I am fairly new to this too. I have taken my seeds and cut off the bottom (flatter side) and peeled them. They seem to get a fairly good root in a few weeks. I potted mine up in a regular 4 inch pot (like the kind your annuals come in from the nursery) in regular soil (I'm guessing what you have on hand is ok). I put them in full sun at first. One is not doing so well. The other one is doing great, but I had to move it to part shade as I think the leaves were getting burned. I also have a couple of others that have roots (so I planted them), but no stem or leaves. I had to move them to the shade as the sun was starting to burn the pit (which was about 3/4 buried). Can't really say how well they are doing--still no leaves. Next time I may wait until there is a stem before removing them from the water.

Terry: Just out of curiosity, what will you be doing with these seeds? I'm sure you know that avocado seeds do not "come true". The seedlings that germinate and grow will not be 'Mexicola Grande'. Will you be using the seedlings for rootstock or will you let them bear flowers (in 7 years or so) for hybridizing work? Joe

I keep mine on a south facing window sill,I dont like to keep them outside due to bugs getting to them. I keep my soil moist but not wet.Browning leaves could mean improper watering. Others will post more info for you. Good luck,they are a neat plant. Christine

The water and toothpicks was just a novelty, they germinate very easily any way. I used to throw them into the garden and had them sprouting. Now I freeze them first so as not to get seedlings everywhere.