Growing Cacao in Plastic Cups

When you order a pod you'll likely be getting upwards of 30 seeds that are all only good right now. If you're like me you can't bring yourself to just toss them out with the trash. Now I might be a bit of a plant hoarder but it just seems like a waste to do that. What I'm doing this time around (I can't honestly remember what the heck I did with all those seeds last time) is using plastic cups.

Whatever cheap variety you choose if you decide to plant them all you can be sure there won't be much drainage there. What I like to add for drainage is a small layer of bark pieces at the bottom of the cup. You can buy orchid bark or any other chip-style bark pieces to accomplish this. I bought mine for about $5 at the Home Depot. All you need to do is add in that little layer and then put the soil on top. It'll leave a gap at the bottom for the water to drain into. You'll know there's enough water in there if you use clear cups since you can watch it gather. Remember, damp not wet for cacao.