Grow My Own

[Kenk]

I have had a coffee plant for the last 4 years. It started off as a bunch of 4 inch plants. They are now a bunch of 4 foot plants. My first 2 coffee beans are ripening. 2 of my coffee cherries are turning red. Maybe next year I might have enough for 1 cup. Not bad for Ottawa Canada.

[phaelon56]

That's pretty amazing for Ottawa. Do you use artificial light and tightly controlled heat and humidity? (and do you have space for about 100 mature plants, which is the number needed for a pound fo processed green coffee beans?).

[WHT]

Where did you get the seeds or plants? I have grown tobacco and would love to try coffee.

[Kenk]

I did not use any special lighting and pretty much did not do anything that special. I did feed them and water them. I think the plant likes the cool temperatures it get in the winter. The plant is place in a south facing window. To fertilize the flowers I used a Q-tip to spread the pollen from one flower to another.

I got arabica coffee plants from Home Depot. They came in a container and had 8-12 seedlings in it. Even if you do not get any beans they are atractive house plants.

I think the plants like humid conditions. when the plants are young they tend to loose leaves. I lost a whole bunch of coffee plants the first time I tried to grow them. I had seperated the plants and one by one they lost their leaves and died. This time I neglected them. I left the plants in a clump, and most of the plants survived and are all but fused together.

All three of my my coffee cherries are now turning red.

Soon all hopes will turn to next year's crop.

[Kenk]

The crop is in!

Total yield is 7 green coffee beans.

The Flowers for next years crop are starting to bloom.

The plants are now 5 foot tall.

The goal for next year is to have enough to make 1 cup of coffee.

[sequim]

I have a Chinese friend whose parents grow coffee trees in their house and have gotten beans, then roasted them. They're always starting new trees from the beans just because they like to grow stuff. But they don't do anything special for growing them - I've seen them growing in full sun and partial, also in a house kept quite hot during the winter. However the coffee plant I have is a pain. I'm starting to send out negative vibrations to it because the edges of its leaves always turn brown no matter what I do. grrr. But I only have it for the decorative value and now I feel it's not long for the garbage can if it keeps up it's present course of action....

[phaelon56]

Needless to say.... the "grow-ops" folks out in British Columbia could probably figure out how to produce enough in one basement to supply most of us with a year's worth of coffee but i think they'll likely stay focused on smokable, rather than roastable, agriculture.