Image - Flickr / Arthur Chapman
How are cocoa beans sown? Well, it's very easy, since with a pot and a good substrate, without forgetting of course a watering can with water, we can get some specimens of this tree. But if we want someone to reach adulthood ... things get complicated.
So to have a chance of success, I recommend you keep reading. I don't promise anything, but… you might be lucky 🙂.
What are cocoa beans like?
They are produced by the tree Theobroma cacao, an evergreen tree that lives in the tropical regions of America, especially the Amazon. The fruit is a large berry known as cob, and it is fleshy, oblong to ovate, yellow or purple in color, and 15 to 30cm in size. The seeds are reddish-brown, slightly less than 2cm long, and hard.
To germinate (and live) they need the temperature to be soft-warm, between 20 and 30ºC, as well as high humidity; otherwise they will not or will come out to dry shortly after.
When and how are they sown?
If you live in a place where the climate is warm tropical, you can do it right after the dry season. But if you live in an area with a temperate climate, do it in mid / late spring, when the temperature is 20ºC or something more.
Once you've decided the day follow this step by step:
- First, extract the seeds from the fruit and clean them thoroughly with water.
- Then fill a pot about 10,5cm in diameter with 60% mulch with 30% perlite (or similar) and 10% guano.
- Then water conscientiously.
- Then, place a maximum of two seeds in the pot, lying flat, and cover them with a thin layer of substrate.
- Finally, water again and sprinkle copper or sulfur to prevent the appearance of fungi.
Thus, placing the pot in semi-shade, will germinate in about 2-4 weeks. As soon as roots grow out of the drainage holes, transplant them into individual pots, and don't forget to sprinkle with copper or sulfur again. In this way, they will have a much better chance of moving forward.
Good planting 🙂.