I do not know about you but we are always trying out new things. We like to try new foods and new ways to grow our own food. We have been experimenting with growing fruits and veg from seed. This process is usually fairly simple with most plants. Some plants do take a labor-intensive process and we opt not to try that one again. As with most things, I like quick and easy. With all the other things we have to do around the farm, there is no time to babysit a seed. We have been using the fruits that we buy at the store to propagate more like it. First, you eat the wonderful fruit that you bought, save the seeds, plant them, and wait for a tree to grow. This sounds very straight forward but each fruit or veg seed has a different way that it likes to be handled and grown.

Today, we will talk about how to DIY grow a mango tree from a seed. We have done this several times with good success. Of course, pick out the kind of mango you want to eat and grow, there are several different kinds of mangos. Most will need to grow in a large pot as they can not take the cold in winter and will need to live inside when it is cold where you live.

First, eat your mango, save the seed pod and let it dry a bit for easier handling.

Very carefully take a knife and open the seed pod. It is easiest to use the knife to gently cut and pry open the pod from the inside curve near the end. This is what the pod looks like it was sewn together. It is a hard, almost hairy husk that covers a soft seed. The seed looks like a large bean when you get it out. Be very careful at this stage, the bean is soft and can be damaged and un-usable. Also, be careful with the knife that you do not hurt yourself either. Once you have the bean out of the pod, the pod is no longer needed. You can throw it away but we keep the pod, let it dry and use it in crafts.

In a large pot, does not matter really if it is plastic, metal or terra cotta, just any pot will do. We start a large pot so you do not have to transplant your baby mango plant too often. Transplanting is dangerous to the baby mango, if you mess with the roots, it will die. You can transplant if needed when the baby mango gets bigger but the less you have to handle it the better. If you have to transplant, it is better to do it when it is a bit larger, when the roots are more secure. Anyway, you need a large pot.

We use potting soil, as our local dirt is not great for house plants. We always save our used coffee grounds for use in the garden. We make several pots of coffee a day, so we have plenty of used filters to go around when potting plants. Put a coffee filter or 2 in the bottom of the pot so it covers the drain holes. You will want your pot to drain but not let the dirt fall out the bottom. Then fill the pot with the potting soil. Do not fill it all the way to the top. Leave a couple of inches at the top of the pot. This extra pot lip will give some protection from wind and pests. It will also allow you to add dirt to your baby mango if needed as it grows.

This is where mangos get a bit odd, compared to other plants. The mango seed needs to be laid out flat, not pushed into the ground on end. The “mango bean” needs to be laid across the dirt. The mango will start to sprout from the end and grow up. The same place on the seed will sprout both the tree going up and the roots going down. So it needs to be clear to do so. Put a little soil over the mango seed but only an inch or so. To much soil will not allow the seed to sprout properly. As you water and as the mango sprouts and grows, you can add more soil on top if it is needed to support the growing mango baby.

Now just sit the pot in the sun and wait. You will need to water regularly but a mango does not like to be soggy. It is best to check your mango baby to be every few days to see how moist the soil is. When the soil is dry about an inch deep, then water it. When watering be careful not to disturb the mango sprout. The baby mango sprout will be tender and easy to damage so always take care when handling the pot or watering.

Depending on the kind of mango, the soil you use and the sun available, it could take a couple weeks or up to a month to see a sprout coming up. Do not get discouraged, there is nothing you can do to rush the sprouting. Just let it be and have patience, it will be worth it.

Once your baby mango starts to grow, just keep an eye on it and keep it watered. Mangos like the sun but baby mangos will need a little protection from full, mid-day, summer sun. Also, be sure to protect your baby mango from pests and pets. Bugs like to eat mango leaves and ants like to nest in the potting soil. Both of these issues can kill your baby mango. Pets do not mean any harm but a cat “loving” on your baby mango can break the sprout off and kill it. Of course, dogs like to dig and children like to feel new things. Any and all of these things can hurt your baby mango.

Mangos are fairly fast-growing. They usually will produce fruit within the first 5 years. We have a mango that we sprouted that is less than 4 years old and has already put off mangos. There are dwarf mangos that will grow to maturity but not get over 8 feet or so. But of course, if you are buying a mango from a nursery, you will not need to do all of this to get a plant. If you have bought a mango from a nursery, you can still propagate your own new baby mangos from the plant that you bought. The process is the same. Yes, this process takes a bit of time but anything that we do for ourselves is worth taking your time to do right. And there is the added benefit of knowing you are making yourself just a bit more self-sufficient.