Kbud

Hi all!

Awhile back, I posted a similar thread on FlyTrapCare. Anyway, I just wanted to discuss vanilla, another plant I'm interested in. Anybody have any questions, pics, or experiences?


How to make Vanilla Extract: Excerpt from Growing Tasty Tropical Plants* (Like...) *In any Home, Any Where. by Laurelynn G. Martin and Byron E. Martin, co-owners of Logee's Tropical Plants. (I love this book). Copyright 2010 by Storey Publishing: 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing : Books for Country Living Since 1983. Link to the book: Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in Any Home, Anywhere: (like lemons, limes, citrons, grapefruit, kumquats, sunquats, tahitian oranges, barbados ... black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, and more...): Byron E. Martin, Laurelynn G. Martin: 9781603425773: Amaz.


"Vanilla beans take six to nine months to mature on the vine. You'll know the beans are ready to pick once they begin to turn yellow. Here's how to process your homegrown beans:

1. Pick beans when they begin to turn yellow.
2. Blanch in hot water for a few minutes (this helps clean the surfaces of mold).
3. Spread on paper towels and dry out of direct sunlight in an airy spot with low humidity. Drying takes several weeks or even a few months. Beans turn black when dry.
4. Once dried, soak 3 or 4 beans in 1/2 cup of vodka to make a strong, baker's-quality vanilla extract."
-Pg. 123
However the page also says in a recipe: "His wife, Deb, says that using clear Jamaican rum is a must to produce the best vanilla extract."

I guess it is a matter of choice. Most interestingly though, the flowers need to be hand-pollinated. Pg. 122 says,
"The blooms are open only one day and need to be hand-pollinated to produce beans." Does anyone know the best way(s) of doing this? Any tips? There is also a variegated form of vanilla that is very pretty.


It is worth mentioning that I want to get a plant of it; I do not have it yet. Once I get a greenhouse, I am totally getting one along with sugarcane and black pepper.

Cheers,
Kbud

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Hi! My name is Spekter! Hopefully I can be of some help!

I grow tasty/useful tropical plants and carnivorous plants!

Check out my tasty tropical plants blog: http://spektersplants.wordpress.com

2woodensticks

i do have a few vanilla vines,as well as other orchids..from 3 inch when i recived it and is know about 2 1/2 feet..on my orchid site was told about 3 -4 years to mature and flower,so i have 2 more years to go..pollinating tips all over youtube..i am just waiting to bloom..but will invitro germinate seed on a pod or two

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got to love em..{neotropical rattlesnake..cascabell}

Kbud

Thanks! Do you have any pics?

__________________
Hi! My name is Spekter! Hopefully I can be of some help!

I grow tasty/useful tropical plants and carnivorous plants!

Check out my tasty tropical plants blog: http://spektersplants.wordpress.com