Bio-Engineering

Again, the purpose of this blog is more on how to grow plants, growing with limited space availability, and education regarding plants. It isn't really meant to be a political outlet. That being said, it is impossible to separate politics out from most issues. It is a force that permeates our lives, as it should. We all have ideas that we cling to, opinions that we hold close, ideals that we invest in. Today's blog will focus on a very large issue that has come up in recent time. And although I would love to have converts, the main purpose of this entry will be to educate, if you are at least aware and thinking about the issue, then I have done well.

Today we will be talking about the genetic manipulation of plants for food. I'm hoping that most people who read this will at least have heard something about it. For those who haven't, it's important that you know; unless you buy organic (though that itself isn't a guarantee), already have a good knowledge of where you buy your food from, or grow all of your own food, most of what you eat now is genetically modified.

What is genetic manipulation? It is the process of splicing in genes from one creature into another. Of cutting out a piece of DNA from one animal, plant, fungus, etc. and adding into the genetic sequence of another. There are many reasons that this process is done, but, like many aspects of our society, the main drive is profit.

When this issue became noteworthy, it was sold to us as a means to increase crop yield to feed the poor. To grow more nutritious crops, ones with lower water needs, better disease resistance. In truth, the actual products we got were ones that resisted herbicide, so that the company that sells the seeds can sell you their herbicide as well. We got products that, once we bought into, were nearly impossible to de-invest ourselves in. Ones that set dangerous legal precedent that we have never seen before.

There are four plants that are the primary candidates for genetic modification, soybeans, corn, rapeseed (canola), and cotton (though wheat will soon make #5). There are others, and at the time of this writing, the first genetically modified animal is being put up for the FDA to review for human consumption, however I really just want to touch briefly on the fact that of the “big four”, the three food crops are in nearly every food product on the market. Soy is in nearly everything, corn is in nearly everything (high fructose corn syrup, anyone?), and canola oil is one of the most popular cooking oils in the United States.

So why does it matter? So most of our food is GM'd, or contains them, what's wrong with that? Well, the simple answer is, we don't know. Neither biotech companies nor the FDA tests them to see if they are suitable for consumption, either by humans or animals:

"Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's job." -- Phil Angell, Monsanto's director of corporate communications, quoted in the New York Times, October 25, 1998 (http://www.alternet.org/story/154951/millions_against_monsanto%3A_the_food_fight_of_our_lives)

"When a company comes in with data, the FDA looks at it and writes a letter saying, "Dear Monsanto, you supplied information regarding the safety of corn variety X and we are confident about what you've shown," Halloran says. “It is your responsibility."

(http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10004920-2.html)

No one knows if the food is safe, and no one tests it.

Besides the lack of evidence for food safety, one of my largest concerns is seed rights. For all of human history, the flow of seeds has been free. You may buy seeds from a company, however, neither they, nor you own the rights to the genes of the plant. If you collect seeds from the fruit, that is your right. If you want to replant those seeds or give them to a friend, you may. No one, nor any organization has ever had rights to the DNA of a creature. This is no longer true, and most frighteningly, this right has become the sole right of biotech companies, and no other organization or person has them. This means that if you purchase bio-engineered soy from one of these companies, they retain seed rights and you may not save them. You must re-purchase seeds every year from that company. And what makes these seeds special? They are resistant to the herbicide that the company makes. Do they use less water? No. Do they have disease resistance? No. High crop yield? No. You buy more expensive crop, that you have to re-purchase every year, which has one purpose, for you to spend more money on herbicide from the same company.

The even more dangerous side of this issue is that of cross-pollination. Plants reproduce with any member of the same genus. This means that, in the case of canola, it will happily breed with cabbage, turnips, broccoli, and many others. If your cabbage, which isn't modified, has now mated with a canola that is, and you replant those seeds, you can now be sued for stealing the DNA of a company's GM crop. I hope that the danger here is not lost on my readers. It boils down to the simple fact that, potentially, a biotech company can, through cross-pollination, own any and all plants that you grow, including any hybrids that you develop, fine you for theft, and do it entirely legally.

Though you yourself may not be a farmer or grow any kind of plants, I'm sure that you know at least one person who does. If you're reading my blog, you probably know me, so that gives you at least one person you know that could be affected. I honestly feel that this is, and will continue to be, one of the most important issues that we as a society will face. My botany instructor once told me that science moves faster than morality in our society; he was, and still is right.

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If you want to dig deeper, there are many resources available online. A basic Google search will turn up both sides to the argument. Mine is admittedly one sided, however, I do present viable points. I urge all my readers to become better informed about this matter. I will probably touch on this controversy again, especially in relation to Oregon, but for now I hope that I've piqued interest in the issue.

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Now for something completely different. Writing articles about growing during Winter, when many plants are dead or dormant can be a bit difficult. I haven't been publishing as many entries as I'd like, though I feel (or perhaps hope) that the quality has been going up. I will try to post more in the coming months with smaller updates, returning more to gardening in a small space, as well as longer posts, highlighting specific plants and politics as they seem appropriate.

Winter is long, but as we are past the Solstice and the days are growing longer. Sadly, in Oregon, the coldest part of Winter is still on it's way, but at least higher light levels will be returning. I hope you all had wonderful holidays, Spring will be here soon.

My Carnivores II

Continuing from last week, these are my “tropical” carnivores. That being said, none of these plants are temperate, but only two of these are truly tropical. One of which doesn't like hot weather. They can be a tad bit temperamental when it comes to conditions.

None of these plants like full sun. Many of them live in environments where they get bright filtered light or dappled sunlight all day. This presents a problem for temperate growers (like myself, living in Oregon), it will be alittle more difficult to keep them happy and healthy, especially in winter. I personally recommend a setup recommended by Sarracenia Northwest for winter months:

Get a 10 gallon fish aquarium and a two tube shoplight fixture capable of doing 40 Watts; get the appropriate 40W bulbs and put them on a timer for about 12 hours of light a day. Set it on top of the aquarium and place plants in and around it. For us it's been really really useful, but I'll talk about placement when we get to the individual plants. If you do want to go for the natural light, south windows are excellent year round.

Sundew (Drosera sp.)

 

Tropical sundew care is fairly similar to it's temperate cousin, the major difference being temperature. It prefers warmer conditions. It should be grown as a houseplant. Don't let it get below 55°F. It should also be in standing water like the Sarracenias. I've noticed that mine likes having its leaves clipped as they die back (made apparent by their lack of “dew”). Really, these are very easy plants. My cousin, Michael, has a temperate sundew, its care is nearly identical, the major difference being directness of light and the ability to overwinter. Sundews, like I've mentioned before, are great bug catchers. Having one indoors has been nice, it's constantly catching little gnats and fruit flies. If you have an appropriate window, they'll enjoy about 4 hours of direct sun, and bright light for the rest of the day. I currently am using the shoplight for it and all of my tropicals (since my apartment doesn't have adequate light during winter) and it is happy as a clam, or at least as cheerful as a sundew. I have it placed about a foot from my light and it seems to really enjoy it.

Butterworts (Pinguicula sp.)

Tropical butterworts are primarily native to Mexico and they are absolutely beautiful plants. They come in many different sizes and shapes, with varying leaf color which changes based on how much light they receive. They also have absolutely beautiful flowers ranging in color from purple to red to pink. They don't like to be in standing water, much like their temperate relatives, preferring to be in moist soil, not soaked soil. They have the same light requirements as the sundew, as well as placement if you desire to use the shoplight. They, likewise, are excellent bug catchers. They can survive hard water (greater than 50 ppm), but soft water is fine as well.

Cephalotus Follicularis

Cephalotus are native to Australia, their habitat being similar to the central California coast. They are pitcher plants, however they aren't related to Nepenthes. They grow low to the ground and form hairy, tubby pitchers that turn deep burgundy in the right light conditions. They do not like standing water, preferring to have moist soil, like the butterworts. Light requirements are the same as the other two preceding, as well as placement for shoplights. Something important to note is their dislike of warm soil. If you go the natural light route, you should place their pot into a larger ceramic pot with an airgap. This will help prevent their roots from overheating. All of these plants should remain in an environment where the air temperature is above 55°F, otherwise they will get cranky very fast. These are also slow growers, be prepared for that.

Nepenthes sp.

Nepenthes are my favorite plants in the whole wide world. There is something about them that just entrances me. Whenever I visit Sarracenia Northwest, I love visiting their Nepenthes greenhouse. They are beautiful plants and wonderful bug catchers. They are also one of the few carnivores aside from butterworts that have some tolerance to hard water. That being said, you should still use less than 50 pmm water for this and all of these plants. I've always has some difficulty with the proper light requirements for Nepenthes, however, they do like the shop light for winter growing. During brighter months, 4 hours of direct light and very bright or dappled light for the rest of the day works. Conversely, having them in very bright filtered light is great if you have the right setup for it. Something else to know about Nepenthes, most of them get rather large. An average of about 2 feet tall, though there are smaller and much larger species. Eventually, most won't fit under a shop light. While they fit, 8 inches to 1 foot is good. Feel it out, the plant will let you know when it's too close or two far from the light.

Heliamphora sp.

Heliamphora are rare tropical pitcher plants that are native to Ecuador. They live in conditions that have little to no fluctuations in light levels, temperature, or water amount year round. They are, perhaps, the most difficult carnivorous plant to grow. This is the reason that I have a timed shop light set up, it is for this plant and this plant only. I have all of the tropicals under it, but it really for our Heliamphora. 12 hours of light, starting and ending at the same time every day, temperature between 65-75°F, always, and constantly moist soil. Keep them about a foot from the light. If you're up for a challenge, these are for you. And there is something so satisfying about seeing a new pitcher opening. A very hard plant to grow, but very rewarding. I should mention that they can tolerate temperatures above 75, but they start growing very slowly.

There you have it! This ends my indulgent posts about my plants (for now). I hope that if you've ever been inclined to grow carnivores that this can be a nice reference guide. I love my carnivores. They are all beautiful and unique. If you want an interesting conversation piece, love exotic plants, or just want to have something a little different, I highly recommend them.



Sarracenia Northwest care sheets:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets?zenid=40rd7t5bnb89vcb83un2km3fl3

A wonderful society for those that have the carnivore bug:
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/


Next week: More politics as I present my opinion on the genetic manipulation of food.

All the photos here are mine, except where noted. They are all under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

My Carnivores I

So this post is a little indulgent; I want to show our collection of carnivorous plants. As I mentioned earlier, one of the first things that sparked my love for plants comes from when I was little (about 7 or 8). In one of our school book orders we had a book covering several types of carnivorous plants. I loved that book to death (until I lost it). It's been so long ago now that I don't remember what plants it covered, but to the best of my recollection, it talked about sundews, cobra lilies, butterworts, flytraps, and bladderworts. I thought it was amazing to think that some plants “ate” like animals. As a plus, some of them even moved! To an 8 year old, it's pretty amazing to think of plant moving fast enough for us to observe. Today I'll be talking about our current collection, as well as growing tips and thoughts about certain plants in relation to ease of growing, usefulness as a bug trap, etc.

Let's begin with easy plants and move to harder. Remember that this listing is going to be somewhat subjective. I might have an easier time growing certain plants than others, and a harder time than others for “easy” plants.

One more thing to note. These plants all have very specific water and soil requirements. The reason that carnivorous plants are carnivorous is due to a lack of nutrients in the soil that they grow in. They do not consume for proteins or fats, they consume only for the minerals that are absent in their soil. By growing a carnivorous plant in soil that has added nutrients (like regular potting soil) you will kill the plant. Most of these grow in bogs or other very unique places that have no minerals in the soil due to constant flow of pure water. Whenever you repot, you need to get a special mix of soil first. Either buy it premixed or mix it yourself, but look it up beforehand or you will regret it. When watering, remember too that most of the plants on this list require “pure” water. The dissolved solids need to be less than 50 parts per million(ppm). In Oregon, where I live, this isn't usually a big issue, most water sources are already less than 50.

Sarracenia

Sarracenia are a superbly easy and useful plant to grow. They are native to the United States and Canada. Often when you hear the term pitcher plant, this is what people think of (or perhaps Darlingtonia). They form trumpet shaped leaves from a rhizome, ranging from clusters of ground pitchers to pitchers that grow to 3 or 4 feet. You should absolutely do research about the variety that you're thinking about bringing home. They require full sun (which means at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day) and need to be in standing water at all times. Let me clarify with standing water: however tall your pot is, the water should come up about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the side of the pot. These plants are very, very simple to grow, I have one plant, S. leucophylla. It's a gorgeous plant, sadly it doesn't look quite as well due to it going dormant for the year, but during the growing season it is beautiful. Sarracenia also catch a lot of bugs. No carnivorous plant will completely take care of your bug problems, but these will capture hornets, flies, grasshoppers, mayflies, and anything else that decides that it needs to see what's down the rabbit hole. They also have some of the most unique looking flowers of any plant I've seen.

Sexy Sarracenia flower (photo credit to Noah Elhardt and Petr Dlouhy; taken from Wikipedia)

Venus Flytraps (Dionaea muscipula)

Flytraps seem to be everyone's favorite, since they have moving parts. They are likewise very easy to grow, and grow in the same habitat as Sarracenia. The same restrictions apply here, low ppm water, full sun, and keep the pot in standing water, halfway up the side. They do not catch as many insects as Sarracenia, but do very well. Kids love them, their moving traps look like little mouths. It's important to know that each trap can only work about 6-10 times before it falls off, and it take a lot of energy for the trap to function. If you do have children, just don't let them set off the traps constantly, it will hurt the plant over time. It's also important to note that the way most people see Venus flytraps for sale in stores is actually about the worst possible way that you can grow them. The plants do poorly in terracotta pots and do not grow well indoors, furthermore they do not require high humidity to grow. If you do get a flytrap this way, you should slowly acclimate it to lower humidity by cutting holes in the plastic pot cover, adding about one a week until the inside and outside humidity is the same. They should also be set outdoors in standing water like the Sarracenia.

Sundew (Drosera sp.)

Sundew (temperate) are the most successful carnivorous plant in the world, they live on every continent except for Antarctica. This means that it is especially important to know where your sundew is from. Their care will change slightly depending upon where they are native to. In terms of temperate sundews, treat them like Sarracenia and flytraps, full sun, standing pure water. They, like the Sarracenia, are excellent bug catchers. I once overheard someone saying they were like fly paper. They trap their prey with sticky “dew” that they excrete from special hairs on their leaves. When a caught bug squirms, they generally get caught in more hairs, which slowly pull them down to the surface of the leaf where they are digested.

Butterworts (Pinguicula sp.)

Butterworts (temperate) are a bit different in care to the others. They, like the sundew are found nearly everywhere, but they have wide, almost succulent leaves. They don't care for sun quite as much as the other plants, are more permissive of water with greater than 50 ppm, and don't need to be in as much water either. It is important to know whether or not your butterwort is temperate or “tropical”, as they have slightly different needs, most specifically in soil. Most are tolerant to 2-4 hours of direct sunlight per day, followed by bright or dappled light for the rest of the day. I imagine that properly tuned shadecloth would produce great results as well. I only have one temperate variety, the primrose butterwort, Pinguicula primuliflora. It's a bit temperamental and very sensitive to fungal infections, which is why you should let the soil get almost or slightly dry before you water it. They are tolerant of drier conditions. For me, it seems like keeping it in a water tray and “bottom” watering it is the best method, filling it up just enough for the soil to become moist at the top.  You can top water it, just be careful to drain it's water tray afterwards. You do not want them sitting in water like the other three, doing so will kill the plant.  If there is excess water in the tray after watering, it'd be good to empty it.  In the photo above, only the lower left is temperate, the others are all "tropical".

Next time I will cover the “tropical” carnivorous plants that I have: Nepenthes, Cephalotus, tropical sundews, tropical butterworts, and Heliamphora.

As a side note, I apologize for my long absence. This has been a very intensive and busy term of school. As winter break approaches, my posts should become more regular. Thanks for the understanding!

For awesome carnivorous plants, check out Sarracenia Northwest! At the time of my writing, their cold hardy plants (Sarracenia and flytraps) are all on sale. Much of the information I've given today I've learned from them.

http://www.cobraplant.com/

Wikipedia is another, always wonderful resource, here are their pages for the plants I've covered today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarracenia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Flytrap

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinguicula

All the photos here are mine, except where noted. They are all under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Cannabis

This blog is not really intended to be a political outlet for me, but we cannot talk about agriculture without occasionally involving politics. Food and industrial (as well as recreational) crops are often politicized. I will be writing about Genetically Modified food soon, but today, I will be writing about Oregon's Measure 80, which would legalize the growing of Cannabis for industrial production, food production, and recreational use.

I've never been interested in smoking pot, I'm a pretty boring person, I grew up more interested in playing video games and watching movies than getting high. I was also (and still am) pretty dorky, the kind of people who had access to marijuana didn't tend to socially overlap with me. I don't intend to start, and I think it's important for me to state this because I really want to promote why I feel this is a good idea. I'm not personally interested in using it for recreation.

This will tie into several issues all at once, and it's difficult to take care of them all in a short blog post. My philosophy in this is to give people the ability to learn without getting overwhelmed. For every topic I write here, one could most likely write a novel. I want to keep is simple and short, which is why I split up my posts if they're getting too long, and why, though we'll be covering several issues here today, I want to keep it short and digestible. That being said, why is this so important to me, and why do I feel like this is important to Oregon?

In many ways, this issue ties very heavily into sustainability, and not just agricultural sustainability. Oregon as a state needs more internal revenue. We are relatively good at balancing the budget here, but there is certainly a need for more revenue, if for nothing else but a rainy day fund. But most especially, these funds can help sustain programs like education and state health care. The measure would allow cannabis to be taxed, 90% of which would come back directly into state revenue.

Speaking to agricultural sustainability, 80 would raise the restriction on growing industrial hemp as well. This would allow farmers to grow organic, non-genetically modified crops at a profit. There is a reason that cannabis is called 'weed', it is one; it grows quickly and doesn't require much attention beyond water and sunlight. Hemp fiber is very good and very cheap. If we play our cards right and build hemp fiber processing factories in Oregon we can have even more jobs and more tax revenue.

Hemp also provides some food products as well. Many stores now carry hemp based foods. They aren't illegal in Oregon, but to get them, they must be imported from Canada, where industrial hemp production is legal. I've tried hemp chips and hemp milk now, both of which were pretty good. Being lactose intolerant, I drink soymilk as an alternative, but it doesn't really taste like cow milk. Hemp milk is good and is much closer in texture and flavor, even my wife, who cannot stand soymilk, likes hemp milk.

Finally, legalizing cannabis would allow our police force to stop wasting time and resources fighting the war on marijuana. It would also stop the illegal market for it, since the state would charge much less. It further protects the imbiber from having cannabis that is tainted or laced with other drugs. The crime rate surrounding marijuana based crimes would be lower. And finally, it would also weaken the funding for gangs and dealers who rely on income from the drug.

When everything is said and done I really feel that we need to be able to grow this crop commercially in Oregon. It provides cheap food, cheap fiber, and would provide great tax revenue. I don't know if the measure will pass or not, it seems like it could be a toss up either way. But I feel like Oregon is a wonderful place, and I think that we can and should be at the leading edge of sustainability, agriculture, invention, science, and culture in this country. I think that this would be a step in the right direction for us. Regardless of your opinion on the matter, I want you to vote. Change is only possible for those willing to participate.

For more information, I urge you to check out the measure's website:
http://octa2012.org/

Next week: My Carnivorous Plants

Ginger

Zingiber officinale is one of my absolute favorite spices. Ginger has a uniquely spicy and sweet flavor. Aromatic, pleasing, and just a beautiful plant to look at. It's also surprisingly easy to grow, and I will tell you how.

The part of the ginger plant consumed is the rhizome. A rhizome is a partially buried stem that acts like a food store for plants. The rhizome grows over the course of the year and is best harvested when the plant dies back. Ginger is related to galangal, tumeric, and cardamom. Though I haven't actually grown these spices, I imagine that the technique would be similar. If I get ahold of them then I will definitely try and pass on the knowledge.

So, how do you grow these roots? Well, it's probably easier than one would think. They're all native to Southern Asia and are used to warm, humid environments. Well, again, speaking just for ginger, I have had luck growing a tiny little rhizome (about 1 ounce) into a very large rhizome (about 1.5 pounds). I just picked it up from a local grocery store, planted it in potting soil with a tiny mix of compost and put it outside during the summer. It shot up two leaf stocks and put on size until about October, when I brought it in. Its leaves died back and I kept it in over winter. I put it back out in April (which was a mistake) and it sprouted in July. I didn't harvest it the first year, but will be harvesting this year once it dies back. My recommendation for selecting an appropriate rhizome would be to look for one that doesn't have any large cuts or blemishes. Make sure it's not dried or cooked, it should be firm to the touch, not soft or flexible. I also recommend buying organic. This is for two main reasons; organic food is awesome (yes, I will do an entry as to why it is) and because I seem to have better luck growing seeds and roots/rhizomes/etc. from organic sources.

Ginger likes full sun, so try to give it 6+ hours of direct light a day. Water it normally, it seems to be pretty water tolerant so don't really worry about overwatering. Just water it like any other garden plant. For the Willamette Valley, where I live it seems to like to sprout around the beginning of July, so I'd say plant it in June (The valley is USDA zone 8). I think if you lived in a warmer climate you could probably put it out earlier. Although the plant will grow up to about a meter under good conditions, in my 3 gallon pot it tops out around 60 cm. Both years it's sent up two leaf spikes.

It grows reasonably fast, no pests that I've noticed. But one thing I'd love to see are ginger flowers. I have yet to get my root to do this for me. I have a feeling that the climate just isn't right to get it to flower. If I ever have any breakthroughs I'll post my findings.

Review-

Ginger (Zingiber officinale):

Soil: Potting soil with some compost.

Light: Full sun (6+ hours a day); grow outdoors.

Water: Water the same you would any other temperate plant in your garden.

Planting: I'd say the beginning of June in Zone 8; it will sprout in early July.

Pests: I haven't really seen anything bother it.

Harvest: Once the leaf spikes has died back.

Next week: My opinion on the Oregon Cannabis Act

Vanilla II

There are a few reasons why vanilla is so expensive. Perhaps the absolutely largest reason is that vanilla orchids are hand pollinated. When the flowers bloom you have a 12 hour window in which you can pollinate. Take any longer than that and the bloom will wilt and die. Part of the reason for hand pollination is that the only pollinator for the flower is native to only Mexico. Even then, the bee only pollinates about 1 in 100 flowers, so to keep production up, you need to hand pollinate. Another reason is that a vine typically only produces about 100 beans per growing cycle. The fruits take about 7-8 months to fully mature plus another 7 or so months to cure the bean. These factors really drive the price up.

So, maybe it's time to grow your own? Well, perhaps so. Unlike my adventures with wasabi, vanilla has proven itself as one of the most robust and quick growing orchids I have ever had the pleasure of growing. The initial investment is high due to the demand for this plant, so expect to pay about $30-40 for it, probably plus another $10-20 for shipping. I have two plants, both Vanilla planifolia (which isn't the only type of vanilla, but is the most common variety in production), one of them being a 'variegata'. The variegata has light green to white stripes down it's leaves, as opposed to the solid green of the more commonly grown commercial variety. The variegata arrived at the beginning of summer, started off at the height of about 1.5 feet and over the course of the last 3 months has put on over 2 feet of growth! I was completely thrown by this. All of the orchids that I've ever grown grow slowly. Putting on a new leaf over the course of a month. Slow and steady. The vanilla orchid puts on nearly a centimeter a day! I'm not fertilizing it either! I am just completely amazed by it's growth.

So, lots of vegetative growth is great, but what about the flowers? Well, vanillas tend to flower in the spring, and although their native climate and habitat of Mexico is different from Oregon, it still has a seasonal variance, so I have a feeling if I can get it to flower, it'll be after the decrease in light and cooler temperatures of winter. So definitely keep your eyes open for more posts about vanilla in the future.

So here are my recommendations for growing vanilla in the home (based on personal experience and research):

Vanilla likes lots of bright indirect light and/or dappled light. I have it in a west facing window that gets between 4-7 hours of direct sun a day (depending on the time of day). If I'm home during the day I leave the blinds open for direct light and then close them to let in slits of light as the direct sunlight starts coming in the window.

For water, I follow the same watering system as I do for my other orchids. When the soil is mostly dry (use your fingers to touch and see) get it watered and soaked. Make sure that you allow the water to drain out fully. If you have a shallow tray underneath the pot, you can leave some water, but be very careful about having too much. Orchids like humidity, but if you keep their root system too wet it can lead to fungal infections. That being said, the roots of vanilla orchid grow out of the stem, they use them as holdfasts to whatever plant or structure you have set up for them. I tend to spritz them with a spray bottle a couple times a day. This helps keep them hydrated, and since this water evaporates quickly it's not water-logging them.

You'll need to give them a structure to climb. Vanilla cannot support it's own weight and grows benignly up the sides of a host tree in nature. I have bamboo poles that I have scoured with a table knife to allow the roots to more easily attach to them. They're 1cm in diameter and about 6 feet tall. Vanilla will grow to 15 feet and up if you let it, but you can come up with creative ways to grow it to mitigate it's size. Keep this in mind if you plan on growing it. My oldest is currently about 4.5 feet tall, but as the days are getting shorter it's growth is slowing.

For soil I have a mix of orchid potting bark, orchid potting soil mix, and sphagnum peat moss. I tend to be somewhat inexact while I mix, but if I were to be nailed down for a ratio I'd say 2:2:1 bark:soil:sphagnum peat. Mix them thoroughly.

Vanilla isn't too hard to care for, but it's size can make it a tad difficult. Also keep in mind that orchids can be alittle finicky when it comes to light and water.

There are several nurseries with online storefronts that sell vanilla; my personal recommendation would be to hop on Google and search for “Vanilla Planifolia”. They aren't too hard to find, but like I mentioned earlier, expect to drop about $60 when everything is said and done for a plant.

Next week: Ginger

Week after that: My opinion on Oregon's Measure 80; The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act

Vanilla I

I love pineapple, I love ginger, vanilla, chocolate, and many other tropical and subtropical plants, edible and decorative. But there is a big problem for the grow at home gardener in much of the United States, we just don't have the right climate. So is there any hope? Any chance of having fresh and local bananas in Oregon? Yes, there is, but on a very small scale. That being said, in urban gardening, you don't generally have a lot of room to begin with. Over the next few weeks, with one or two exceptions, I will be focusing on growing tropicals in temperate climates (like Oregon).

So, to start us off today, vanilla (Vanilla planifolia, V. spp.). The first tweet I ever made chronicled the origin of the word “vanilla”, something that I hope everyone will always remember (mostly because I find it amusing). It comes (through Spanish) from the Latin word “vagina”. Vagina, in Latin means “sheath”, and in this case, it's in reference to the pod being a sheath to the seeds, from which the flavor we know as vanilla comes from. Vanilla is the third most expensive spice in the world with prices generally floating around $60 per pound (~130USD/kg).

I am reminded of when I wanted to try vanilla when I was little. My mom would often use vanilla flavoring for baking in cakes, and I want to emphasize the word “flavoring”. Vanillin, the chemical that we all recognize as vanilla's flavor, is easily created in a laboratory, and often is for cost reasons. She, to this day, believes that vanillin from a bottle is what vanilla tastes like. She told me that it was awful and disgusting, that she had tried it when she was little, and that I would dislike it. She was right, it tasted awful, but not because vanilla is gross, but moreso because vanilla extract is kinda awful tasting. To get the extract you usually put the pods, after you've removed the seeds, into a strong, flavorless alcohol. The flavor is maintained, but you also get the alcohol, and depending on what kind it is and the quality, it can vary the flavor of the extract. The vanillin in a bottle is more or less the same thing: laboratory flavoring suspended in alcohol.

I tried, for the first time, true vanilla a few months ago. The seed paste has a earthy and vanilla-y flavor. It's really good, and despite it's high cost per pound, the price per bean is reasonably low since each bean only weighs a fraction of an ounce. The best price I've seen is from New Seasons Market, who generally prices at about $1.70 per bean. These are Madagascar vanilla beans. They have an excellent flavor, though I've been told that Mexican beans have the best flavor, due in part to Vanilla being native to Mexico. Beans from the homeland will generally cost you more. For native beans, I like purchasing from Penzey's Spices, which will run you about $2.60 per bean.

Commercially the biggest exporters of vanilla are Mexico, Madagascar, Indonesia, and China, however they are not the only exporters. I have heard from a friend who traveled in Mexico and South America that the plantations there have armed guards to protect the fields. It is a very valuable crop. For anyone wanting to grow it, it could potentially be a very lucrative business. But there are reasons why it's so expensive.

And they are... going to be described in my next write-up, as well as details about my own attempts at vanilla cultivation. Have a wonderful week everyone!

For a great information on vanilla, check out Wikipedia's page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla