Coconut seed germination a bust

[Logolight]

So I bought a coconut from the produce section at the grocery store and figured I'd try to germinate it.  I soaked it in water for 3 days and set it in a pot in my garage.  After a few days the soild was still moist so I moved the pot out into the sun to help dry the soil.  Evidentaly the coconut became so hot that it burst open right down the middle.

It turns out that a small seem is cut around the coconut to ease in cracking it open so I figure the shell's integrety was compromised and resulted in it busting open.

So as they say, "Back to the old drawing board."

[Tad]

it bust open because the juice inside was fermented in the heat and sunshine ala rotten egg.

i think anyway,

[Walter John]

I'm experimenting with seed germination too. No big expectations, no big disappointments. In the winter sun for now.

[Gileno Machado]

Wal:

I'd bury the fruit a little deeper and position it staight upright...If you remove the top (recommended) the spout will find easily its way out, while the first root crosses the husk below. If you leave it for more than 3 hours in direct sun (I wouldn't) you must water it every other evening too, unless it gets too cold where you are. And remember: Cocos nucifera likes sand and if you add a little bit of humus to the sandy medium it gets much more betterer still...

[Gileno Machado]

...

[Tyrone]

Gileno, I tried that nut standing up method, and although it may work fine in the tropics, if you live in a cool area in winter it spells trouble. Water runs down around the junction area between the husk and the plant and it will rot. That's what happened to my first attempt a few years back. Even though the soil was dry the husk sucked up all the moisture at that point. I'd recommend growing them on the side the way gravity places them in nature. The moisture can run away then. The tropics would be a different story I'm sure.

Nice pics of your babies.  

regards

Tyrone

[Kris]

Dear GIleano  

great work ! and that is the method almost 99% of the indian

farmers do to germinate their coconuts..

and dear logolight never remove the outer husk,or else it often rots than germinates...But i like your attempt !

Dear Wal your soil should be sandy,if its beach sand its even

better !at that stage thick or clayee soil of your pot won't help !

love,

Kris  

[Trópico]

A sad update on my germinated coconut. Remember my thread? (Germinating Supermarket Coconuts). Turns out I left the poor little fellow to drown very close to a sprinkler head. I even added mulch. It developed a fungus in between the leaves and then it ate the whole bud!

Anyway, that same afternoon bought me FIVE more coconuts and they are in germination pots. This time I implemented some lessons learned:

1. Added more sand to the mix (The roots on my seedling were fine anyways in my Miracle Gro mixed with sand). Also used Jungle Growth to ammend the sand.

2. Placed AWAY from any sprinkler head.

3. Covered with plastic on top. (I already did this before)

4. Placed the embryo location more towards the center of the pot.

5. On it's side, like I did before. Embryo eye lightly exposed.

6. Most IMPORTANT: I AM GERMINATING FOUR OF THEM. Do not stop with only one or you may lose everything.

I should have no problems. I even helped a coworker to germinate his. All it takes are nighttime temps no less than 70F.

[mari]

(Logolight @ Jun. 13 2007,16:07)

QUOTE

So I bought a coconut from the produce section at the grocery store and figured I'd try to germinate it.  I soaked it in water for 3 days and set it in a pot in my garage.  After a few days the soild was still moist so I moved the pot out into the sun to help dry the soil.  Evidentaly the coconut became so hot that it burst open right down the middle.

It turns out that a small seem is cut around the coconut to ease in cracking it open so I figure the shell's integrety was compromised and resulted in it busting open.

So as they say, "Back to the old drawing board."

Your first mistake is that  hthe coconut you attempted to germinate was not fresh.  Next time go to the farmer's market and get a green husked coconut and place it on its side in a  sandy loan mized with a little peat moss.  Coconuts like lots of heat, so now is the time to germinate it.  Keep the soil evenly moist but not wet or soggy.  Be careful not to love it to death by too frequent waterings.

[Tyrone]

A coconut will germinate without the husk. My one is doing fine and on it's 5th leaf pushing new growth in winter. Without the husk there is no protection for the nut so you must keep it covered from direct sunlight in summer. I think the one that exploded in this thread was going "off" and starting to rot internally. Was there a bad smell when it exploded?

regards

Tyrone

[Tyrone]

(Trópico @ Jun. 14 2007,12:41)

QUOTE

A sad update on my germinated coconut. Remember my thread? (Germinating Supermarket Coconuts). Turns out I left the poor little fellow to drown very close to a sprinkler head. I even added mulch. It developed a fungus in between the leaves and then it ate the whole bud!

Anyway, that same afternoon bought me FIVE more coconuts and they are in germination pots. This time I implemented some lessons learned:

1. Added more sand to the mix (The roots on my seedling were fine anyways in my Miracle Gro mixed with sand). Also used Jungle Growth to ammend the sand.

2. Placed AWAY from any sprinkler head.

3. Covered with plastic on top. (I already did this before)

4. Placed the embryo location more towards the center of the pot.

5. On it's side, like I did before. Embryo eye lightly exposed.

6. Most IMPORTANT: I AM GERMINATING FOUR OF THEM. Do not stop with only one or you may lose everything.

I should have no problems. I even helped a coworker to germinate his. All it takes are nighttime temps no less than 70F.

Frank I'm sorry about your experience. I'm looking at the vegetable market every time I go there for a fresh or germinated husked nut. I've got a couple more on the go, but none are as good as my first Samoan nut. But at $2.50 an attempt I can afford a few experiments.

regards

Tyrone

[surgeon83]

Glad I found this thread.  I recently found 7 coconuts on the beach (must have floated from S. FL or Cuba, etc.) and I'm trying to germinate them.  Most have husks (althought tattered) but a couple don't.  I only picked up ones that sounded like they still have milk inside on shaking.  So..

I should keep them out of sun? (they've been in direct sun so far...)

Don't water too much? (I've been watering heavily to try to wash out the salinity...)

Sounds like I'm doing everything wrong  

Anyone have success with washed up beach coconuts?

[Tyrone]

Well, I've never germinated a washed up coconut, as it isn't every day that it happens here. But I have germinated a nut with a husk.

Anyway, coconuts will germinate while floating in warm water. They are like any other palm seed to germinate. Give them temps around 28-32C and high humidity and in some time a sprout will appear. Of course with the husk on the sprout may take 2 or 3 months to become apparent, but a fresh nut will start sprouting within a week, but this won't be seen unless the husk is removed. If you have the husk on the nut, leave it on though as it will protect the sprout etc. While temps are high you don't need to keep the nut dry. You only keep a sprouted coconut dry through winter outside the tropics when the natural temp drops. In the tropics you can keep it moist all year round. Keeping a nut dry will prevent it from germinating.

If the coconuts you have are fresh enough, they will most likely germinate if you keep them warm an moist.

best regards

Tyrone