ForewordThis article that i wrote was originally going to be in the BLTC eZine. But since we do not have a Zoklet anymore i have decided to post this article here for you all to enjoy.
General InformationThe opium poppy, or papaver somniferum, is a plant mostly treasured for it’s alkaloids. Which includes codeine, thebaine and ofcourse morphine. While thebaine has to be chemically altered into oxycodone, oxymorphone or buprenorphine to produce narcotic effects. Codeine and morphine have no such impairment and can be consumed readily to induce feelings of sedation, anxiolysis and euphoria. With that in mind you can see why morphine’s name is no coincidence. It stems from the word Morpheus which is what the ancient greeks believed was the name of the god of dreams.
Picture 1. A scored poppy pod.
Picture 2. A painting of the god Morpheus with the messenger Iris
Getting startedTo begin we must ofcourse first aquire the proper seeds. There is a variety of strains to choose from. However the most common strains used by hobbyists such as ourselves are; Persian White, Persian Blue and the Gigantheum strain. The reason why these are used is because of the availability and relative high alkaloid content. Seeds for each type i mentioned can be easily aquired on the internet for a little over 5 dollars per gram. A quick google search for “Persian white seeds” can point you in the right direction!
Picture 1. Persian White
Picture 2. Persian Blue
Picture 3. Gigantheum
Choosing the right timeDepending on your climate you can either decide to sow your seeds in the late autumn or early spring. Say you live in an area where during the winter temperatures often drop below zero you might want to consider planting in the early spring. Because even though the seeds can stand cold to some extent if they are frozen there is a good chance that they will not survive. The benefit of sowing early however is that the plants will have more time to develop, and produce bigger pods, which will contain a greater volume of latex.
Ofcourse if you want to take as little risk as possible you can sow in the early spring regardless.
Soil and sowingPoppies can be grown on a variety of soils. However they respond best to sandy loam soil. Loam soil can also be used with succes. Clay soil or hard soil in general can be detrimental to the plant’s growth as the poppy has a hard time getting it’s root system in place when the soil is too tough. They grow well in sandy soil but keep in mind that sandy soil has less nutrients than other types of soil and must be enriched with compost to ensure optimal growth.
Picture 1. From left to right. Sandy soil, sandy loam soil, clay soil.
Before sowing you can prepare the soil by loosening it with a hoe. If you are using sandy soil, this is also the right time to add compost. Follow the instructions on the container and apply as directed. When your soil is nice and loose the time has come to sow your seeds. Take about five to ten seeds and sprinkle them together on about one square inch of soil. Repeat this proces until you have covered your garden. Keep in mind though that between each cluster of seeds there has to be a space of about fifteen inches so you are left with a square pattern as illustrated by the image below.
Picture 2. Seed layout.
The reason for doing this is so that each individual plant has enough space to grow to maturity without interfering with the nutrients needed by the other plants. You might wonder why then we are placing five to ten seeds per square inch. That’s because we want to ensure every square inch we use has atleast one plant that we can work with. I will go into detail about this in the following part.
SproutingWhen sowing in the early spring it takes about two to three weeks before the seeds sprout depending on the weather. Poppy seeds need wet conditions to start sprouting. So if there is little to no rain at that time in your area, you can decide to water the seeds. They need quite a bit of water at the beginning so you can pour generously. Don’t make it too wet though or the seeds will wash away. If you decided to plant in the late autumn or winter it can take up to five months for the seeds to sprout. Also depending on the weather conditions, they might sprout a bit sooner.
After the poppies have sprouted you will probably have about four to six of them per cluster you sowed. Wait a week or until the plants have developed two little leaves and they are about one inch tall. Now comes the time you select the most healthy plant per cluster and remove the weaker ones. So you are left with one plant per patch of one square inch.
Picture 1. Sprouting poppies.
Taking care of your plants
Poppies require little care, although there are some points i would like to discuss. Over the next few weeks your plants will slowly grow to maturity. Make sure to check your plants regulairly for need of water in dry times. The leaves are a good indication for when the plant needs extra water. Are the leaves hanging instead of being horizontal? Then they probably could use a drink. There are also a couple of diseases that could potentially destroy your crop. A few common diseases include:
- Anthracnose
- Bacterial Leaf Spot
- Downy Mildew
- Verticillium Wilt
How to spot these diseases1.Anthracnose occurs mostly in the eastern United States. It can be detected by dark lesions developing on stems and leaves. In a progressive state pink spore masses can also be seen on the leaves of the infected plant.
2.Bacterial Leaf Spot can be detected by the dark circles that appear on the leaves of infected plants. These circles often have a yellow halo around them. In dry conditions these spots appear speckled.
3.Downy Mildew can be detected by looking at the leaves of your plants. Infected specimens will have small, pale green or slightly yellow dots on them.
4.Verticillium Wilt is easy to spot, as infected plants will have big yellow blotches on them. These will progress to brown dead spots in time.
Picture 1. A plant seriously infected with Antharcnose
Picture 2. A plant infected with Bacterial Leaf Spot
Picture 3. A plant infected with Verticillium Wilt
Picture 4. A plant infected with Downy Mildew
The easiest thing you can do when a plant has contracted one of these diseases, is taking a plastic bag and wrapping it around the infected plant. Then pull it up by the roots and dispose of it. Ofcourse it is a shame when a plant gets infected and you have to remove it but it is better than letting your entire crop catch the disease. For advice on how to effectively prevent these diseases consult your local gardening supplier.
Another common problem with poppy plants is snails. They seem to love them. Perhaps the intoxicants work on invertabrates the same way they work on humans, and who needs a bunch of addicts hanging around the garden right? In all seriousness though snails prefer to eat the leaves of your papavers. This ofcourse is bad news for your plants as they require their leaves for photosynthesis. A home remedy against snails is sprinkling some grinded coffee around the plants. Supposedly the caffeine is toxic to snails. However if you don’t like to waste a prime dark roast you can always take a trip to your local gardening supplier and buy a proper snail and slug poison.
Harvesting the alkaloids.When the end of summer is drawing near and the poppies have developed proper pods with crowns pointing slightly upward instead of flowers and/or petals, it is time to harvest the pods or collect the opium. Another good indication that the poppies are ready, are the lower leaves on each individual plant. When they are starting to look a bit yellow the plants have about reached the end of their lives and the alkaloid content is highest.
Picture 1. Mature poppy pods ready for harvest.
Traditionally opium is collected by scoring the pods with a razor. The proces involves making a few shallow incisions into the skin of the pod so that the latex bleeds out. This is then dried naturally by the sun and collected at the end of the day, after which the product can be dried further to create raw opium or it can be refined into regular opium, morphine or heroin.
The best way to go about this is to score the pods early in the morning just when the dew has evaporated. Make about three to five shallow incisions on each side of the pod and let the latex seep out. Repeat this for all the pods that are ready to be harvested. Then just before it gets dark collect the opium by carefully scraping it off into a container. Leave the pods for the night and return the next morning, as the pods will continue to produce opium for a couple of days.
Picture 2. Scored pods with raw opium attached to them.
Ofcourse if you don’t feel like putting this much effort into collecting the opium you can simply cut the pods off the plants and dry them for use in poppy pod tea. Whatever way you decide to go with, it is always a good idea to keep the seeds for next years crop!
Lastly i would like to invite you to have a look at my old poppy field, it was pretty nice back in the day, notice the totse note!
Thank you for reading! This concludes my guide, if you have any questions please feel free to post them!
