[jules (OP)]

Not sure of the right time to pot it. I will let the roots grow longer, which they are doing with more humidity inside the bag. As it is the start of the year, with low sunlight levels, maybe better to wait until May or so, when daylight is stronger? I will keep it indoors near a south facing window.
For potting, I read that a mix of vermiculite, sharp sand and some well-draining compost works well. I have seen coconuts sprouting in the open on sandy, salty beaches in the tropics, so they cannot be too fussy. The liquid endosperm (milk) is a long term food store. On this note, when I shake the coconut now, it has no liquid inside. I think this has converted to a solid, called "coconut apple", which is a delicacy!
any advice would be very useful.
Is anyone else on the Forum trying this out?

[lindabalk]

Hi Jules! After reading about the curative powers of coconut and coconut oil, I started husking the ones falling out of our trees for our health.  Soon I opened germinated ones and had no idea whether they would continue sprouting without the husk. I parked one in a container with everything but the sprout covered and am keeping it indoors until it gets bigger because it would have been shaded in the husk in its natural state. I have only sprouted them in the whole coconut before.  When you see roots and shoots, it is time to get them in soil and let the tree begin to grow naturally. Dont bury any part of the plant, just the roots and attached coconut, otherwise the stem/trunk can rot in infancy. The coconut shell will probably be about half above ground with this arrangement. If the coconut is allowed to have exposed roots that cannot pull nutrients and water into the plant, at some point it will expire for lack of nutrition. Leave the coconut attached to the plant, but plant it in loose planting medium so that the roots can begin to do their job. We have a total of 6 full grown producing trees and will be growing more, now that we know about the healing power of this food.  We do not use any commercial fertilizers or sprays. It will be interesting to find out if the seed sprouts faster without the plant having to pierce the outer husk. All coconuts do not sprout, so if you knew for sure that there was an active sprout, you could cull out the best and speed up the process.  Linda Balk   

[cheryl j]

How is the coconut these days?

[jules (OP)]

Here is the latest photo of the coconut. Because it seemed lonely, I took it on a trip to the Seychelles, where it is doing well on the beach. Tallest leaf is 52cm.
Is anyone else doing this?

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[chris]

An amazing thread which I read only for the first time today! I am wondering how this coconut is getting on @jules ?

[jules (OP)]

Here are the latest photos of the original coconut planted in Nov 2013.
It has grown a lot since then, and seems healthy. The leaves have changed their form to the more recognisable pinnate ones. The largest leaf tip is 1m 50 above the soil. The latest frond is forming at the centre.
Location is outside on balcony in summer, inside by sunny window in winter.

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[chris]

That is cool! Thanks so much for returning and telling us how the project has come along!

Funnily enough I was thinking of this thread yesterday because my son won a coconut at his school fireworks night fair; As I smashed into it with a hammer so we could turn the flesh into curry I mourned the lost opportunity to emulate your efforts! But the curry did taste nice, so all was not lost!

[jules (OP)]

Oh dear, never mind! the curry sounded good. Coconuts are not expensive, about 80pence, and in my experience the ones bought in UK supermarkets in Nov come from the Ivory Coast and have a good chance of germinating within a week or two, in a plastic bag with some water, and placed in a warm (25 C - 30C) place. Here is my latest one, took just one week to germinate!

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[chris]

I might have to give this a go over the festive period. Only snag in my case is that I've not got an incubator to keep the blighters warm. Is the 30 degrees temperature essential, in your experience?

PS - Can you publish your current working "protocol" here so that we have a recipe to follow?

[jules (OP)]

OK, here is a method which worked.....
Choose 2 or 3 of the largest, roundest and "heaviest" coconuts you can buy to increase your chances. Ones from the Ivory Coast do well for me. The larger coconuts seem to be the most mature. Check there are no cracks in the hard outer shell, and that there is liquid inside. One of the germination pores may be more convex than the other two, and this is the functional pore.
Wash the coconut in warm water with a little dilute bleach, and scrub the outside to remove dirt and any fungal spores.
Rinse well and soak the coconut in a container with warm water for 2 days. Use a heavy mug or clean stone to keep the coconut submerged. Change the water each day. Keep the container in a warm, but not too hot place, a constant 25C - 30C is ideal.
Seal the coconut in a ziploc bag with about 1cm water at the bottom. Don't squeeze all of the air out of the bag.
Put the bag in a constantly warm place, 25C - 30C, or a little higher if possible. I have a home-made propagator set to 32C. (This is a large insulated polystyrene box, digital thermostat and vivarium heating cable made for reptiles.) You can also buy ready made heated propagators for seed germination.
Check the bag every few days. If you have a viable seed you will see the top of the functional pore (operculum) pop up, and a white "root" appear (see my photos above.) This could happen from one week to several months after bagging up. This quickly grows longer and thicker, before differentiating into a shoot and root. Check there is always some water in the bag. If you shake a germinated seed you will not hear any liquid inside, this has all been converted into a solid. After a few months, you should have a green pointed shoot and several roots. Pot up the plant when the roots and shoot get too large for the bag.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

[chris]

I read in the paper today that there is a worldwide shortage of coconuts at the moment, so prices are going up. You'd better germinate a few more, @jules - you could be looking at a growth industry!