Miracle Fruit Experiment Part 1: Planting the Seeds
A few weeks ago I read this article in the New York Times about a berry called Miracle Fruit. About Miracle Fruit, Wikipedia says:
The berry is sweet, and contains an active glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculin. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue’s taste buds, causing bitter and sour foods (such as lemons and limes) consumed later to taste sweet. This effect lasts between thirty minutes and two hours. It is not a sweetener, as its effects depend on what is eaten afterwards, but has been used to cause bitter medicine to taste sweet.
I was intrigued, so I bought some seeds. They arrived this week and I started planting them right away.
I bought my seeds from Gold Crystal Garden via Amazon. They took a few weeks to arrive, and, when I they finally came, the instructions indicated that they needed to be planted right away.
I’m not much of a green thumb, so I followed the instructions that someone named Putzer posted at Instructables. Putzer said I needed 50/50 mix of Perlite and Peat Moss. So I mixed up a batch and planted each seed in a small biodegradable carton.
Now I wait…
June 30th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I too also have miracle fruit seeds coming in…. did you use the gibberellic acid? it was definitely hard to find in my city, but I found some. its expensive, and was told I could substitute it with a product called “catalyst”. If you wouldn’t mind keeping me updated on your progress I’d like to compare my results with yours after I start the process this week when my seeds come in.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I didn’t use gibberellic acid, but I’m starting to think that I should have. So far, nothing has sprouted, and I’m wondering if I need to wait a little longer (it’s been 2 weeks so far) or if they’re just not going to come up. I know that Chicago’s weather probably isn’t helping any.
I’d be curious to know how the acid works for you. If these seeds don’t come up I’m thinking about ordering some more and trying out the acid. Where did you end up finding some?