Coffee Trees

cafemakers

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Nov 3, 2004
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I've got about 40 out in the yard; 18" tall now, grew them from seedlings in a nursery. Picture taken 15 minutes ago...

The best publication that I've read so far on the subject is by Skip Bittenbender and Virginia Easton Smith of the University of Hawaii CTAHR (tropical agriculture) here. The information is specific to Hawaii and contains some fairly technical data, but it's a great resource and costs only $7.00 plus shipping (at the time of writing this).

My plants are just a hobby, but I would be glad to relay along any questions that you've got to some of my friends in farming or coffee science.
 
Thank you for reply Andrew. I started with some seedlings almost two years ago in the dead of Ontario winter. I tried to keep them alive indoors an left them outside during the summer months. Late this past summer I moved them to a different indoor location an they have done much better in the new environment.

Some one told me that it takes two years of sustaine growth before the plant yields any beans. Is that accurate?
 

cafemakers

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Nov 3, 2004
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This is my understanding, as well. We're only about 6-8 months in, but I expect that we should see a first crop sometime in late 2006 or early 2007.

Make sure that they have lots of nutrients, sunlight and water, and that you regularly prune the weaker producing branches to encourage growth and direct those nutrients to the stronger branches. Pruning is critical to improving your harvest yield - there are several techniques; probably best described in the text recommended above.

Keep that plant warm. My family is from Toronto and I know how cold it can be there this time of year!

Andrew
 
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