Steps to Growing Coffee Beans
Coffee plants grow outdoors in tropical climates but you can grow your own in a container by keeping it at room temperature indoors. The seeds germinate poorly and grow slowly, so start more than you need and be patient. Even under the best conditions, the plants won't produce beans for two to three years, though their shiny green foliage makes them attractive as ornamental plants. If you live in a tropical climate such as Hawaii or Florida, transplant the seeds outdoors after they've germinated. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Ripe coffee cherries or unroasted coffee beans
- Pot
- Potting soil
- Grow lights (optional)
- Fertilizer
- Hand pruning shears
Instructions
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Pick ripe coffee cherries from a coffee tree, rub off the pulp and place the beans in a cup of water at room temperature for 2 to 3 days to let them ferment. Discard any that float and rub off the remaining pulp. Spread the beans out to dry for later planting if you don't want to plant them immediately. If you can't get fresh coffee cherries, use fresh dried unroasted coffee beans.
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2
Soak dried seeds in water overnight. Plant them 1 1/2 inches deep in pots filled with damp potting soil or place them between damp burlap bags. Check them every few days and water them to keep them moist. They may germinate in 10 weeks but may take up to 6 months.
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3
Transplant the seeds into well-drained acid soil that's high in nitrogen, after they germinate. Plant them 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep, each in their own pot. Choose pots at least 6 inches deep to start and transplant the plants to deeper pots as they grow, since coffee has a long tap root.
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Place the pots under artificial growing lights or where they'll get bright natural light and where the temperature will remain about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Water the growing plants thoroughly once a week, allow the excess water to drain, then water them again with houseplant fertilizer suitable for orchids, according to the lowest amount recommended on the label. Add water in between the weekly waterings to keep the soil moist, if necessary.
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Reduce watering in the fall to once a week, when the plant is 2 to 3 years old, and keep the soil barely moist over the winter. Resume normal watering in spring to encourage the plant to bloom. Continue watering the plant normally and feed it once a month when it begins to produce fruit.
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Pick the coffee cherries when they turn red. Each cherry will contain a coffee bean.
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Prune off one or two vertical branches after the harvest, leaving three to five vertical stems. Cut the branches where they sprout from the main trunk, using hand pruning shears. Continue to care for the plant the same way, harvesting and pruning it once a year. Transplant it into a larger pot if necessary as it grows.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Costa Rica Coffee Field image by oddzen89 from Fotolia.com
