Coffee Among 'You Can Grow That Here?' Crops

By Annette Codding

    One of my favorite things about talking to other homesteaders, farmers and growers is learning new things. Sometimes it’s a new way to do something or a new way to take care of an old problem. But every now and then we learn about a new thing we can grow in our area.
   We live in an area that doesn’t get too cold, but just cold enough to kill or knock back tropical stuff. The fruit trees that need a certain amount of chill hours or a cold season where they can go through a dormant period don’t always do well here. But if someone doesn’t mind babying some plants they can stretch the limits and do what people say can’t be done.
   Homegrown asparagus in Central Florida seems to be a foreign concept…until you start asking around. I know of at least four other people successfully growing it here. The trick is to start with two-year-old crowns and plant them in a shallow trench. Make sure they are in a spot where they can spread and not ever be disturbed. This will be a permanent asparagus bed. In the spring you will see the new asparagus shoots coming up through the mulch. Snap them off at the ground level while the heads are still tight.
   After a few weeks, you will stop harvesting and let the remaining shoots fern out. This will spread seed and provide foliage to absorb sunlight for the rest of the growing season. Don't cut the tops back until well into winter when everything is brown and has died back. Then wait and do it all over again. Homegrown asparagus in Florida! Who knew?
   Nothing beats a good cup of coffee in the morning. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could grow your own coffee beans too? Coffee Arabica is a tropical plant that does really good in a specific kind of climate. Coffee is grown in the tropics or warm subtropics at high altitudes up to 3,500 feet elevation. They love strong filtered sunlight under a heavy canopy. Temperatures over 85 F can cause slow growth and leaf damage. Anything under 41 F can cause leaf drop and tree decline. It’s safe to say the coffee plant is pretty sensitive.
   But Brittany Riedy and her dad Dave have been growing coffee right here in Paisley for a few years now. Long enough to get a harvest and drink the results of their hard work. And work it is! It is safe to say that our altitude and temps don't fit the normal requirements. They started with two established plants that they bought from a nursery. When transplanting them Dave realized that there were multiple plants growing together in the same pots, so they separated them out into individual pots.
   It can take up to two months for fresh coffee beans to germinate. Then another 5-6 years until they start producing a harvest. The plants are fertilized every two months and given a soil acidifier twice a year. Then comes the work of keeping them safe from critters and the cold.
   Like a lot of things that we love to grow, coffee must be kept safe from the deer. Brittany and Dave have them growing in a small fenced-in area along with their raised beds. They are happily growing in partial shade at the edge of an oak canopy. When temperatures are expected to dip below 45 F the coffee pots are moved into a seasonal greenhouse to keep them warm. During the really cold nights last winter they added Christmas lights and a barrel of water to the set up. It worked and the sensitive coffee plants were kept warm and bloomed right through the season.
   Now they are collecting coffee “cherries” as they ripen. Inside each cherry are two “beans” that get dried, the skins removed, then roasted in the oven and ground into coffee. Brittany says “it’s not enough to support a daily coffee habit, but it is a delightfully smooth seasonal luxury. No milk or sugar necessary!”
   How about the pie plant a.k.a. rhubarb? In northern regions this is a common perineal, but it’s just too hot for it down here. Or is it? As far as I know it doesn’t live through the summer here, but it can still be grown as an annual. Barb Batson still had one growing in a pot a couple months back when my mom visited. While it probably isn’t as great as it would be if allowed to just keep growing year-round, at least it’s something.
   There are a lot of other things that people say can’t be grown here. A common comment on Facebook gardening groups is “you can’t grow lavender here.” Kelli Varon from Seed the Stars and a few other folks are proving them wrong. There is a lovely lavender plant at the gardens at the Ag Center and they sell starts from it at their annual plant sale.
   Eli Reed in Umatilla is growing all kinds of things that we aren't supposed to be able to grow. He has had success with mangoes, cercropia, sapodilla, sugar and custard apple, ice cream bean, allspice and more. Some of his success is due to being on the lake and the heat it provides during the cold nights. The trees help too. But the most important thing is just being willing to try something and push the limits. It's just a plant. Worst case scenario…it dies.
   Sometimes something can’t be grown here because it wouldn’t be what it is if it was grown outside of the region it’s supposed to be grown in. Clear as mud, I know. It CAN be done; it just can’t be called what we would normally call it. Think Vidalia onions and Hatch Green Chiles. More on both of those soon!
   The main thing is to just do it! Just try it and don’t give up. Listen to all of the advice and much like walking through the garden you have to pick what to “eat” and know what to throw into the compost. I like to find folks that have grown things then ask how they did it. But you gotta try! Until next time, get outside and grow something new and good.