Avocado: Getting started

I've been growing an avocado tree at the house for a while, and it's grown up a lot. It started from a seed which I dug out of a fruit destined for guacamole. I meant to post about it with pictures, but I really didn't get the urge to do it until it was already sprouted and growing in the pot.

So I started a new one. Hopefully I can track it here with pictures every week or so.

It's easy to grow an avocado! All you need is a jar, 3 toothpicks, and an avocado.

1) Eat the delicious avocado. Take care not to cut too deeply into the seed. Save the seed.
2) Rinse the seed off to clean off any remaining meat
3) Put the seed in the jar and fill it with water. Leave for 2 weeks. This will prime the seed for sprouting.
... time passses ...
4) Identify the "bottom" of the seed. The fat side of the seed is the bottom. If the shape of the seed isn't immediately obvious, you may have a defective seed. If this is the case, return to step 1.
5) The toothpicks are going to be used to stabilize the seed around the mouth of the jar. Stick the 3 toothpicks into the avocado seed about a third or quarter the length of the seed.
6) Set the avocado on the rim of the jar and fill it with water.
7) Refill the water when it drops too far.

Today, I checked the water level and I found that the seed had begun to sprout. The seed has split and a root is forming in the gap. From the time I started the seed until now has been about a month. I've read that it usually progresses faster, but 1 month from start until first split is my experience.