Green Tea Experiment
Ten Rooted Tea Cuttings were hand carried by Tomo back from the famous tea Region of Shizuoika Japan. They arrived in good condition in cloth and plastic wrapped. We soaked them in highly oxygenated Vortex water for 1 hour and sprayed the leaves with the water.
Then we planted them in an organic Compost, our own soil and 1/3 sand mix. Placed all ten in a shady and protected area and watered them regularly. After 10 days we gave them more sunlight. 4 of the Green tea cuttings struggled and after 17 days dried out. After comparison, we encountered a significant stem difference which was much thinner, which contributes to a decreased ability of their own water holding capacity.
As of November, our six traditional Japanese Green Tea Plants (camellia sinensis) from the famous tea Region of Shizuoika are doing well. The soil quality is similar, volcanic, the climate is slightly different, less rain and colder winters in Japan. The roots of Green Tea don’t like to stand in water, so our hillsides provide perfect drainage.
We are waiting for a new shipment from Japan to put in a big field. Our healthy specimens passed the Agricultural Inspections.
2008 update: The plants have perished. We believe that with greater vigilant care that we have not had the resources for, the plants would have continued to grow. We have overcome several hurdles and learned several things about their propagation and care. We will try again when we have the resources to do so and we believe we will succeed!