You remove the large pit from an avocado. Rinse it under running water to clean off any fruit bits. Poke three toothpicks evenly around its equator. Balance the pit on the rim of a clear glass jar filled with water, so the pointed bottom tip dips just into the surface.
Right away, there is no change. The pit stays firm and brown. The water remains still and clear. The jar sits quietly on the windowsill or kitchen counter, looking much like an empty glass with a nut inside.
Weeks pass with no sign of activity. You top up or replace the water every few days to prevent cloudiness. The pit looks exactly as it did on day one—unchanged, inert, ordinary.
Then, between three and eight weeks later, the first root emerges. A slender white tendril probes out from the bottom, lengthening visibly into the water each day. Weeks after that, the top of the pit splits as a green shoot pushes upward.
The root and shoot formed out of sight within the pit. Time bridged the gap from the moment the tip met water to when growth appeared.