When and how to plant cocoa beans?

How are cocoa beans sown? Well, it’s very easy, since with a pot and a good substrate, without forgetting of course a watering can with water, we can get some specimens of this tree. But if we want someone to reach adulthood … things get complicated.

So to have a chance of success, I recommend you keep reading. I don’t promise anything, but… you might be lucky 🙂.

Table of Contents

  • 1 What are cocoa beans like?
  • 2 When and how are they sown?

What are cocoa beans like?

They are produced by the tree Theobroma cacao, an evergreen tree that lives in the tropical regions of America, especially the Amazon. The fruit is a large berry known as cob, and it is fleshy, oblong to ovate, yellow or purple in color, and 15 to 30cm in size. The seeds are reddish-brown, slightly less than 2cm long, and hard.

To germinate (and live) they need the temperature to be soft-warm, between 20 and 30ºC, as well as high humidity; otherwise they will not or will come out to dry shortly after.

When and how are they sown?

If you live in a place where the climate is warm tropical, you can do it right after the dry season. But if you live in an area with a temperate climate, do it in mid / late spring, when the temperature is 20ºC or something more.

Once you’ve decided the day follow this step by step:

  1. First, extract the seeds from the fruit and clean them thoroughly with water.
  2. Then fill a pot about 10,5cm in diameter with 60% mulch with 30% perlite (or similar) and 10% guano.
  3. Then water conscientiously.
  4. Then, place a maximum of two seeds in the pot, lying flat, and cover them with a thin layer of substrate.
  5. Finally, water again and sprinkle copper or sulfur to prevent the appearance of fungi.

Thus, placing the pot in semi-shade, will germinate in about 2-4 weeks. As soon as roots grow out of the drainage holes, transplant them into individual pots, and don’t forget to sprinkle with copper or sulfur again. In this way, they will have a much better chance of moving forward.

Good planting 🙂.

When and how to plant cocoa beans?

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