How to grow pistachios at home from unsalted nuts

Start with one bag of plain unsalted pistachios, available at larger grocery stores. Soak the pistachios in a glass of lukewarm water for 24 hours to let them swell.

Transfer the swollen pistachios to a damp paper napkin or paper towel, cover them, and mist or sprinkle water over the top. Leave the plate with the paper towel on a windowsill for about 4–5 days, until small sprouts appear on the pistachios. Keep the paper towel damp the entire time so the pistachios do not dry out.

Once the sprouts are long enough, transplant them into a pot filled with a good-quality, well-draining potting mix, such as cactus potting mix with added sand and peat. Place the sprouted seeds in the soil so that part of each sprout is also below the surface. Cover each pistachio lightly; do not smother it with soil.

Water the soil regularly and keep the seedling on the windowsill until it is about 12–15 cm tall. Then transplant it into a larger pot to give it room to grow. When repotting, use a drier potting mix if desired. The soil no longer needs to stay constantly moist, and it is fine to let it dry out completely between waterings.

Water the plant regularly, adjusting the frequency to how quickly the soil dries out. Maintain adequate humidity by misting the plant with water from a spray bottle every day.

Be patient: a pistachio tree needs plenty of time before it produces its first crop.

Pistachio trees begin bearing nuts after about five years and do not reach full production until they are 15–20 years old. Pistachios are dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate trees, and pollen is carried by the wind. Only a female tree with a male tree nearby will set fruit. To produce a crop, the tree also needs a long, cold winter with about 1 000 hours of chilling and a very hot summer, so a homegrown tree is not guaranteed to bear nuts.

Source: University of Oxford – Plants 400: Pistacia vera.