So, I got these plants. I think I ordered two of them, but really, I got like 12 little sprigs of plants. They were nice foliage and I have a great sunroom (when the oak trees don't shade it) so they were able to stay completely climate controlled. Over these last six years they have grown tremendously and the plants now occupy three large 25 gallon pots.
Last May, we got our first blooms.
Fast forward seven months. It's JANUARY. STILL NOTHING. These green berries done nothing for seven months. I was starting to think they were never going to ripen. I figured that the inside of a house in the frigid north was just not going to do it.
And then....
We have ripening..... About January 10th I noticed the first signs of something changing. At first I thought it was the berries dying (they were yellowing slightly). But no - they were changing to red!
So today, I actually picked a berry. At least one of them had that firm but squishy feeling that I associate with ripe fruit.
Inside the berry, I was rewarded with two green beans!
So, I'm off to figure out how to process the beans. The green beans have a coating on them - I associate it kind of like tomato seeds - it's kind of firm and slippery. I believe I need to get that coating off. I know with tomato seeds you ferment the seeds to remove the coating. We may have enough to get a half of a cup of coffee, but it's been fun! And, it's one step closer to knowing where our food comes from and being able to sustain my coffee habit in case of the zombie apocalypse.