Get a ”chocolate tree” and grow chocolate at home

A chocolate tree is usually something that belongs to the realm of dreams and fairytales. But what if we were to tell you that we know a tree whose fruit tastes like chocolate pudding? No kidding. Like a real chocolate pudding and you can grow it in your living room! Well, with a little luck…

The name is black sapote Diospyros Digyna in Latin and it comes from Mexico, but today it is cultivated practically all over the world. It grows very quickly and produces fruit two years after planting. We should mention that growing black sapote in our climatic conditions is a little bit difficult, but it is definitely worth a try.

A warm room is enough

Black sapote is a tropical tree, so naturally, it needs to be in a warm environment all the time. A south window is probably the best place, but direct source of heat is not good at all. If you put it too close to a heater, it will die very soon. Black sapote is a pretty tree and even its seedlings look very nice and will certainly make you happy. They grow very nice and shiny leaves about 30 centimetres long.

It only needs moderate watering, but it does need regular fertilizing and you need to use a complex fertilizer once every 14 days during the entire season (March to October).

Photo: Pixabay

A grafted seedling is the best

during spring. They are yellow, bell-shaped and rather ordinary looking flowers. If you can get a grafted seedling it should start producing flowers in the second year after planting.

On the other hand, sapotes grown from seeds (those sold through various foreign portals), will produce harvest only after seven years and the fruits rarely ripen. And if they do, the quality is rather poor.

How to consume sapote

If you are lucky and managed to grow fruits that are really ripe, you can eat them witha spoon and enjoy the taste . Around the world sapote is used to make delicious desserts or milkshakes. The fruit is really tasty and you can make plenty interesting desserts and create enticing dishes – only your imagination is the limit.

Preview photo: Pixabay