Oh no, here she goes again. Yep, I am going to try yet again to grow a tropical plant in a non tropical area. I mean I have already learnt how to grow dragon fruit or how to grow papaya in containers. So the other day I had this brilliant idea, why not learn how to grow cocoa.

Why would you want to grow cocoa? Well do you know that it is one of the super foods that is responsible for making chocolate. It grows well in tropical areas such as Hawaii, South Florida and Puerto Rico. However you can simulate the environment by using a greenhouse or a humidifier and a heater or grow lamp.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• cocoa seeds or seedlings
• mulch
• organic fertilizer
• compost
• plastic bag or tent
• bowl of water
•  humidifier (optional)
• greenhouse (optional)
• heater (optional)
• grow lamp (optional)

Cocoa seeds have to be planted while they are still fresh or they will not germinate. If you cannot easily get some seeds, then your next option would be to buy  seedlings from a nursery. The perfect temperature for the plants is betwen 65 to 90 degrees F and humidity of at least 60 percent.

If you are growing cocoa outside then you need to find a nice area that receives indirect area. Rich moist soil is also essential, and do not forget to apply mulch to conserve water. Your plants will start to flower after 4 to 5 years, they need midges to pollinate them however you can also self pollinate the flowers. Fruit takes about 6 months to mature and be ready for harvest.

You can get more information from Off Grid News blog, here…

How To Grow Cocoa

You can watch the video below on how to grow a cacao tree…

You can watch the video below on growing cocoa in containers…

You can watch the video below on making chocolate from cocoa beans…

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