We have started our vanilla nursery and we will be a vanilla nursery provider. We are representing Orchids Asia. Beside nursery we are setting up a vanilla sample plot for public to view in Kuching.

Attached pictures show vanilla and myself, 1 meter vanilla cuttings inside our quarantine shade, watering of the cuttings, putting the 1 meter cuttings upright.

Tanny Lee
tuntanny@gmail.com
phone +6 012 8834466
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

I just got back from my day trip to the Big Island. I’ll give you a recap of what I learned…

Huahua Farms

Clare was a very gracious and sharing host while we visited her farm. She has a number of vines, but recently had to destroy some plants due to a disease of some kind. The vines that remain are healthy and doing well. I believe some of the photos you have on your site show the trellises she uses to train the vines where to grow. They are under about a 50% shade cloth. At the time of our visit, there weren’t any flowers, but Clare said that they typically start to appear in January for her. She did have some nice looking pods maturing on the vine though…some of which have been on the vine almost a year. Clare thinks it’s because of the amount of vog (volcanic haze created by the volcano) that’s been generated recently. She’s also tried incorporating some of the techniques in the Vanilla Growing Manual from Venui Vanilla (speaking of which, I ordered a copy about a month ago, so hopefully it arrives soon).

Clare was also kind enough to share her curing methods with me, which are typical to the Bourbon style (i.e., blanching, sunning, sweating). The beans were coming along nicely from what I could tell. The amount she has available for sale is limited, so if anyone was thinking about ordering some, they should contact her soon. Maybe when her vines begin flowering, I’ll try and pay her a visit.

Hawaiian Vanilla Company

I attended HVC’s lunch and tour event among a small group of “tourists”. We were served a nice lunch with each element incorporating some form of vanilla. Our host for the day was Dave, one of the small number of employees on the farm. We learned about the Redenkopp family through a video and also had a quick demonstration about making extract. I was told that they produce only about 500 lbs. per year, but due to a recent outbreak of some disease, their entire plant stock had to be replaced from Costa Rican material. Their vines were in the early stages of growth and they don’t expect any beans until at least 2010. Their growing medium of choice is CHC (coconut husk chips) imported from Sri Lanka (I think). Whatever beans they are currently selling is from older stock. I believe they had another growing area apart from what we were shown.

That’s what I can recall right now…if you had specific questions just let me know.

Thanks for the detailed report. Reader reports are always welcome, just share them through the contact form.

Vanilla is a tropical plant and will only grow well within 20 degrees of the equator. However in a heated glasshouse we grow vanilla commercially in New Zealand at 37 degrees south. We maintain minimum temps of 16 c overnight and 21 c during the day, 50% shade and 80% relative humidity. It would grow well inside providing you can maintain humidity. It also needs a wet and dry season. Growing in a controlled environment makes this easy to replicate. Without a dry season the vines won’t flower. (03/08/2008) By Boggo

Boggo is probably Garth Boggis at Heilala Vanilla in New Zealand.

Henerico Daud Buberwa (Mr. Daudi) is a Tanzanian vanilla farmer, pictured here on the left. I originally bought some of Mr. Mugabuso’s (right) Tanzanian vanilla beans from Kim, a former Peace Corps worker.

Mr. Daudi sent me a post letter describing his vanilla growing and curing techniques, and compared them to those presented in Piero Bianchessi’s fantastic vanilla plantation handbook, Vanilla, Agriculture & Curing Techniques.

Mr Daudi writes:
I have read the handbook; it is very nice one. New knowledge I’ve acquired from the book includes:

• Other countries growing vanilla
• Vanilla world markets
• Vanilla spices
• Vanilla curing techniques.

Vanilla growing programs
All growing program from preparation of shamba [ed:vineyard] to pollinating of flowers are the same as we do, though there are slight differences in approach; e.g. in case of poles (supporting poles) here we use jatrophas only, mulching we use dry grass, dry banana leaves and banana stems; also here vanillas are grown in the same shamba with bananas, cassava yams, beans coffee etc.

The pictures in the book show that in other countries vanillas are grown in the forest.

Curing techniques
From the book curing techniques seems to be long and complicated circle.

At home, after harvesting ripe vanilla we take heap of 40-50 vanilla beans and wrap them in black clean cloth, then after, the heap is exposed to the sunshine for 5-6 hours everyday for two weeks consecutively, after this period the heap is opened and vanilla beans are left at clean cool place for a week to dry slowly. Already you have nice vanilla for home use or parking.

Bad Luck
The organization which buy vanilla here at home, it interests on raw vanilla for gaining more profits.

Refer to Mugyabuso’s vanilla, it was dried in the same system as the mentioned one above. Testing of vanillin content it is still a problem at home level.

I will try to take photos from my shamba and give you more details about vanilla later.

Wish you the best.
H. Daud
1st June 2008

Contact:
Henerico Daud Buberwa
c/o Meleki Emanuel Kaishozi
PO BOX 11849
Mwanza, Tanzania

Related
Tanzania planifolia vanilla
Tanzania vanilla, first look
Tanzania vanilla beans

Related
Indonesian tahitensis beans?
Fair trade vanilla alert.
Gourmet Organic Vanilla from Indonesia.
Indonesian vanilla video

Indoor vanilla links
Heilala Vanilla info.
Heilala Vanilla indoor vanilla plantation gallery.
Indoor vanilla in the Ukraine.

This pictorial shows vanilla pollination.
Photo:Venui Vanilla/original URL.

In earlier days, beginning this last century, there was actually a local company who had indoor growing vanilla, using wood stoves air systems to warm in the winter. They did exist for quit long time, until somewhere in the 1970′s…In those times, they even developed special blankets for special made drying rooms, where they dried the vanilla.

…in the Ukraine [indoor vanilla cultivation] is not really something new, it is more like re-introduction…

About our project in the Ukraine, it works like this.
We are building possibilities on 10 Ha ground, where we do now Sunflower production, in the middle of Ukraine, for indoor climatized Vanilla breeding for local sale and sale to Russia, Georgia and Armenia.

Since last year the farm prices went a bit down and people keep buying the extract through Russia, the government does only import nowadays through Russia and not anymore directly through Madagascar, because simply to import Vanilla is just not profitable at the moment. There is not the right structure for this business on long term yet.

Now with a new government there are new chances. We are dealing in other products closer with higher government institutes and did find a partner, who can bring in the vines of vanilla plants, when our production houses are ready.

All of this will take quit some time to put up, but it will solve local problems in the vanilla trade and make this trade less depending on Russia.

In earlier days, beginning this last century, there was actually a local company, who had indoor growing vanilla, using wood stoves air systems, to warm in the winter. They did exist for quit long time, until somewhere in the 1970′s, but then they did close this business, because the last family owner died. In those times, they even developed special blankets for special made drying rooms, where they dried the vanilla.

So, as you see, in the Ukraine it is not really something new, it is more like re-introduction and the local interest, to get fair prices for good quality vanilla is there, for Ukraine has a lot of bakeries, chocolate and dairy industry for local market.

We guess all takes still max. 5 years until the first harvest to realise in practice and get all permits through, to be able to produce the vanilla and export it to neighbour countries. That so far is the story.

Kind regards,

Patrick Persijn, Eurovanill LTD

Jags at Orchids Asia has an online, illustrated guide to vanilla growing and curing methods. This is an extensive vanilla growing how-to website that reflects Jags extensive experience growing vanilla in India.

Garth at Heilala Vanilla in New Zealand put together this great summary of vanilla literature. Garth’s paper has a little bit of everything about growing vanilla — from an extensive section on curing vanilla, to a lengthy description of the chemistry involved.

Related
Starting a Vanilla Plantation

The first section covers planting, propagating, and maintaining a plantation. The second section illustrates the curing and grading process. Full color pictures help identify common pests, diseases, and symptoms of unhealthy plants.

Cover

This is THE GUIDE to starting a vanilla plantation. Read more about it at the bottom of the Venui Vanilla page.

Part 1

Part 2

via this Indonesian blog.