my name is David gardela our company is
vanilla export
company for many years my family has
been dedicated to the cultivation of
vanilla and Costa
Rica but before I show you how to grow
vanilla I have to give you a little
warning vanilla is very addictive once
you try it you'll never leave it
alone there are good years when you earn
pretty good money
there are mediocre years when you earn
Soo and there are some very good years
when you earn lots of
money but there are years when you lose
everything and this is the reason this
disease is called ferion look at how all
the roots are all
dead but if you do what I tell you you
will not have problems with this disease
and you'll have plants like this
one
the vanilla plant is an orchid that will
climb to the top of a
tree if the tree is 30 to 40 m tall a
vanilla Vine will grow to the very
top
if you allow the plant to climb to the
top you will not be able to get it
[Laughter]
down today I'm going to show you how to
plant a vanilla plant first you have to
cut c a Vine like this one this Vine is
healthy and free of
disease but before you cut any Vines you
have to see if there is a waxing moon or
a waning moon which is just after the
full moon of course you know better than
me about the effects of the moon on
agriculture if you are in a waxing moon
don't touch the vanilla but how are you
going to know if it's waxing if you
don't have calendar simple just grab a
leaf and bend
it if you're in a waxing moon the leaf
will snap like
this the waning moon is 3 days after the
full moon and last for 10 days look how
the leaf does not snap this Vine will
take
root now cut off the tip since you
usually lose it
anyway
now you need to choose a tuta tree so
the vine can climb up the best tutor
tree is cocoa someone told me you have a
lot of
them now listen to this vanilla doesn't
grow in the soil it grows on top of the
soil this is very important do not plant
vanilla below the
soil now we have to prepare the soil
before planting the Vine
remove all the weeds and clear the
surface of the soil and dig a little
furl like this but which end of the vine
is up and Wich is down where the leaves
connect to the vine the armpits are
pointing up this is
up and this is down do not grow vanilla
like
this very important do not plant vanilla
under the soil Now cover the Vine with
dry leaves and break them up into
smaller pieces
here's something we discovered in Costa
Rica leave the two tips of the vine
uncovered this way microbes won't get
into the vine and it won't
rot now we're going to show you how to
plant invitro vanilla plants produced in
our
laboratory here's what it looks like
inside our laboratory thousands of jars
of little vanilla plants growing in
sterile growth
medium
after the plants have grown a little we
transfer them to Nursery bags and grow
them some more in the nursery here is a
vine ready to plant in your Plantation
pretty don't you
think laboratory in vitro plants are
planted almost the same way as Vine
cuttings remember don't cover it with
any soil you don't have to remove the
plastic bag it is biodegradable and it
will rot and disappear within a few
months
Now cover it with dry leaves the same as
a Vine
cutting the plant should begin to grow
within 3 to 6 weeks the same as a Vine
[Laughter]
cutting as I mentioned before a vanilla
Vine will grow to the top of a tutor
tree
up there you won't be able to manage
it remember you shouldn't touch the
vanilla if you're in the waning moon The
Vines could break we're in the waxing
moon but raldo is going to lower it
anyway let's see if he can lower it
without breaking
it
look how he starts taking the vine off
at the bottom first and then works his
way up try to remove the tip last and
lower the vine without breaking it if it
does break don't worry you can always
plant it but only during the waning
moon sometimes s a Vine that is cut at
the wrong time of the moon will take and
eventually grow
well
[Laughter]
o
a
if the vine grows up a tree you can make
some tools like these to help you lower
it
carefully this is how you use the tools
to gently lower the
vines
[Laughter]
o
m
[Laughter]
o
[Laughter]
this is a vanilla flow it has a small
membrane called the
rellum you need to lift the rostellum
and put it beneath the anthers where the
pollen
[Laughter]
is if the rostellum sticks for 24 hours
after colonization the procedure will be
successful
this flower did not pollenize because
the rostellum came out from below the
anthers after 1 month the beans look
like they're ready 8 months later and
they're ready for
Harvest now take these Vines to your
farm and plant them like we showed you
these cuting were taken at the right
time of the Moon only plant one Vine per
tree if you don't have enough ccoa trees
to use as a tutor use a coffee Bush or
Citrus and good
luck