The vanilla farm

[afghanpicker]

Well hopefully this is a start to a very log thread on my quest to become a vanilla farmer.

Today have two men here cutting all over grown weeds and grass for a start to a compost pile for the planting beds.

Ingredients 3 rai of overgrown grass and weeds. 6 30 lb bags cow manure ten bags of rice husks. And a 2 yr compost pile of about 2 sq yard of good compost. and 10 large bottles of pee i have been saving and an inoculant.

[palexxxx]

^ any worms?

[afghanpicker]

not yet trying to break down all green plants first will be adding cocofir and coconut husks in about a week

[pseudolus]

Umm what's the pee for?

[misskit]

Is it true that you have to hand pollinate vanilla in Thailand? Someone told me years ago, there are no natural pollinators for vanilla in Thailand. I've been curious since.

[afghanpicker]

Umm what's the pee for?

i read somewhere it has good bacteria that helps the process along

[afghanpicker]

Is it true that you have to hand pollinate vanilla in Thailand? Someone told me years ago, there are no natural pollinators for vanilla in Thailand. I've been curious since.

Yes all commercial vanilla production hand pollinates all flowers to produce the bean. That is why most if not all vanilla is grown in third world countries cheap labor and location close to equator

[pseudolus]

i read somewhere it has good bacteria that helps the process along

Want us all to start making a collection for you? The Japanese use human poo for fertilizer - you want some of that as well?

Anyway I am fascinated by this. I never thought vanilla would be grown in Thailand. Assumed it was for a arid climate but no! Learn something new every day. Good luck pal and I look forward to this thread.

[afghanpicker]

i read somewhere it has good bacteria that helps the process along

Want us all to start making a collection for you? The Japanese use human poo for fertilizer - you want some of that as well?

Anyway I am fascinated by this. I never thought vanilla would be grown in Thailand. Assumed it was for a arid climate but no! Learn something new every day. Good luck pal and I look forward to this thread.

well since it is my pee i know were it came from i thought of human poo but decided against it went with cow poo instead.

and this thread my stretch out for a few yrs.

hopefully it ends with a picture of a bean

[poorfalang]

10 large bottles of pee

The urine should be diluted, but it is rich in nitrates, which the plants love,( specially good for lemon trees) great when making compost, use with caution my advise,
Good Luck,
oh and get the pictures rolling, even if is of the (stale urine) or the fellas cutting the grass

[afghanpicker]

since the pile will be quite large and will be watering as mixed hopefully ok

[pseudolus]

hopefully it ends with a picture of a bean

Rather a lot of effort for A BEAN. Set your sight higher pal, go for a bushel at least. We have faith in you.

[peterb17]

Good luck to you- I needed beans to make a decent ice cream- the price in Tops was truly horrendous- Foodland 357 baht for 16g about 4 beans.
So hopefully you are on your way to becoming a vanilla millionaire.

[afghanpicker]

guess not try number two coming up any help will be appreciated

[poorfalang]

since the pile will be quite large and will be watering as mixed hopefully ok

^ lovely,

keep em coming

have you thought of adding EM and sugar cane molasses to the water that you irrigate compost
it will speed up the composting process.

[afghanpicker]

EM?

will look into it when i add rice stalks and coconut chunks and fir

[afghanpicker]

Good luck to you- I needed beans to make a decent ice cream- the price in Tops was truly horrendous- Foodland 357 baht for 16g about 4 beans.
So hopefully you are on your way to becoming a vanilla millionaire.

When it came to visitor spending, however, New York did take the top spot, with an estimated $18.6 billion in international overnight visitor spending. By that measure, Bangkok, with $14.3 billion, ranked No. 4.

if i could get just one half of one percent of this in vanilla sales i wonder how much that would be..
sorry math never my strong point

[Norton]

help will be appreciated

Cutting the grass


More cutting


Starting the mulch pile.

[afghanpicker]

Thanks i will figure that out sooner or later

[afghanpicker]

well turned the compost pile today.
It is amazing how fast stuff breaks down here and the heat on inside of pile was quite warm. A lot of of small bugs on outside and saw a couple worms on edges and what i think was a red centipede.
more pictures to come when i add rice stalks and coconut stuff

[jamescollister]

well turned the compost pile today.
It is amazing how fast stuff breaks down here and the heat on inside of pile was quite warm. A lot of of small bugs on outside and saw a couple worms on edges and what i think was a red centipede.
more pictures to come when i add rice stalks and coconut stuff

There is a guy near you, goes by the handle worm farmer on the other forum. He breeds worms for composting and worn castings. fair size set up. May pay to go see him and get a few worms. Jim

[IsaanAussie]

well turned the compost pile today.
It is amazing how fast stuff breaks down here and the heat on inside of pile was quite warm. A lot of of small bugs on outside and saw a couple worms on edges and what i think was a red centipede.
more pictures to come when i add rice stalks and coconut stuff

What you are doing is thermophyllic composting, not worm composting. Both are good but they do not co-exist. I have both.
What you have to be interested in is the inside of the heap, right in the centre where the temperature is greatest, that is where the action is. Keep it turning, outside to inside, top to bottom so it all gets into the middle. The outside is doing nothing. It is getting hot so you have local microbes at work and if the centre of the heap is at 60C then add nothing but water. To keep it working the moisture level must remain above 40% else the microbes will either die or go dormant. Forget meters and microwaves, grab a handful and squeeze it. It should not have water streaming out, just a drop or to. The handful should form a ball and stay together, but if you poke it, it should fall apart. That is the right amount of water. The most moisture lost is early on so check soon. To avoid moisture loss cover with a cheap tarp. Next comes smell. If you smell ammonia, add nitrogen (any fresh cut greenery). If it smells bad then add carbon.

[IsaanAussie]

Another issue since you are using "long grass". Aeration. If you dont turn the pile often it will go anaerobic and the microbes will become not so friendly. Small bits are good for composting. You should be looking for long fungal strands, usually white but can be other colours. If you have them, you are "cooking".

[afghanpicker]

Smells like cow poo and wet hay went from green to brown to dark brown in about a week turned once in 5 days will be adding rice straw and coconut husk chips and wood chips

[afghanpicker]

had a guy in today added a lot more green weed clippings and turned and watered the pile