Claude is Sprouting Again

A couple days ago there was just the one new leaf sprouting.  Now we've got three going at one time.  A couple of the other cacao plants are also having new leaves.  I'm going to blame it on having a nice window to grow next to.  Every day we open the blinds and they get a bit of sun and nice light throughout the day.

Now all I have to do is make the area also productive for the vanilla to start growing better and make some beans.  They're already long enough to start flowering but haven't had the right conditions to do so.

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Moving Cacao Tree

Moving this guy will be a small feat.

First thing to do is to wrap the pot, dirt and all in plastic wrap so the soil doesn't move too much during transport.

Next I will need to figure out some kind of support for the trunk and leaves.  One suggestion was to wrap it loosely in paper or plastic but I think I will end up having someone hold the tree steady during transport.

To transport it I will put it on it's side and angled up a little so that it will be able to fit in the car.  It's now 4'3" tall from the dirt up, pot included it's right at 5' even.  Just think about trying to get a person in a car without bending their hips or legs.

Of course the plant will need to be upright as soon as possible so that it will be ok.

When I got the vanilla orchids they were mailed to me.  They came wrapped in paper with other paper wadded up and put between the leaves.  If I tried that it would be a lot of work for just the one tree for transport.  Also no guarantee that it would not shift around while moving.  The little yellow pot is going to be simple in comparison as well as the dozen other pots in the back of the office.  They will need to be moved to the apartment though probably.  Not nearly as much space in the new place.

One Week to the VIP Chocolate Festival Evening

Can you believe it's only one week away until the VIP party?  I'm bringing this plant with me to show people how much cacao can grow and what it looks like as a plant.  Last year there were a couple around the showroom but none of them were quire this large.  Maybe I'll have some competition and get to see a plant from last year come back.  That would be awesome!  This guy wasn't even... Ok so it was concieved.  I mean it was already in pod form so it was concieved seeral months earlier.  But it wasn't planted until after last year's festival.

Since last post of this guy, it's grown over 4 inches.  This kinda looks like a split photo a little to me with the taller and shorter split by the cubicle wall.  If you look on the right of the shorter one though there is an offshoot that has also grown a few inches and will likely overshoot the main plant trunk.

If you look behind the plant on the left you will see one of the vanilla orchid pots.  I decided to give it a little more sun so I rigged up a solid copper wire hanger. I knew keeping a bunch of copper wires would come in handy some day.  It's in the shape of an iron hanger with the loop that goes around the pot but it's so much easier to work with copper.  I had that thing bend into shape by hand in no time.  Yet is's strong enough to hold the pot with no issues.  Can't say the same for holding a larger pot but a little three inch pot is fine.

Vanilla Orchid Progress

This is only one of my vanilla orchid pots that I got back in January.  They've tripled in size and are still growing.

To see just how fast that is I've decided to do a time lapse set.  I will be taking one picture a day for a currently unspecified time from about the same location and see how these little guys are really doing.

I have a newly acquired lamp shining on this on now so it can imitate getting better lighting  that it has been getting.  Maybe it'll help it grow a little faster and with larger leaves.  The current new leaves are significantly smaller than the ones it came with.  It's at least still growing though and faster than I figured it might.  The control pot is still just getting the office fluorescents. Really how can you tell if something really helps or not unless you have a control group.  This not only tells me if the extra light helps but if fluorescent light is good enough for growing vanilla orchids in general.  The light I'm using has three settings, off, low, and high.  I start and end (not including off) with the low setting for half an hour to mimic the sun rising and setting.  Unfortunately it doesn't move.  That's a bit more realism than I', willing to put the work into doing.

Vanilla Air Roots

The air roots shown here are growing even faster than the vines themselves.  They really are trying to find something to hold onto.  Gong to have to get some kind of support for these to grow on soon so they can really take off.  Once vanilla gets going it can grow upwards of half an inch in a day (or a foot in a month).

With all that growth you'd think they wouldn't take any time at all to make those lovely vanilla beans.  Surprise! It can take around a year from pollination to harvesting of vanilla beans.  On top of that there's the post processing which takes even more time.  No wonder there's a world shortage of real vanilla.

And even if it could be grown in the states easily, the cost vs. the time wouldn't be anywhere near a living wage.

Baby Green Bean

This cute little green bean is just the start of my green bean harvest this year.  Well maybe not quite what you'd be able to call a harvest but it is at least a bean.  I hand pollinated this flower when it was just opening and apparently I did a half way ok job doing it.

There is another smaller one but it was a lot harder to take a picture of so this is the one I got.

There are a lot of flowers at the moment though so I expect there to be a lot more beans as well. hand pollinating is one way to do this.  Not sure if the gnats will do anything with the flowers or not but I really doubt it.

I was looking at the vanilla orchids as well today and I believe they are quite a bit larger than when I got them.  I still haven't taken the time to get them something big enough but light weight enough for them to climb up.  That branch is still leaning against the wall but it really is too heavy to work well at the moment.  I have to cut it up or maybe even split it so that it can be used and not be unwieldy if it needs moving.

Pest Control

This little guy helps keep the fungus gnat problem under control.  Yeah they're still flying around a little but they're hardly noticeable any more.  He eats several a day and they try their best to keep up with what they lost.

Here he's hiding under one of the vanilla leaves.  His webs crosses between the pots and he goes out whenever something gets caught in his web.  So far no one is complaining about the gnats or the spider so I guess it's all working out for the best.

Some people would probably tell you to get rid of the spider, the gnats, and the fungus but a little fungus is good for plants and as long as the spider can keep the gnat population under control there shouldn't be enough larvae to be damaging the plants.  The plants seem happy and there's no signs of stunted growth.

Cleaning Branches to Climb

So I don't really want to spend $80 on a branch for my vanilla to climb.  But how do you get a branch from the wild and make sure it isn't infested with critters or disease?

The best way is to dry it out.  If you have a branch/stick that can fit in your oven then great!  Toss that into your oven around 250°F for an hour or so and you're good to go.  Be careful though since that is a VERY general idea.  Your exact timing and even temperature can vary widely, as much as 100° and/or half an hour.  A better rule is to check density of your wood.  Denser wood will do with a low temperature for longer while lighter wood shouldn't take so long.

Of course if you start to see a little smoke starting then take it out immediately. You don't want your oven catching fire.  As we all know, wood burns.

Alternately you can use a handheld steamer to steam the outside, effectively cooking the outside of the stick.  This doesn't take care of the inside though.  For small sticks you can boil them in a large pot for hours.  This should get rid of any problems but then you have the problem of drying it so you might as well just have put it in the oven.

I don't have a seven foot oven or a huge cauldron though and no steamer and so I have to go the chemical and scrubbing route.  This branch of an oak already has some house guests holding on. and a few bugs living under the bark.  First off I used a bug killer and am letting it sit for a few days. Once that's nice and aired for a while I'm going to douse it with rubbing alcohol until nice and saturated.  Of course I'll be keeping it away from any ignition sources for a while until it all evaporates away but this should kill or drive off anything that the bug spray didn't.  Then after a nice scrubbing with a bristle or wire brush it should be ready for use.

Optimal Light

Brought the little vanilla plants to the front toward the light.  I had left them behind it so that the little spider wouldn't be disturbed but they were not looking like they liked so much shade especially since they were indoors anyway.

The white things in front are the cut up bottles with water and paper towels in them.  Still having to change them out every few days so that they don't breed mold.  They already seem to be doing a little better.

In front of this, but out of the picture, is the other pot.  I raised it up too a couple feet to be closer to the light.  It went from floor to on top of two boxes to on top of a filing cabinet and two boxes.  The leaves are starting to pick up again.  It's growth had been stunted due to lack of light.

The bean plant you see in the upper right of this photo is starting to form flowers already. I should have beans in a few weeks.  Okay, maybe two or three beans but that's still more than one.

Hygrometers (Humidity Meter)

Apparently I should have waited longer to see how humid it was getting.  The water wickers have been there for over a week but the hygrometer I just put there a few hours earlier.  Checking it later that day it had gotten to a little over 60% now it's a whopping 70%.  No wonder the orchids like it there.  It' a very localized humidity but that's exactly what they need.  Of course I'll need to change them out every week so they don't grow mold but that's a small price to pay to keep these babies happy.  I do think I'll be adding a third though. Although 70% is on the high side of normal, it's on the low side of what orchids prefer. 85% would be a sweet percent to be able to get to and really get these guys comfortable.

The humidity is still creeping up.  It says 71 now.

Inside humidity (Orchid Care)

Orchids need humidity and the winter time is about the worst time to try to keep it up.  It just seems to fall out of the air once it gets inside.
The relative humidity outside is at a nice 73% but it's at a temperature of 54°.  Once it gets inside that drops to 42% at a livable temperature of 72°.  Placing these wet containers with paper towels to wick up the water into the air have helped the humidity come back up to about 57% so far.  Not ideal but a lot better for these tropical humidity loving plants.  I might just have to add some more of these guys to further boost the moisture so these guys can thrive.

Vanilla Orchids

Vanilla orchids are tropical climbing orchids that can reach such lengths that you would probably cut it back before it reached its full potential.  Some say 80 feet while others claim hundreds of feet in length in its native habitat.

While typically considered a Mexican native, the USDA also shows it to be a Florida native.  Other sites say it has also been found to grow in Texas and California, of course only in areas of high humidity and mild climates.

Shown here are my two vanilla plants, recently acquired from a nursery out of Lewisville, Texas, Steve's Leaves.  As you can see I have placed some items that are releasing water into the air to keep them happy.  The one on the left is a cut out water bottle bottom with paper towel bits layered to stand up a it and water poured in.  The other is a cotton crochet cloth.  The many holes and twists give it plenty of surface area to evaporate water from.  So far we're on week 2 and they seem healthy enough. During the week I place them in a box lined with plastic overnight to give them a nice humidity bath.  So far so good.  They've already grown about three inches since they arrived.  I plan to find a cheap misting bottle soon so I can mist them in the mornings and early evening.  So far I haven't gotten them any plant food but I should look into that. As far as water, I've been using Ozarka natural spring water.  I don't want all the chemicals from the tap water on the plants.

The future plans for these guys is to set up an area where they will get enough humidity and light that they can really thrive.  Of course it would be great in time to be able to make my own chocolate from the cacao trees and vanilla plants, but that's still a ways off.