The Biology ofShade Grown Organic

CoffeeBy

www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Coffee has lots of great health benefits and

healthy organic coffee is the best as going

organic helps you avoid more than a hundred

impurities that can be found in cup of regular

coffee.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

We know that certified organic coffee is

better for the environment as organic coffee

farming follows sustainable practices.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

These practices for coffee include

interspersing coffee among shade trees to

secure the soil and provide shade for coffee

plants.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

The use of commercial fertilizers is limited

and pest control requires natural practices as

opposed to chemical insecticides and

fungicides.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

All of this sounds very straightforward from a

distance but just what is the biology of shade

grown organic coffee? Why does coffee like

the shade?

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Why does coffee grow best in mountainous

terrain under cloud cover? Here are a few

thoughts about the biology of shade grown

organic coffee.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Where Coffee Originated

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Coffee evolved in the forested highlands of

East Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan).

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Here is where the plant became accustomed

to the seasons, degree of rainfall, soil

conditions and pests.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

From an evolutionary viewpoint coffee has

arrived way to fast in various locations around

the world and cannot be expected to adapt

without some forethought and help in its new

locations such as Brazil, Colombia or

Vietnam.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Nevertheless coffee is planted and flourishes

in these locations. And coffee does best

where the conditions are similar to where it

grew up.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

The biology of shade grown organic coffee is

such that growing coffee in the shade

resembles how the plant was meant to grow.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Basic Plant Biology and

the Coffee Perspective

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight

to energy and along the way convert carbon

dioxide in the air in order to grow and exhale

oxygen.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Plants need nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus

and other nutrients. And if they get too much

of these and if they get too much sun light

they need huge amounts of water as well.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

But too much water can drown the roots of a

plant, including a coffee plant and make it

sick.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Thus there is an advantage to the biology of

shade grown organic coffee in that the terrain

of the mountainside keeps water from

flooding the plant and the forest canopy limits

the amount of sunlight powering growth.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Organic coffee farming uses less of the

chemicals that fuel growth but also uses an

appropriate amount so that the plant does not

need excessive amounts of water.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Location, Location,

Location

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Picking the spot for growing Arabica coffee is

a lot like dealing with real estate, location,

location and location.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Arabica organic coffee likes a temperature

range between 15 and 24 degrees Celsius.

(That’s 59 degrees to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.)

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

This sort of temperature range is found in the

land of eternal spring along the mountainous

spine that runs from southern Mexico to

Ecuador and Brazil.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Soil quality and soil management are

important but it starts with an ideal location

and ideally a shady one.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Avoidance of Coffee Leaf

Rust

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

The fungal disease that can devastate coffee

crops is more prevalent where coffee is

planted too closely together, when they are

planted in full sun and where it is planted in

warmer locations.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1367/the-biology-of-shade-grown-organic-coffee/

Growing organic coffee under forest cover at

higher altitudes is a better approach if you

want to avoid coffee leaf rust than planting

tightly spaced coffee at lower altitude in full

sun.