How to Grow Almonds From Seeds?
Growing almonds from seeds is not a very difficult task if you know the right technique and the right process. Almonds trees belong to the Prunus family. Other members of the family are peach, plum and apricots. These fruits, because of their stone-sized hard pits, are commonly referred to as âstoneâ fruits. Almonds trees are commonly grown in Southwest Asia. An almond tree typically grows up to a height of 13 feet to 30 feet.
While mostly people buy almond saplings and grow them, you can also try growing almonds from seeds. For this, just follow these steps:
Take a few almond seeds and soak them overnight. Soak enough seeds, so that even if some of the seeds do not germinate or get moldy, the others can grow into plants.
Once the seeds are well soaked, split the nuts with the help of nut cracker, so that they open up a little at the seam.
Fill a small container with potting soil. Plant the nuts in soil on their sides, so that the seam is placed up. Ensure that you leave part of the seed exposed.
Place the potted seed in a sunny indoor location, till it germinates. Keep sprinkling water from time to time so that the soil remains dampened.
The appearance of the almond sprout marks the end of the germination process and you know that it is time for the plant to be placed outdoors.
For this, dig a hole (approximately 1 ft X 1 ft and 12 inches deep) using a shovel. Almond trees typically need lots of sunlight. So, ensure that this place is completely bright and sunny.
Once the hole is dug, plant the seed at a depth of about 4 to 6 inches in the soil. Add fertilizers. Now, completely cover the remaining hole with soil.
Regularly water the growing plant so that the soil is moisturized well. However, over-watering can lead to fungal developments and mold infection in your almond tree. So, be careful.
At the same time, regularly prune dead and diseased branches from the almond tree. Timely pruning facilitates more air circulation and increase in sunlight penetration.
An almond tree on an average grows for about 2 to 3 years before it can produce nuts. During this period, it has to be really maintained well. Depending on your climate, the best time to harvest the almonds is between July and October. In order to thrive to their fullest, these trees need cool winters and hot summers. Hence, January and February are the best months to plant them.
Almond trees are not self-fertile. Therefore, have at least two trees in the vicinity to ensure cross-pollination. You can also place two seeds in the same hole to enable cross-pollination. This lets the two plants grow together, with their branches intertwined. Thus, even though they grow as one plant, the flowers can still cross-pollinate to set fruit.
Planting almond trees is a great idea for landscape beautification as well. In spring, they are smothered with lovely pink flowers; in autumn, the color of the leaves give a nice autumn effect. And the numerous benefits of almonds are always there to count on. So, if you have a little sunny space in your house, plant an almond tree and reap its benefits forever.
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