How to have a small garden that cost you very little to get started: by saving the seeds, fruit stones and pits/pips from the fruit you eat and germinating them on your windowsill or terrace.

Seeds: Apple, Pear, Grape, Lemon and Tangerine will germinate quickly.  You can do this either by placing the seeds on a piece of moist cotton wool on a plate, making sure that you keep it damp. When they have sprouted, plant ½” deep in a pot with soil. The other way is to plant the seeds straight in the soil in a pot. When any of these seedlings are 3″ high, fertilize them with organic fertilizer.

Fruit Stones: Mango, Cherry, Plum, Peach and Nectarine take longer to germinate. Plant these in moist sand about 3″ deep. When leaves appear, repot the seedling in a deeper pot full of soil. Each stone gives up one seedling, and when they are 5″ high, remove the first bud that appears, which will make the seedling branch out.

Other: A Chestnut can be planted straight in a pot full of soil. The germination is slow, and the seedling grows very slowly as well but your patience will pay off as the result is excellent.

Leaves:  Chose a Pineapple with healthy green leaves. Cut off the top of the pineapple, leaving 1″ of the fruit. Plant it directly in a pot full of soil, with the leaves on top of the soil and they will start to grow.

Avocado: To sprout the seed: insert several toothpicks into the sides of the seed. They should be placed about halfway up the pit. Then suspend the seed in a glass of water. The bottom one fourth of the seed should rest in water.

The seed should sprout within a few weeks. During this time, periodically add water to maintain the initial water level. If it doesn’t sprout within 2 to 3 months, discard the original avocado and begin another. The roots are usually the first to emerge from the seed. The stem appears later. Pot the seedling when the root system has become well developed; the roots should be at least 2 to 3 inches long.

Remove the toothpicks and plant into a 6 to 8 inch pot of soil. Position the seed in the center of the pot. The top of the seed should be level with the soil surface. After potting, water thoroughly, then place the plant in a brightly lit location. Water the plant regularly. Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Fertilize once or twice a month during the spring and summer with a houseplant fertilizer. Avocado plants grow rapidly!