Vanilla
Growing Vanilla by Paul Prociv
Growing the vines, pollinating and harvesting
are the easy bits; the tricky part comes when you’re trying to
deal with pod fermentation, balancing their need for warmth and
humidity while at the same time avoiding fungal overgrowth (mould) or
desiccation, which can reduce them to useless, non-fragrant mummified
sticks (sadly, the state of many vanilla pods I’ve seen on sale
in shops here). I can understand that in a commercial setting (as
is done in Mexico, and as we saw in Mauritius and Madagascar), with
large numbers of vines, it’s most convenient to harvest
synchronously, i.e. at 6 months, when the pods are still green,
although fully developed, and that’s when the ripening process
has to be triggered by immersing them in hot water. I’ve
tried water at 70 °C (starting to steam), and water at 100 °C
(i.e. straight after boiling), either immersing the pods just for a
minute, or for up to 3 minutes, but can’t tell you which works
best – of course it depends on the volume of water, and the
quantity of pods, but sometimes they go brown afterwards and sometimes
not. Obviously, one needs to do a well-controlled experiment,
which will require huge volumes of vanilla pods (the most I ever
produced was in our last year in Brisbane, when we harvested about 1kg,
but I didn’t have the time or inclination then to fiddle about
with them).
As
an amateur, small-volume grower, I found that a
more reliable (and controllable, given my non-access to a humidity
chamber) method was to sun-ripen the pods, by collecting them as soon
as they started to yellow at the tip, but before they split (fungus
gets in readily by that stage), and leaving them all day in the full
sun in a black plastic bag (for maximal heating) – not effective
if you have rain or overcast weather! I’d take them out of
the bag each night, then replace in the sun the following morning,
first making sure to dry the inside of the bag. Most would take
only a few days to fully ripen (i.e. go dark brown), but others would
take longer. This went on continuously while harvesting, with new
pods being added daily as they were picked from vines, while older pods
that had turned brown and started to go aromatic being removed and
transferred to a large (A4) manilla (or any other paper, I suppose)
envelope for long-term storage in a dark cupboard. This ensured
that they didn’t get frankly wet from condensation (as happens
inside plastic bags), but the big problem then was that they dried out
too fast – hence, the envelope containing those ripening pods was
itself then wrapped up inside a plastic bag, and inspected pretty
frequently (once or twice weekly) to make sure none of the pods had
gone mouldy. This way, most of them ripened adequately and slowly,
without drying right out, although I was never sure exactly when they
were ready to use. However, their fragrance seemed to grow
stronger with time, and they gradually shrank and became rubbery
without fully drying out; when they seemed good enough, I’d just
take them out of the envelope and store them in
alcohol. Originally, I had 100% AR grade ethanol (almost
impossible to obtain
these days), but now I simply keep them, just covered, in cheap vodka
in a screw-capped glass jar. My last lot is 4 years old, and
still strongly perfumed! For use, you can either decant the
required amount of perfumed vodka (making sure to replace it, so the
remaining pods don’t dry out), or take out the pods you need.
As mentioned, I think we have only Vanilla planifolia in Australia, and I’d love to get hold of V. tahitiensis,
which supposedly is in PNG. When I was there a couple of years
ago, the vanilla vines and flowers looked just like ours, but the ripe
pods are supposed to have a different smell and flavour. I have
read somewhere that not all authorities accept them to be separate
species.
Recipes: Now you know how to get your beans, what can you do with them?
Paul says he uses it in practically everything:
Add it to your oatmeal when you soak it overnight.
He and Melissa add it to Chicken.
Break open the pod by just crushing it up a little and add it to your coffee pot where it is filtered.
Add it to sweets.
Cultivation of the Vanilla Orchid by Hal Young
The
Vanilla plant has been classified as a member of a sub-family of the
Orchidacea but differs from most other orchids in many respects and
some botanists have suggested it should be placed in a family of its
own. It has an unusual habit in being a vine, and the genus Galeola
which grows in our rainforests is one of its close relatives. For
practical purposes of cultivation it can be treated as an epiphytic
orchid which grow on the trunks and branches of trees usually in
tropical rain forests where there is often daily rainfall and partial
shade. Rockhampton Botanic Gardens in the sixties had one growing which
was about 10 mtrs tall but it is seldom seen in cultivation as a plant
on a trellis is rather difficult to exhibit at an orchid society
meeting or show! Being a vine it produces a leaf and a root at each
node at regular intervals along the stem and it is this feature that
makes it difficult to keep under control. It grows well where its roots
can get some moisture so they would grow well on the outside of mesh
cylinders packed with orchid potting medium such as pine bark and
charcoal mixtures so plastic super gutter guard should be ideal.
Regular gutter guard could be used but a much coarser mix would be
needed. Once the plant becomes established, the roots just hanging in
the air would absorb water from rain or sprinkling and applications of
fertiliser would also be taken up by these roots. When taking cuttings,
it may be beneficial to dip them in Steriprune and place them in
sterilised potting medium. Vanilla does better in warm humid
climates and may not thrive in windy or exposed situations. Most
growers who grow Vanilla grow them under about 50% shade but they may
adapt to more light. More light would require more water and
fertiliser. If the leaves develop a light yellow tint, it is an
indication that the light is too strong. On the other hand, dark green
leaves indicate insufficient light.
The Vanilla Orchid by Arthur Buckman, Hawai'i
Media
- equal parts of bark chips, peat moss and perlite for small plants and
cuttings. Larger plants do fine with just bark or tree fern.
“Sweetening” the mix with a little agricultural lime is
also a good idea.
Water - It is difficult to overwater these vines – keep aerial roots wet.
Sunlight - 50-60% shadecloth.
Temperature - Like high humidity with good air movement. Dislike temperatures below 15 °C.
Fertiliser - Higher phosphorus in spring will help flowering and pod formation on mature plants.
Transplanting - Only during the warmer months. Train some of the aerial roots down into the media.
Cuttings - 30cms in length with at least 3 leaves. Can be rooted in water or above mix. Sap is an irritant.
Trellising - Important to train at sharp right angles without breaking them.
Promoting Flowering
- Pruning in summer, wire tie restrictions. An undisturbed plant will
usually not flower til it has reached the top of its host tree and
begins to hang down. This technique should bring a cutting to 1st
flowering in less than 3 years.
Pollination:
Method 1
Tear off the lip (it falls apart easily) to expose the underside of the
column. Collect the pollen with a toothpick from the hinged tip of the
column (anther) or from another flower, insert pollen under the trap
door (rostellum) located under the tip of the anther (pin back with
needle if necessary)
Method 2
as above but remove the rostellum at its base with a good pair of
forceps and push the hinged anther into the now unprotected cavity.
Uses
- People commonly store in rum or other spirits to extract the flavour
in cooking. A single bean split and stored in a cup of sugar also gives
good results. The taste will improve every time you go to the
supermarket and see how much you’re not paying!
Back to
Vanilla Page
|