Growing coffee at home – A guide

Basic requirements for growing coffee at home

Before we show you how to grow coffee at home, we will explain the basic requirements.

The soil and soil for growing coffee

The coffee plant needs macronutrients in the soil:

  • Carbon
  • Hydrogen
  • Oxygen
  • Water
  • Nitrogen
  • Potassium
  • Phosphorus
  • Calcium
  • Magnesium and
  • Sulfur

Climatic conditions for growing coffee at home

Coffee is one of the tropical climate plants. Coffee plantations are usually found in climate zones with average temperatures between 18° C and 24° C. The plants also need a certain level of humidity.

Coffee seeds for home growing

Arabica

  • Long bean shape
  • Caffeine content between 1.2% and 1.5%
  • Ambient temperature between 15 °C and 24 °C
  • Higher quality compared to Robusta
  • 70% of the coffee produced worldwide
  • According to experts, Arabica is the ideal coffee plant for the home, as it does not grow taller than 1.5 meters in pots

Robusta

  • Round beans
  • Caffeine between 2.2% and 2.7%
  • Ambient temperature between 18 °C and 36 °C
  • Lower quality compared to Arabica
  • 30% of the coffee produced worldwide

Check our Guide of Coffee varieties to learn more about Arabica and Robusta.

Germinate coffee seeds for coffee plants

Below we explain how to make a germinated seed or seedling. There are two possibilities:

  • Buy the seedling directly or
  • Make the seedlings yourself. Following are the steps for this option.

Fill in the seedbed

Add some compost to the seedbed of your choice.

Make a hole in the seedbed

In the seedbed filled with compost, a 1 cm hole is dug for each seed.

Insert the seed

Put the seeds in the seedbed and cover them with compost.

Water your plant

Moisten with water once a day without soaking the seedbed.

Germination

Germination takes 2 to 6 months.

How to plant a coffee plant in a pot

Now it’s time to explain step by step how to grow coffee:

Choose the seed

Choose the seedling (the plant that has just germinated from seed) you want to use and fill a large pot with compost.

Reach into the pot

Fill the pot with compost and dig a hole 10 cm deep.

Submerge the seedling

Place the seedling in the hole. If the seedling still has soil attached to its roots, do not remove it.

Cover the roots with soil

Cover the edges of the plant without compacting the soil.

Water your plant

The final step is watering the plant. Be careful not to drown the plant.

Care of the coffee plant

Once you’ve planted your coffee plant, you need to take care of it:

Watering the coffee plant

One of the most important things to the health of your plant is watering. The soil should always have a minimum of moisture. On average, you should water the coffee plant at least twice a week.

Fertilization of a coffee plant

The use of fertilizers is necessary because the coffee plant needs a lot of nutrients. We recommend using fertilizer for green plants, ideally one dose every 15 days. A healthy plant will have green leaves and show some growth.

How much light does a coffee plant need

A coffee plant needs light and warmth for optimal growth. However, coffee plants prefer indirect light.

Transplanting a coffee plant

A coffee plant needs to be repotted at least once a year to get new nutrients. Experts recommend choosing a larger pot. Coffee plants also like valuable substrates with a balanced mixture of garden peat, sand and organic substrate.

Prevention from pests

The infestation with pests is favored by a dry soil. Therefore, the first and best defense against pests is to water the plant regularly. In addition, you can regularly apply fungicides (means that eliminate and prevent the growth of fungus and mold) on the soil.

If you follow these steps, your plant’s leaves should be a bright green color. We can always tell from the leaves of the plant whether it is growing properly and is healthy.

Harvest of coffee cherries

It takes between 6 and 8 months from the flowering of the coffee plant to the harvest. Harvest-ready fruits have an intense red color. It is possible that ripe and unripe fruits are hanging on the same plant.

Be careful when harvesting so that you do not damage the plant when harvesting the ripe fruits, and do not harvest unripe fruits at the same time.

Conclusion

Growing coffee at home is a great thing. Not everyone can offer guests their own coffee. However, if the grow doesn’t work the first time, don’t be discouraged and try again. One of the most important factors in growing coffee at home is patience. In any case, have fun growing coffee!