping our islands grow more of our own food.