Sunday, January 24, 2016

Planting Ylang Ylang seeds

So this is me trying to be a farmer in Bukidnon while making a living in Singapore.

I bought a kilo of ylang ylang seeds from a group of ylang ylang growers in Tarlac. I was able to contact them through Facebook. A kilo costs Php4,000 (USD84). I had the seeds delivered to my brother's pad in Makati. Delivery costs Php300.

My brother then brought the bag with him to Bukidnon where we plan to plant the seeds. But honestly, I have no idea where to plant all these seeds. So I am starting from the very beginning by learning how to germinate these seeds first and pass this knowledge on to my father, who would then ask his help to sow them for us. I'm thinking of just sowing like 20 seeds from the pile, with plans of planting them around our residential property.

So these are the steps that I got from my online research :

1. Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for about an hour (the period mentioned in various sources are actually varied, from 30mins to 3 hours to overnight). This is done to expedite the process of germination, which usually takes 2 to 4 months.

2.  Prepare a tray with moist and slightly acidic soil.

3. Distribute the ylang ylang seeds 3 inches apart and bury them about 1/4-inch deep.

4. Keep the soil moist (I would take this as sprinkling the tray with water everyday). Seal the tray in a plastic bag to keep the soil moist. Keep the tray from direct sunlight.

5. Wait for the seeds to germinate in 3 weeks to 4 months.

6. Transplant ylang-ylang seedlings into individual containers when they reach 6 inches tall.
Let's see how this goes.

Sources:
 http://homeguides.sfgate.com/germinate-cananga-odorata-seeds-70106.html
http://balconygardenweb.com/quick-growing-guide-of-ylang-ylang/