How to grow cocoa and chocolate at home

Can you imagine being able to grow cocoa and chocolate at home to have your own products? It is true that in order to grow it, it is necessary to live in a tropical environment or create it artificially because cocoa needs a very humid environment to grow or, failing that, a greenhouse.

When cocoa is planted in a greenhouse, the trees and the crop will not be as abundant as what can be found in a natural tropical environment and it may even be difficult to produce cocoa pods, but it is true that for gardening lovers It is very interesting to have our own chocolate tree, right? In this EcologíaVerde article we are going to give you some keys on how to grow cocoa and chocolate at home.

Buy the sprouted seeds

Buying the germinated cocoa beans is a great idea, you can also buy the seedling of the cocoa tree. You can ask your nearest garden center if they can get it for you because it is much easier to be successful in growing it that way, much more so than if you decide to grow it from seed.

In this way, it is less likely that the cocoa plant will suffer from diseases or fungi, something that can almost certainly happen if you decide to plant it from the seeds.

Tips for growing cocoa and chocolate at home

Here I will give you some tips on how to grow cocoa and chocolate at home so that your crop can be successful and you can have your cocoa plant in your home:

Find the right container. You’ll have to start with a large container so that the plant can grow satisfactorily. If they grow a lot you can transplant it every 4 or 5 months.
Prepare the land. The land will have to be well fertilized and also be rich in nutrients to be fertile, it will also have to drain well but maintain constant humidity.
If you want to start having your plant from scratch, you will first have to wait for the seeds germinatefor example by placing them in a little natural cotton and watering them, before planting them well and, in addition, you will have to water it at least twice a day but with a fine spray so as not to harm the seeds.
You will have to keep the plant in a hot and humid environment all the time, for example in a greenhouse with a controlled temperature. The ideal temperature is 21ºC.
Put water containers near the plant so that it gradually releases moisture. The maintenance of humidity is vital for the plant if the environment is dry it will kill it quickly. Remember that this plant does not like water; it likes humidity.
keep the plant no direct sunlightsince it grows in the middle of tropical nature under the shade of the other trees.
To keep the plant alive you will have to take care of it with patience and dedication, you cannot leave it to its fate and you will have to be concerned about the fertilizer, the humidity, that it has a correct heat source and giving it away regularly.