01-30-2011, 04:08 AM
Zone 11 is a USDA temperature zone that has a minimum temp of 40 degrees: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hrdzon3.html
We have been growing tea at about 1000' for a couple of years now. Growth is not impressive, but the plants hold their own with little maintenance. The best tea is an upland crop, grown in relatively moist, misty conditions.
We got a cacao pod from a friend and the seeds germinated easily. They were neglected in gallon containers for a couple of years as we cleared more land, but most hung in there. I selected out the individuals with the most colored new growth. Finally planting them out, they were beset by probably rose beetles with heavily chewed-up leaves. We fertilized well and hit back with both malathion and BT and the plants recovered. Once they were established they seem to be growing about foot every six months. One individual planted out much earlier than the others, probably two years or a bit more in the ground, is doing wonderfully, about 5' tall with large beautiful mahogany red new growth. And the first keiki pods have appeared on it.
The Big Island vanilla company is at http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/. Both cacao and vanilla are complex crops and require some dedication and long term outlook to become commercially viable.
White Cloud Nursery
www.whitecloudnursery.com
We have been growing tea at about 1000' for a couple of years now. Growth is not impressive, but the plants hold their own with little maintenance. The best tea is an upland crop, grown in relatively moist, misty conditions.
We got a cacao pod from a friend and the seeds germinated easily. They were neglected in gallon containers for a couple of years as we cleared more land, but most hung in there. I selected out the individuals with the most colored new growth. Finally planting them out, they were beset by probably rose beetles with heavily chewed-up leaves. We fertilized well and hit back with both malathion and BT and the plants recovered. Once they were established they seem to be growing about foot every six months. One individual planted out much earlier than the others, probably two years or a bit more in the ground, is doing wonderfully, about 5' tall with large beautiful mahogany red new growth. And the first keiki pods have appeared on it.
The Big Island vanilla company is at http://www.hawaiianvanilla.com/. Both cacao and vanilla are complex crops and require some dedication and long term outlook to become commercially viable.
White Cloud Nursery
www.whitecloudnursery.com
