AboutOrchids

Now that vanilla beans cost as much as silver, the world’s most delicious orchid is in the news a lot, and scientists are investigating the possibilities of vanilla farms in South Florida. Since vanilla is a vine that climbs trees, it could be “co-cropped” in avocado, citrus, or nut orchards. Farmers could harvest the beans without need for any more land. It’s also an opportunity to do much-needed research into Florida’s endangered native vanilla species. These are not used for agriculture, but might be hybridized with edible vanilla to create new flavor profiles and better hardiness. It will require many years before research makes it a viable crop, but Florida farms may someday be harvesting vanilla.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2018 at 7:40 pm and is filed under In the News, Warm Growers.

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