Any adventurous people growing coffee?

[clarkinks]

Very interesting Marcus I bet you composted a lot of coffee grounds! Picking them independently when ripe looks challenging as well.

[Matt_in_Maryland]

They can’t handle our continental winters.

But you can sucessfully fruit them in pot culture if you have a sunny window. (I wish I had more sunny windows… or a conservatory… or a solarium… but I digress.)

Bill Merrill talks about DWARF sized coffee plants suitable for pot culture (see video).

For the best results, get a tall pot. The longer you can let that tap-root drop before it J-hooks, the better.

Check it out:

Coffee as a Houseplant

[BobVance]

@Matt_in_Maryland

Bill Merrill talks about DWARF sized coffee plants suitable for pot culture (see video).

Wow- I was just getting ready to post the same link. You beat me to it, as I stopped to finish watching the video!

Here’s another video he produced, where he tours his yard, including some mature coffee plants.

While it is a pretty plant, I’m not a coffee drinker myself, so I don’t think I’ll be going to extremes to grow it. I’d rather save my inside space for lychee (very tasty tropical) and figs (which seem to actually produce indoors).

Hawaiian Garden Tour part 2

[Matt_in_Maryland]

I have eaten Kona typica coffee CHERRIES while visiting Hawaii-- a truly exhilerating experience-- especially as it was followed up with a serving of french-press Kona coffee. I am hopelessly addicted in love with my morning coffee.

[Matt_in_Maryland]

That’s discouraging. They need acidic soil. Did you use an acidic soil?

[coolmantoole]

If folks in the tropics got paid US minimum wage, non of us would be able to afford to drink coffee except on very special occasions if then. God bless.

Marcus

[clarkinks]

I’m thankful for companies such as Starbucks growing coffee in places like Bogata. They are doing a lot for the people there. If they were not growing coffee the alternatives are unpleasant. Here is a link on the basics https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bNcx_E1x3D0

[coolmantoole]

I tend to agree. The alternative to coffee would be cataclysmic for poor countries. But still, the affordability of coffee reflects the reality of a world with more poverty than most Americans realizes. God bless.

[IL847]

I like to grow fragrant flowers, and I heard coffee flowers were fragrant. So I bought some small coffee seedlings and tried to grow them as a house plants. Well, they survived for few years, and died finally. I don’t think coffee plant will grow well indoor in climate like Chicago

[Mountain_Donkey]

I am growing coffee
i just got my arabica coffee plant from fastgrowingtrees in a 2 gal pot, it had a decent size rootball and was on sale for half price
and i fertilized it heavily with holly-tone a high acidity fertilizer i am in zone 7 and the leaves have really gotten darker
i will keep it inside through the winter
hopefully next year i will get coffee
will post some pics tommorow

[Mountain_Donkey]

here are pictures of my coffee

i will bring it in through the winter
hoping to taste some of those delicious coffee berries i’ve been hearing about

[clarkinks]

Gorgeous plant! Looking forward to hearing the reviews of the fresh coffee.

[applenut]

Yeah, we grow a boatload of coffee

In Uganda, that is (sorry for the disappointment). At this elevation its mostly Robusta, a lower-grade coffee with twice the caffeine (and bitterness), which was issued to troops in WWII to keep them awake. We use them to sprout apple grafts under.

[clarkinks]

The robusta coffee plants look nice. Are the robusta more tolerant of all adverse weather?

[applenut]

Its a lot easier to grow, being more pest and disease resistant due to the higher caffeine levels; it’s also more productive. It is still sensitive to cold. They are experimenting with lines of Catimor coffee that approach the cupping quality of Arabica but have the resistance of Robusta. Coffee is Uganda’s major export, but most people there drink tea. Coffee shops in urban areas are trying to change that.

[clarkinks]

I would imagine like chocolate that coffee needs grown in a tent for higher humidity and the use of heat mats is likely necessary to warm the soil in the winter.

[Drew51]

@BobVance

save my inside space for lychee (

So tell us little about this one. What exactly are you growing where did you get it? You got fruit? I’m always interested in growing tropicals. My pepper corn plant is at last producing fruit.

[BobVance]

@Drew51

What exactly are you growing where did you get it?

Each winter, I bring in:
Mango
Lychee
Longan (lychee-relative with small, smooth skinned fruit)
Oranges with 3-4" thorns
Figs

The only one of those I’ve fruited indoors are figs. I’ve also gotten blackberries and strawberries indoors, though not all that many.

Of the first 3 on the list, all are seedlings from fruit bought in Chinese markets. So, there is no assurance that it would be any good (like any seedling), even if I manage to get them to fruit.

This fall, I may bring in a couple pots of tomatoes and beans as well. I started 3 pole beans in a pot in August, figuring that by the frost they will be getting pretty mature. I also have a tomato which I started from seed, yet it never really sized up. It’s getting there now, in time for the frost, so rather than planting it, I’ve been moving it to a bigger pot.

Like Citrus: What Other Tropical Trees Will Succeed if Brought Indoors for the Winter?

I’m successfully growing Mango, Lychee, Longan, and Orange. But that defines “successful” as “not dead”, instead of “Fruiting”. The only things I’ve fruited indoors are blackberries (Prime Jan, which seem to keep bearing…) and strawberries. Similar to Ross, I’ve been bringing them outside in the summer and in for the winter. In fact, I just brought them in last night, when the temp dropped to 36. It was a good call, as it continued lower to 32.3F, which probably would have been fatal for so…

[Matt_in_Maryland]

Robusta doesn’t taste as good as Arabica. But Robusta will make your heart thump out of your chest.

[Drew51]

@BobVance

Of the first 3 on the list, all are seedlings from fruit bought in Chinese markets.

I’m growing an orange from the Amish market in Sarasota. Sugarbell was the cultivar. One seed germinated. I had another orange tree that was getting big but it was from some random seed, so i discarded it when this one started growing. Citrus can come true to seed, odds are better anyway. I would have kept the first but I really have little room indoors in the winter. So anything added, another has to go.
Keep us updated.