Growing a Coffee Tree or Bush indoors.....You Bet it Can be done, Easy to do! So Long Starbucks or Timmies!
If your like me, coffee is a MORNING MUST, as I do wake each morning at 5 am. If your Canadian, your Timmies is a precious commodity and panic sets in if it is a holiday and they just happen to be closed. If your American then it's your beloved Starbucks. But what if there was no more coffee houses or cafes to go and enjoy that cup a java.
Dare I say, keep a can of Maxwell house or Folgers on the pantry shelf.....have you really ever tasted that stuff...? So why not grow your own coffee tree or bush in your home and always have an endless supply of coffee available. This post will outline how to grow a coffee tree at home in the house, it is really just that easy.
First of all we need to buy a coffee tree seedling. They are readily available at most Nurseries, and by chance at Safeway, Walmart and or whole foods garden/flower centers. They are really not that rare of a plant to find.
So now that you have found your seedling, you need to do a few things. First you will see that they typically come with more than one seedling in a pot. You will want to transplant them to their own individual pots. You will want to soak your seedling in water over night before transplanting, this will allow for a smooth transition. No need to worry about killing the plant as they are a strong hardy plant that withstand a bunch of conditions and handling. They would be possibly 4 inches in height when you purchase them so chose a pot that is just right for the root base size with a little room to grow. At 8 inches you will need to re transplant them to a larger pot.
A 12-18" Pot is perfect for the now 8" seedling. A simple rich organic soil with Nitrogen is sufficient for both early stages of the plant development. When the seedling is about 24-26", now you will want to transplant for the final time into it's permanent home or pot. The pot must be large enough to support a 8 ft tree or wide bush. You no longer need to have Nitrogen in the soil. At this stage where the flower and fruiting stages begin, you can feed it organic Rose food.
Within one year from this last re-potting your tree will have grown to four feet and it will begin to create beautiful white flowers that will fill your home with the scent of Jasmine and orange blossoms. At this the flowering stage it should last about a month. Coffee is a self pollinator. The flower will eventually become a coffee cherry fruit. The flower will turn brown and finally fall off leaving behind this cherry, that will develop with one or two seeds inside, thus the coffee bean. The process will take approximately 6 months to get to this stage from the flowering stage. The cherries take about 5 months and will be hard and greenish. They will slowly ripen to a pink then a red then a darker red, that is when they are ready to pick. You can pick once a week.
When watering your tree, water as if it where raining in your home. They don't do well sitting in water, so water from top down. They like warm water.
The coffee tree is a tree that does not thrive in direct sunlight, so find a shady corner to place it. But is does require some sunlight such as in the morning when it is not as strong, it will just fry the leaves.
So there you have it folks.....It can be done. No need to leave the comfort of your home for that cup of Java.
Happy Trails
Image Sources:
http://oyston.com/blog/2015/03/31/kentucky-coffeetree/
https://www.worldseedsupply.com/product/coffea-arabica-coffee-live-plant-seedling/
http://www.insideurbangreen.org/2010/02/this-coffee-tree-coffea-arabica-probably-was-a-4-pot-size-plant-in-october-2006-it-is-now-growing-in-a-recycled-food-conta.html
http://somethingtodebate.blogspot.ca/2015/03/coffee-history-process-and-comparison_18.html
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/lmowery/2016/07/31/coffee-got-complicated-know-your-natural-from-your-washed-from-your-honey/&refURL=https://www.google.ca/&referrer=https://www.google.ca/
http://www.cbc.ca/
Good information. I have always thought about doing this. So the bush just needs a small amount of light, like from a window? Would a grow light be a good idea?
Yes a grow light would work but for a limited amount of hours.
Coffee Lovers Unite! This will help a lot of people for sure. I have upvoted and am scheduling this one to post to our facebook wall. Thanks for the info!
Thank you
Muhahahahahaaaaaa !!! Coffee coffee coffeeee !!!!!! I mean thanks I'm getting my aquaponic seedling/ sprouting bed together and coffee is on the list . Thanks again.
Whoaa great place ^_^ I would likeee to go there someday :) You are great and I absolutely loooove your posts @gardengirlcanada
Did you even read the article. It has only been 19 seconds. And if you thought it was a great post then why did you not vote on it? Thanks
I have been wanting to get another batch of coffee plants to try but my window real estate is at an extreme premium in the house. Between all my mini citrus, avocado, and wasabi plants it makes it hard to find the room. I will have to keep my eyes open next time I go to one of the box stores, I have bought them form home depot before, so should probably get one or 2. The coffee takes as long as my mini citrus do to produce anything, but it is indoors so this is to be expected.
well if you start the process now then it will be good to go and indoor plants are virtually maintenance free. No weeding bugs etc to content with its like fix it and forget it
You can roast the hull and brew it into a kind of iced coffee tea! They sell it by the name of Cascara down here :)
My mother has a couple of coffee plants but they've never come to fruit.
Great article!
Maybe tell her too much sun.
Thank you! I will.
Happy day to you ⭐️
Thanks for the info, I have two coffee plants inside but never had beans from them, maybe need to feed them more. How much light do you give the plants?
Not a bunch maybe 2-3 sunlight in morning when it is not strong.
Upvoted and following. Great info!
Why Thank you.