What To Grow

[teletiger]

Vanilla.

Vanilla is a finicky plant, bringing about several challenges. It only grows naturally within a narrow band within 20 degrees of the equator. Hawaii falls on the fringes of that band. The usable part of the plant is its beans, making it a fruit. In fact, it is the only edible fruit in the orchid family, the largest family of flowering plants in the world.

It is not, however, an ordinary fruit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it into the herbs and spices crop group. With this classification, vanilla becomes an extremely minor crop with few pesticides approved for controlling its pests. Much of the pest control is donethrough cultural practices and other control measures. There are diseases and other pests that will attack the plants. The fusarium wilt and the cymbidium mosaic are two of the pests. As a spice, there are limitations of chemicals that are allowed to be applied to vanilla.

Because it is a fruit, its flowers must be pollinated for set to occur. However, as an orchid, pollination does not happen easily. Pollen is contained in sacs near the surface. The female part, the part to be pollinated, lies deep within the flower. Vanilla is a native of South America, where it has a natural pollinator. But that pollinator doesn't live in Hawaii.

Consequently, hand-pollination is standard practice. It is not easy, however, for there is a narrow window of opportunity for pollination. While most orchids are known for their longevity, vanilla can be pollinated only for a single day. If that day is missed, the usable pods will never form. This makes vanilla the most labor-intensive crop in the world

http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/back_i...php3?AID=180238

Good luck

Regards

[Maizefarmer]

TT - question: it looks like it may just be able to be squeezed into Thailand - do you think it could be cultivated here - even if it required an artificialy controlled enviroment (e.g. a greenhouse)?

Yup - it certainly appears not to be a plant & foget crop, but one that requires constant and careful care.

What are the potential returns (earnings) and just how big is the market - does it suffer from saturation and excess or is it a crop that is always in demand?

Where does Thailand get it vanilla flavouring from - we have a big processed foods for export industry here, and that I would think would be a user of processed vanilla.

How do you sell it - as a raw product/vanilla pod - or is processing it into a liquid or powder or whatever, something that is a practical undertaking baring in mind the cost of any equipment in Thailand?

Tim

[teletiger]

Tim.

As an orchid, I should think that shade and misting twice daily would be it's only growing requirements. It is retailed as an essence (expensive) and flavoring (cheaper but still expensive). In the UK it is sold fresh (dried really) as 2 black pods in a jar. Maybe 2/3 grammes. 120+Baht. Do Manufacturers use real vanilla or a chemical substitute?

Regards

[Maizefarmer]

Real or artificial ? - I wouldn't have a clue but somewhere amongst all those modern E numbers and articfical flavours and coulorings there has to be a food grade vanilla that subistutues the real thing - which I am certain would be used in a lot of cases.

But that said, there is still a market for the real mcCoy - food as well as cosmetics.

I wouldn't see vanilla as a crop to be growed row upon row or green hosue aupon greenhosue, but the more I go through this forum, the more I think that niche things , like vanilla and and a couple rai of coffee (into which a lot of effort was put to ensure a consistant and high quality crop was produced, could be marketed as an exceptional product in small qauntities.

The issue with these sorts of products is that when you are selling in small quantities you have to get the economics right, not by way of volume but by way of esnuring the product is above the normally accepted qaulity and that you can support and justify the price asked (and needed) through clever marketing. Theer is always a small group of people who you can tackle with a limited product - you just have to convince them that it is worth paying for.

Tim

[teletiger]

I would bet that vanilla producers also produce regular orchids. The vanilla product may only be a sideline. I'll investigate. Orchid growing is a hobby of mine. Producing is a different kettle of fish.

Regards

Edited October 30, 2006 by teletiger

[Maizefarmer]

TT - keep me posted please - it's another thing for me to consider -I've got this bug at the moment - at the least it may be fun: a greenhouse full of vanilla ain't going to break me if it goes "pear shaped"

Tim

[udon]

Growing vanilla ... Link 1.

Link 2

Check out the prices on another page. USD & AUD

If they can grow vanilla in Aus, Thailand should be a doddle........except for 'hand pollination'.

With all the orchid know how in Thailand, help may be @ hand.....

[teletiger]

Growing vanilla ... Link 1.

Link 2

Check out the prices on another page. USD & AUD

If they can grow vanilla in Aus, Thailand should be a doddle........except for 'hand pollination'.

With all the orchid know how in Thailand, help may be @ hand.....

The vines commence flowering in the second or third year depending on the length of cuttings used due to the peculiar structure of the flower, artificial pollination by hand is the rule for fruit setting. The procedure involved is simple and done easily by children and women. Using a pointed bamboo splinter or pin, another is pressed against the stigma with the help of thumb and thus smearing the pollen over it. Generally 85 to 100 per cent success is obtained by hand pollination.

Regards

[C-sip-degree]

I recently looked at 11 rai. The farmer who farms it said that they got 60 bags of rice off it last year. A bag is 100 kilograms and it sells for about 1000 baht per bag. The farmer gets half. I didn't get into seed or fertilizer expense so I'm not sure how that works.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The bags are about 85 kilos, the normal procedure is that the farmer works on a 60, 40% basis, the 60% going to the farmer, the rice crop all depends on how much water you have etc, that is good 60 bags for 11 Rai, my wife and i have 85 rai of rice land in buriram, we had a great harvest last year, ;lets hope 2005 will be better.

Hey Guy's

Interested please addvise on the normal when you are talking about "the farmer who said he got 60 bags of rice off it last year".

Question: Is this with the husk on or off.

The bags are about 85 kilos, I might be missing something here or we are in a area (Roi-et) that must have a different bag.

For rice farming for us

Say you had 60 Bags (Jasmine rice) the husk must be left on. ( or no sale )

Each bag will weight 28kg - 33kg per bag. (the bag is tired with a thin dry strip of bamboo)

From there it's sold to the mill's for 9 BT for Jasmine or sticky 7BT.

These are the basic prices for the last 5 years on a one year harvest in mid November.

If you hold back ya product you will loose the market changes rice sales drop 2-3 BT easy here

They grade the quality upon your sale also, so if it's not up to parr you'll might drop 1Bt per kg on the price also.

C-Sip-degree