Become your own coffee expert and start growing coffee plants at home. These tips will help you grow coffee quickly.
The way to your own coffee plant
The coffee bean originated in the highlands of Ethiopia and Sudan. From there she has been traveling the world for three centuries now. Subtropical countries around the globe are now emerging as ideal locations for growing coffee plants. With the help of huge harvest fields, global demand can be met. But what do you do if you are a real coffee lover and want to grow your own coffee plant?
We associate coffee with pure enjoyment and an unimagined variety of tastes. Growing your own coffee plant therefore offers a very special appeal. In this article, we will explain the intricacies of cultivation and help you grow your first coffee plant. Because it is a tropical plant, the coffee plant cannot be grown like a normal houseplant. You have to pay attention to temperature, humidity, nutrient levels and much more. It takes a long time from the individual coffee seed to the fully grown coffee bush. You can expect the first yields after about three years. The harvest path is therefore quite long and should not be underestimated. However, if you enjoy growing coffee and don’t shy away from constant care, after a while you can look forward to a wonderful, home-grown coffee plant.
Tips on cultivation and proper care
By far the most popular type of coffee is Coffea Arabica. Using this coffee plant as an example, you can set up an optimal cultivation and breeding plan. First of all, you need to decide on a starting phase. You can start with simple seeds or buy small seedlings directly from the garden store and grow them further. If you start with a seed, it is best to use a fairly fresh one, which comes from ripe coffee berries. The seed can sometimes still have a hard shell and a silver skin. You can simply detach them. You can then place the seed one centimeter below the ground. Here is the perfect place for him to mature into a seedling. Only one bean should be used per pot. Incidentally, already mature head cuttings can be obtained from a coffee bush and also planted at home in a pot. Whether seeds, seedling or cuttings – all need a warm location to thrive. In this way, the coffee plant grows quickly and benefits optimally from the warm environment.
As soon as the growth process has started, the first roots form within a short time. Your coffee cultivation has now reached a crucial point. It’s time to repot your plant. A larger vessel offers more growth opportunities and has a larger breeding ground. In addition to normal soil, you can now also use substrate. This enables constant moisture, which has a positive effect on the growth of your coffee plant. Another repotting will not be necessary very often and only has to be done every two to three years. By the way, you can use normal rainwater when watering. This is completely sufficient to provide the coffee plant with sufficient nutrients. In addition to caring for the soil, the leaves can also be moistened with water every day. Tropical plants absorb a lot of water through their surfaces and thus grow even faster. Slowly but surely, the seed should develop into a real coffee bush. Incidentally, your coffee plant needs more water in warmer months than in colder ones. However, the humidity should not be too high.
It can take a few years for the coffee plant to finally bloom.
If you want to grow a coffee plant, then you have found the perfect candidate for your home. As a real houseplant, it prefers temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius. If it gets a little colder outside, the robust plant can easily withstand low temperatures of up to 12 degrees or colder. A shady place in the sun and little draft ensure optimal growth all around. If your plant has strong growth spurts, you can also prune the coffee bush a little. This does not affect growth. However, it may be a few years before the coffee plant finally blossoms. If you have finally reached your goal, the only thing missing is pollination. You pollinate the flowers of the coffee plant and ensure that red berries develop. Coffee cultivation is now entering the final phase of the ripening period. The first coffee cherries are slowly growing. After 8 to 12 months, these then turn red and can be harvested. The coffee beans contained in it are used to prepare coffee. When you have reached this point, you can proudly say that you have grown your own coffee plant.
