anyone tried to grow vanilla beans?

[nikkijy]

Has anyone tried to grow vanilla beans in a greenhouse. if so how easy was it ?

[Two_Sheds]

I wouldn't bother !
"Vanilla is the world's most labour intensive agricultural crop, which is why it's so expensive. It will take up to three years after the vines are planted before the first flowers appear. The fruits must remain on the vine for nine months in order to completely develop their distinctive aroma.

When the beans are harvested, they are treated with hot water and placed in the sun every day for several weeks to several months until they have shrunk to 20 per cent of their original size. Then they will rest for a month or two to finish" http://wildwalk.originationinsite.co...lla/4513231100

[nikkijy]

I do have some daft ideas. keep within my limits me thinks

[seasprout]

Bloody Thing.

Its a Tropical Orchid, and a mare to keep.

Where i work ours has been slowly dieing for over a year, we have tried everything to keep it, but it had decided to die.

[bluemoon]

The plants are also HUGE.

[Rydeboyz]

Q. Why is vanilla so expensive?

A. Vanilla is the most labor-intensive agricultural product in the world. It takes between 18 months and three years from planting a cutting of the orchid vine till the plant produces orchids. The orchids bloom and die within a few hours unless they are pollinated by hand. The beans (which are actually seed-pods) must stay on the vine for nine months before being harvested. The beans then go through a curing, drying, and resting process for several months. Each vanilla bean is handled hundreds of times before it's ready to use!

From: Ask the Vanilla Queen - Frequently Asked Questions

[chengjing]

Interesting! thanks for the info Rydeboyz. I got one from Focus the last year. I am looking forward to get it in flower.

[greasyfire]

Well that put me off then i was thinking of growing a vanilla vine and a coca plant iny my greenhouse. I heard they are long live plants though and are easily available from online supliers in uk. Does it give out the aroma when growing

[chengjing]

I never notice any aroma from my vinilla plant.

[Brengirl]

Apart from keeping the vanilla pods in your sugar I wanted to find out how to make my own extract. eg. Slit the pods and preserve in vodka. Give an occasional shake and there you go. The brew continues to darken and gain strength the longer you keep it.

[Crundy]

Well that put me off then i was thinking of growing a vanilla vine and a coca plant iny my greenhouse. I heard they are long live plants though and are easily available from online supliers in uk. Does it give out the aroma when growing

Umm, did you mean cocoa instead of coca? I wouldn't recommend growing the latter!

[greasyfire]

Umm, did you mean cocoa instead of coca? I wouldn't recommend growing the latter!

i meant cocoa sorry i have germinated them in the past but they never survived for a couple of weeks

[Camillo]

thanks for the tips guys.. I was just talking to a friend the other day about growing vanilla beans and neither of us had a clue about all these facts...