vanilla?

[airconednightmare]

has anyone tried to grow this? sounds like a tricky one Vanilla planifolia*::*Miscellaneous*::*Easy Orchids

[Reweed]

Saw one of them at Eden Project. Gotta hand pollunate that badboy if you want pods.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Aircon, I reckon you will probably have a good set up and knowledge from growing hydroponically to grow this orchid successfully. You just need to have the patience to wait 2 - 3 years for the first flowers followed by nine months for the pods to ripen. Just look how expensive vanilla pods are to buy!

[airconednightmare]

well i do already have a few orchids, the one flower i can't resist.....i'd be temped not to pollenate it and just enjoy the flowers

bees are actually considered to be a pest by hardcore orchid flower fans because the flowers die once the pollen is removed.

[airconednightmare]

if you don't mind me asking, what does vanilla do for our health?

[rainlove20]

Vanilla is one of the oldest and one of the most expensive spices as well as one of the most familiar, but you don’t hear a lot about it’s health benefits. That’s probably because it is more important for its flavoring and aromatic uses.

Among the purported health benefits of vanilla by ancient peoples was that it could act as an aphrodisiac. But it wasn’t just ancient peoples that thought this, in the 1700’s it was recommended by physicians to be drunk as an infusion or tincture for the purposes of male potency. An article written by the German physician in 1762 claimed that 342 impotent men were changed into astonishing lovers from drinking vanilla decoctions.

In modern times, aromatherapy tests were done on different aromas and the one that most men were aroused by was vanilla. There is some controversy over whether this arousal was gastronomic or sexual. Even so, vanillin does have anti-oxidant properties. Yet there are less expensive and more effective means of getting antioxidants (fish oil, omega-3).

While not a lot of testing has been done on vanilla regarding any specific health benefits, it is classed as a vanilloid along with capsaicin contained in chile peppers and eugenol contained in cloves - both of which have numerous medicinal properties and health benefits. Some nutritionists have conjectured that vanilla might be a mild help in preventing cancer.

On the negative side, persons with Gilbert's Syndrome should avoid consuming vanilla, as many have experienced debilitating effects from its ingestion.

With thanks to www.InDepthInfo.com

[GMB27]

Ive never thought about trying to grow vanilla but i may give it a try after reading about the health benefits. hmmm, lets see if this will work in the UK..

[airconednightmare]

i was planning to grow it indoors under HPS light. they will need a min, winter night time temp of 13C-14C, the temp needs to go up by 4-5 degrees during the day and mirror the seasons so 16-17 min summer night temp. oh and they need 70-80% relative humidity all the time! and thats before we start worrying about hand pollination or curing the pods for months in the sun lols

i still haven't got one yet, the funds got used for something else and i'd forgoten about it until now. but if or when i do get one, i'm not expecting to get loads of vanilla, just some fun and an interesting challange