The vanilla orchid(Vanilla planifolia) is one of the world’s most interesting plants. Of the nearly35,000 species of orchid, the second largest botanical family of plants,vanilla is the only species that produces an edible fruit. True vanilla is a soughtafter product, usually the second most expensive spice in the world, yet weassociate the word vanilla with plain, boring, and commonplace. Native toMexico and Central America, the vanilla vine is well suited for any tropicalhomestead. Yet vanilla is a particular plant requiring special care, inparticular during pollination where every flower must be hand pollinated.香草兰是世界上最有趣的植物之一。在将近35,000种兰花(第二大植物系)中，香草是唯一一种能结出可食用果实的植物。正宗的香草应是人们追求的产品，通常是世界上第二昂贵的香料，然而我们却把香草这个词和普通、无聊、平凡联系在一起。香草原产于墨西哥和中美洲，非常适合热带地区种植。然而，香草是一种特殊的植物，需要特别照顾，特别是在授粉期间，每一朵花都必须手工授粉。
Hand pollination sounds like a lot of work. However consideringthe common alternative, synthetic vanilla, which is derived from a combinationof wood pulp and coal tar, and is found in a huge amount of processed food;, alittle hand pollination is worthwhile.手工授粉听起来工作量很大，然而，考虑到常见的替代品是一种从木浆和煤焦油的混合物中提取出来的合成香草，并且这种合成香草可以在大量的加工食品中发现，故而正宗的香草需要一定的手工授粉是值得的。
There is a lot of interest in vanilla at the moment due to apparentglobal shortages and an extreme j ump in crop prices. Like allcommodities, the supply and demand of vanilla is subject to many factorsoutside of simply how much vanilla is produced each year. A powerful contingentof middle men are often accused of driving up prices by hoarding supplies. Keepthis in mind if you expect to grow vanilla as a commercial crop.目前，由于明显的全球短缺和农作物价格的极端波动，人们对香草很感兴趣。像所有的商品一样，香草的供给和需求受许多因素的影响，而不仅仅是每年生产多少香草。一个强大的中间商团体经常被指责通过囤积供应来抬高价格。如果你希望香草作为商业作物种植，请记住这一点。
On the homestead scale, it is much better to have five plantsthat you give exquisite care than 50 plants that receive marginal care. Thesefive plants will likely out produce the 50 and at less work.在一定的田产规模上，5株精心照料的植物要比50株粗心照料的植物好得多。这5株精心照料的香草可能会有50株香草的效益，而且工作量更少。
The following is a detailed guide for getting a few plantsestablished and thriving on your tropical homestead.以下是一个详细的指南，可以帮助你在热带家园中种植植物。
Climate
气候Vanilla thrives in the tropical lowlands, both on the Caribbeanand pacific slopes of Costa Rica. The vine can support an extended dry seasonof up to three months. It wants a minimum of 3000 mm of rainfall, or can beirrigated on a small scale, and is rarely grown commercially above an elevationof 600 meters. It is native to the lowland forests, where it thrives as anunderstory vine that climbs its way toward the canopy.香草生长在加勒比和哥斯达黎加太平洋山坡的热带低地。它的藤蔓可以支撑长达三个月的旱季。它需要至少3000毫米的降雨量，或者是小规模灌溉，而且很少在海拔600米以上的地方进行商业种植。它原产于低地森林，在那里，香草作为一种下层藤蔓可以茁壮成长，爬向树冠层。
Design and Establishment
设计和建造
Vanilla is an easy plant to propagate. A cutting from a matureplant, with 12 to 24 nodes or 1 to 1.5 meters long, is all that is needed tostart a young vine of your own. The longer the cutting the faster it will produceflowers.香草是一种极易繁殖的植物。从一棵有12到24个节（1到1.5米长）的成熟植株上剪下一段，就可以长成一株新的植物。修剪的时间越长，开花的速度就越快。
Be sure to take cuttings only from healthy plants that appearsfree from disease and don’t take too much from any one plant, as it will setback any future flowering by at least one year.一定要从看起来没有病的健康植株上取下插枝，不要从一株植株上取太多，因为这样会使未来的花期至少推迟一年。
The cuttings are very hardy and can survive in a shady moistplace for many weeks until you are ready to plant them. Be sure to keep thecuttings out of the sun.插枝非常耐寒，可以在阴凉潮湿的地方存活数周，直到你开始种植它们。一定要让插枝远离阳光。
Siting, Layout and Spacing
选址、布局及间距
On a commercial scale vanilla is typically spaced on a grid of2.5 m x 2.5 m. This leaves ample space to walk around each individual plant andquickly assess the flowering situation. On a homestead scale, vanilla can beplanted closer. A 1.5 m spacing along a row would be a minimum as it is stillimportant that you can move around each plant.在商业尺度上，香草都分布在一个2.5 m x 2.5 m的网格上。这样就有足够的空间在每棵植株周围走动，快速评估开花情况。在宅基地的尺度上，香草则可以种植得更近。每行1.5米的间隔是最小的，这仍然很重要，你可以在每株植物周围移动。
Vanilla is similar to cacao and black pepper in that desiresaround a 50% sun to shade ratio. Consider a location with existing shade coverthat is either very high in elevation, letting in more light from the sides, orcan be pruned to achieve the optimal sun/shade ratio. If your rainy season isshort (less than one month), strive for more sunlight. If your rainy season isdistinct (three or more months) enough dry season shade is very important. Ifyou will be establishing vanilla while also establishing shade trees, it isimportant to provide short term shade species as well. Short term shade speciesmight include pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), bananas (Musa sp.), and Mexicansunflower (Tithonia diversifolia). These can be pruned in the rainy season andallowed to grow out during the dry season.香草与可可豆和黑胡椒相似，它需要50%的日照比。考虑一个现有遮阳棚的位置，这个位置要么海拔很高，可以让更多的光线从侧面进入，要么去修剪以达到最佳的遮阳比。如果你的雨季很短(少于一个月)，就争取更多的阳光。如果你的雨季是比较长的(三个月或更多月)，那么保持足够的旱季阴凉是非常重要的。如果你在种植香草的同时也要种植遮荫树，那么提供短期遮荫树种也是很重要的。短期遮荫的品种可能包括鸽豌豆(Cajanus cajan)、香蕉(Musa sp.)和墨西哥向日葵(Tithonia胡杨)。这些可以在雨季修剪，让它们在旱季长出来。
The primary shade for vanilla crops will come from the supportspecies that they grow on. The selection, planting, and management of thesupport species is nearly as important as the care of the vanilla vine itself.Support species are most often planted as a living post orcerca viva. A twometer long post, 8 to 10 cm in diameter with a few smaller bifurcating branchesis ideal. The most commonly used species are madero negro (Gliricida sepium)and poro (Erythrina sp.). Starting posts from seeds requires more planning, butwill result in a more robust post material.香草作物的主要阴影来自支持它们生长的辅助物种。辅助物种的选择、种植和管理几乎和香草藤本身的照料一样重要。辅助种通常作为植物柱来种植。理想的柱子是两米长，直径8到10厘米，有一些较小的分叉分支。最常用的品种是马德罗黑(Gliricida sepium)和茯苓(poro, Erythrina sp.)。辅助物种从种子开始种植就需要更多的计划，但将获得一个更加强忍的辅助材料。
Ideally living posts are established one year before the vanillaplants are to be transplanted. Planting in advance gives the posts the chanceto root in before the vines grow to a significant weight. It will also let youreplant the posts that did not successfully transplant. Any support startedfrom seed should be around five centimeters in diameter before a vine is placedon it. Throughout the tropics there is ample local knowledge on the selection,planting, and management of living posts. Follow your local neighbors’ adviceon when to cut and plant a post.理想的辅助材料是在香草植物移植前一年建立。提前种植让柱子有机会在藤蔓长到一定重量之前生根。它还可以让你重新种植没有成功移植的柱子。任何从种子就开始的辅助支撑，在藤蔓被放置之前，直径应该在5厘米左右。在整个热带地区，有大量关于选择、种植和管理辅助植物的当地知识。按照你当地邻居的建议，决定什么时候修剪和种植柱子。
Planting Out
种植Vanilla should be planted out once posts are established and atthe beginning of the rainy season. A few nodes at the base of the vine shouldbe buried under an ample pile of woody mulch. The rest of the vine should betied to the living post or if long enough draped over the branches. Tying partsof the vine, around nodes, to the trunk will encourage aerial roots to form andconnect to the support post. Flagging tape is excellent for this task as it canstretch as the vanilla grows and is less likely to damage the vine than stringor cordage.一旦辅助植物立柱，在雨季开始时，就应该种植香草。香草这种藤本植物底部的几个节点应该埋在一大堆木质护根物下面。藤的其余部分应该绑在植物柱子上，或者如果足够长的话可以挂在树枝上。在枝节周围，将藤蔓的一部分绑在树干上，可以促进气生根的形成，并连接到支撑柱上。标记带是非常好的工具，因为它可以像香草生长那样伸展，比起绳索而言也更不易伤害香草的藤曼。
Intercropping
间作In many ways vanilla inter-crops with other species very wellbut it does have specific limitations. The roots of vanilla are verysusceptible to disturbance. Animals, in particular chickens, do not mix wellwith vanilla. Neither do tuber crops, whose harvest creates a disturbance whenplanted close to the base of the support species. Vanilla roots don’t extendfar from the support species though, so other crops can be planted nearby. Theselected shade trees can also be productive trees. Pili nut (Canarium ovatum),Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus edulis), Maya nut (Brosimum alicastrum) are allexcellent nut trees that would eventually provide a tall canopy over a maturevanilla grove.香草可以与其他品种间作得很好，但它有特定的限制。香草的根很容易受到干扰。动物，特别是鸡，不能与香草混合。块茎作物也不可以，因为当种植接近辅助物种的作物时会影响到香草的收获。香草的根不会延伸到远离植物的地方，所以其他作物可以在附近种植。选中的遮荫树也可以是多产的树。伞骨果(Canarium ovatum)、塔希提栗子(Inocarpus edulis)、玛雅坚果(Brosimum alicastrum)都是优良的坚果树，最终会为成熟的香草林提供高大的树冠。
Management Guiding
管理指导Vanilla benefits greatly from a regular schedule to guide thevines. Once per week the plants should be checked for any vines that are tryingto climb high, run along the ground or reaching for other plants. These vinesneed to be tucked back toward the living posts or draped around the branches ofthe post. The idea is to slowly create a figure eight with the vine, draping itback over itself.香草可以在规律的时间表和科学的指导下受益良多。每周都应该检查一下这些植物是否有攀高、或沿着地面生长、或攀上其他植物的藤蔓。香草的这些藤蔓需要缩回到柱子上，或者挂在柱子的枝条上。我们的想法是用藤蔓慢慢地创造出一个数字8，然后让它自己垂下来。
Vanilla plants won’t flower well if they only climb upwards andif they do, the flowers will be out of reach.香草植物如果只往上爬就开不好花，即便是开了花也够不着。
Pruning
修剪The living posts will need to be pruned once or twice a year.Pruning will allow you to manage sunlight and shade during the rainy and dryseasons, to provide mulch for the vanilla plants, and to eliminate tallbranches that the vanilla wants to climb.Pruned material should be cut into smaller chunks and placegently around the base of the support where the vanilla roots can access thematerial as it decomposes.辅助植物每年需要修剪一两次。修剪可以让你在雨季和旱季管理阳光和阴影，为香草植物提供覆盖物，并消除香草想要爬上去的高树枝。修剪后的材料应该切成小块，轻轻地放在辅助植物的周围，香草根可以接触到材料，因为它分解。
Watering
浇水If you have an extended dry season then occasionally irrigatingthroughout this period will significantly enhance flowering. Shade, mulch andirrigation work together to allow vanilla to be grown in parts of the countrythat have a longer dry season such as Guanacaste.如果你有一个较长的旱季，那么在这段时间里，偶尔的灌溉会显著地促进开花。遮荫、护根和灌溉共同作用，可以使香草能够在有较长旱季的部分地区生长，比如瓜纳卡斯特。
Pollination
授粉The key to vanilla is successful pollination of the flower. Theflowers typically appear during the drier times of year and are triggered bythe lack of rainfall. They form in clusters of around 15 flowers, with only oneflower opening each day. The flowers open for no more than 8 hours and are bestpollinated early in the morning. If you succeed at pollination, the flower willdry up but remain attached to the vine; if it was not successful the flowerwill fall off within 24 hours.香草的关键是成功地授粉。香草花通常出现在一年中较干燥的时候，是由于缺少降雨而引起的。它们一簇约15朵，每天只有一朵开放。花开放不超过8小时，最好在早晨授粉。如果你成功地授粉了，花就会干枯，但仍然依附在藤蔓上;如果不成功，花将在24小时内脱落。
Pollination is a straightforward process once mastered. The goalis to push together the anther (male part of the flower) and the stigma(female). In between these reproductive organs there is a small flap, calledthe rostellum. The most common method for pollination is to take a toothpick,poke it into the side of the flower, lift the rostellum forward, and use yourother hand to press the anther back onto the stigma. To facilitate this thebottom of the flower can be torn open providing improved visibility of theminute task. It sounds complicated, but it is a simple process that can bepicked up quickly.授粉是一个简单的过程。其目的是将花药(花的雄性部分)和柱头(花的雌性部分)挤在一起。在这些生殖器官之间有一个小的瓣，叫做喙部。最常见的传粉方法是用牙签戳到花的侧面，将花萼向前提起，然后用另一只手将花药压回柱头上。为了方便这一点，花的底部可以被撕开，提供更好的能见度的分钟任务。这听起来很复杂，但这是一个可以快速上手的简单过程。
In commercial plantations there should be considerations ofwhich flowers of the bunch are best to pollinate based on expected size of thepod, how many flowers in total to pollinate per plant without stressing theplant (30 to 60), and much more.在商业种植园中，应该考虑哪束花最适合授粉，这取决于预期的果实大小，在不对植株造成压力的情况下，每株花总共需要多少花来授粉(30到60朵)，以及其他的问题。
The above photo gallery shows young flowers emerging, a close upshot of vanilla pollen, the process of hand pollination, what the flower lookslike immediately after we have done pollination, and what the flower looks likea few days after successful pollination.下面的图片库展示了初生的花，香草花粉的近景，手工授粉的过程，授粉后的花是什么样子，成功授粉后几天的花是什么样子。
Fertility
可繁殖性The vanilla vine gets most of its nutrients from the mulch layeraround the base of the support tree. As an epiphyte it also takes in nutrientsfrom the air. The best fertility program is ample mulching with leaves andwoody branches and regular foliar sprays such as mountain microorganisms,effective microorganisms, or actively aerated compost tea. The occasionalapplication of high quality compost is encouraged. Avoid applying animal manureas the high nitrogen content encourages vegetative growth over flowering.香草藤可以从支撑树根部周围的覆盖物中获取大部分营养。作为一种附生植物，它也从空气中吸收营养。最好的施肥方案是用树叶和树枝进行充分的覆盖，定期向叶片喷洒，如山地微生物、有效微生物，或堆肥茶。鼓励偶尔施用高质量的堆肥。避免施用动物粪便，因为高氮含量会致使香草营养过余。
Labor
劳动A commercial vanilla orchard is a high maintenance affair. Postmanagement, vine guiding, pollination, and all the post harvest processingactivities require consistent and diligent care. Vanilla is one of the mostlabor intensive agricultural commodity in the world. On a homestead scale muchof this work can be made easy through good siting. If the plants are on a paththat is walked multiple times per day, than it is much easier to quickly guidea vine back into place, or recognize that a fruit is ready for harvest.一个商业化的香草园是一个需要高度维护的任务。后期管理、藤曼引导、授粉和所有收获后的加工活动都需要始终如一、勤勉细心的照料。香草是世界上劳动密集程度最高的农产品之一。在宅基地规模上，许多工作可以通过良好的选址变得容易。如果植物长在一条每天往返多次的路上，那么就很容易在看到藤曼走向不对时将其引导回原位，也会更加容易地观察到果实已出，为收割做准备。
Harvest
收获Vanilla pods, also called beans (though not beans at all), areready nine months after pollination. They are ready to harvest when the tipstarts turning yellow. After harvest begins the processing to turn thisscentless and flavorless pod into a glistening, oily, fragrant product that isincredibly valuable.香草荚，也叫豆子(虽然根本不是豆子)，在授粉九个月后就差不多好了。当叶尖开始变黄时，就可以收割了。在收获后开始加工，把这种无味的豆荚变成一种闪亮的，具有油性的，芳香的产品，具有难以置信的价值。
Drying and Fermentation
干燥和发酵Pick the beans when they are ready—full, with just a hint ofyellow at one tip, not splitting or fully yellow. Immediately kill the beans byputting them in direct sun for a few hours, until they feel very hot. Sort themby size, with the larger and smaller ones grouped in different piles.Separation is necessary because larger and smaller beans cure at differentrates.当豆子已经满了的时候采摘，只在一个尖端有一点黄色，不要裂开或完全变黄。将豆子直接放在阳光下晒几个小时，直到感觉它们非常热。把它们按大小分类，较大的和较小的放在不同的堆里。分离是必要的，因为大的和小的豆在以不同的速度固化。
Wrap the beans in their respective piles in pieces of blackcotton. Put this bundle in a plastic bag inside a closed box, over night. Thisbegins the process of sweating, which you will continue to alternate withsunning for the next few weeks. Each day, unwrap the beans and spread them outin the sun for about three hours, then wrap them back up in the cotton andplastic, and sweat in the box. Repeat this process daily for two to threeweeks, or until the beans are soft, fragrant, pliable, and relatively flat.Small beans can tolerate less sun than large beans, and will take a shorterperiod of time to cure. You must avoid overexposing the beans, in which casethey will dry out and harden.把豆子用黑色的棉花包成一堆堆。把它们放在一个密封的盒里的塑料袋中，过一夜。这就要开始流汗劳动的阶段了，在接下来的几周你将继续与晒太阳交替进行。每天，把豆子打开，在阳光下晒3个小时，然后用棉花和塑料包好，在盒子里晾干。每天重复这个过程两到三周，或者直到豆子变得柔软、芳香、柔韧、相对扁平。小豆比大豆耐阳光的时间更短，治愈的时间也更短。避免豆子暴露过度，否则它们会变干变硬。
Curing dehydrates the bean, and ferments the interior whichimproves the fragrance and flavor. The beans should never, ever, ever, ever,get hard or crispy, and they should never grow mold. The point is for them tobecome thoroughly immersed in their own oils. It can help to rub each beanbetween your hands each day to spread the oils.腌制会使豆子脱水，并使其内部发酵，从而改善其香味和风味。豆子永远，永远，永远，永远，永远不会变硬或酥脆，它们也永远不会发霉。关键是要让它们完全沉浸在自己的油里。每天在你的双手之间摩擦豆油可以帮助分散油脂。
After the beans are sunned and sweated until black, fragrant,and pliable, its time to slow dry them in a shady indoor place on a rack. Dothis for about three months, monitoring them closely to remove any that showsigns of mold. When properly sunned and sweated, they should not mold.将豆子晒成黑色、芳香、柔韧的样子，然后将其放在室内阴凉的架子上慢慢晾干。这样做大约三个月，密切监测它们，以便防止出现霉菌迹象。经过适当的晾晒和脱水，它们不会发霉。
At this point the vanilla can be stored in glass containers, orused to make vanilla extract.此时香草可以被储存在玻璃容器中，或者用来制作香草精。
Value Adding
增值Perhaps the easiest way to preserve vanilla post harvest is bymaking an extract of the cured pods. To do this, mince the vanilla beans intofine pieces. Mix one part minced vanilla by two parts vodka or other alcohol,at least 30% alcohol by volume. Put in a dark place and let sit for six monthsto a year, shaking weekly. When the liquid smells and tastes like vanilla, andthe vanilla pieces no longer have any of their own fragrance or flavor, strainout the pieces and bottle the liquid extract. There are many variations of thisrecipe.也许在收获后保存香草最简单的方法就是从腌制的豆荚中制作提取物，要做这个，需要把香草豆切碎，一份香草碎和两份伏特加或其他酒精混合，酒精含量至少30%。将其放在暗处，静置半年到一年，每周摇晃一次。当液体闻起来和尝起来像香草，当香草块不再有任何自己的香味或味道时，滤出碎片，再把提取物装瓶。这个食谱有许多衍生而来的版本。
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