Grow your own: Avocado

Did you know?

An avocado tree as a houseplant
An avocado tree as a houseplant (Wikipedia)

The original Aztec name for the avocado is ahuacatl, meaning “testicle,” an obvious reference to the shape of the fruit and was considered to possess aphrodisiac qualities. 


The early explorers had a hard time with the Aztec name and it was soon adapted by the Spaniards to ahuacate and aguacate, since it sounded like the early Spanish word avocado (now abogado), meaning lawyer. 

Now Go Grow a Pear

Now if your mom or grandmother was anything like mine, any time she used an aguacate, she saved the pit. Mostly, I recall that she planted them and grew her own little avocado trees. I had to smile when I came across Inhabitat’s handy-dandy guide, complete with photos, on how to grow an avocado tree from seed. Who knew that mami and abuelita were eco DIY trendsetters?

And, if by any chance you’re a guacamole fanatic like me, who knows you may even be making or enjoying some this weekend, here are 20 other surprising uses for that avocado seed/pit besides actually ingesting it.

Aguacate / Avocado
Spread the love

More Articles for You

Other Inheritances: Scent Memories from a Childhood at Fat’s Pet Shop in East Harlem

Before I ever knew what a perfumer was or that someone could make a living decoding and remixing scent, I …

Spread the love

Ghosts of the Palisades: Threads between memories, places and time

Somewhere tucked away, high on the Palisades, on lovely, dead end street, in the ether of the internet and Google …

Spread the love

Eight Goodbyes: Love, Loss, and the Six Years That Changed Everything

The first to die that year, the year before COVID-19 changed everything, was my aunt, Ruth or “Chin” as we …

Spread the love

How DNA, Haplogroups, and Genetic Markers Reveal Taíno Heritage

The Genetic Echoes of the Taíno People The Taíno people, the first known inhabitants of the Caribbean, have long been …

Spread the love

Unearthing the Invisible in Ben Brisbois’ Banana Capital: Unpeeling the Layers of Capitalism and Racism

The banana. Simple, ubiquitous, and unassuming. Yet, as Ben Brisbois reveals in his forthcoming Banana Capital, it’s anything but ordinary. …

Spread the love

Ditching The Algorithm: Why I Joined Bluesky (And You Should Too)

For years, social media has been both a megaphone and an equalizer, a place where anyone can share art, advocate …

Spread the love