Growing Your Own Coffee Beans

Coffee, first discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia, is consumed throughout the world today. One of the most popular beverages across the globe, it is drunk hot as well as cold. Prepared from roasted coffee seeds, it has an appetizing aroma and a distinct taste. Though most of the people buy their coffee beans, or ground coffee, from the market, it is possible to grow them at home as well. In fact, growing your own coffee beans is an interesting process, which is quite easy as well. Apart from being the source of coffee, the plant is pretty to look at as well. If you want to know more on how to grow coffee beans at home, the instructions provided below are just what you would like to read.

Growing Your Own Coffee Beans

Supplies Needed

*Seeds
*Coffee Sacks
*Pot (terracotta)
*Vermiculite
*Well-mulched Grass
*Acidic Soil
*Sand/ Gravel Dust
*Manure/ Orchid Fertilizer
*Artificial Indoor Plant Lighting
*Large Containers

Instructions

*First of you, you need to procure the coffee seeds. In this context, using full coffee cherries is advisable, if it's possible.
*Next step will comprise of pre-germinating the seeds. For the purpose, you will have to soak them in water, for 24 hours.
*Take two coffee sacks and dampen them slightly. Place the coffee seeds in the middle of the two sacks. Water the sacks twice daily, allowing them to drain as well.
*Within a period of 12 to 24 hours, you will find a very small white bump on the end of the coffee seeds, a sign that they have germinated.
*Take a 1½ -2½ inches deep pot, preferably terracotta, and fill it with vermiculite.
*Plant the coffee seeds in vermiculite, watering them to keep them moist. Use plastic wrap to make a cover for the plants.
*For the next 60 days, keep the seeds moist, but not wet. Adding a thin layer of well-mulched grass, over vermiculite, will help preserve moisture.
*By this time, you willbegin to see sprouts. Remove them from the vermiculite.
Transfer the sprouts to an acidic soil with a high nitrogen concentration. Add some sand or gravel dust, to make the soil porous.
*Fertilize the soil, by adding manure or an orchid fertilizer. This will help maintain acidity (low pH) and sustain mineral levels.
*For the next four months, keep the sprouts moist and use artificial indoor plant lighting to help them grow.
*After 4 months, by which time you must be able to see leaves on your plants, re-pot the plants.
*After shifting the coffee plants to large containers, make sure to keep watering and fertilizing them. It will take a few years for them to bear fruit.