Lets grow some Passion Fruit!

Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis)

I want to grow passion fruit because it is DELICIOUS, pretty and hilarious (it has the tendency to steal other plants water, smother them and then use the plants decaying nutrients to grow more, but at the same time lives in harmony growing over its self repeatedly.)
• Passion Fruits are fruits that grow on vines
• Growing seasons vary, but planted vines typically harvest August- December and March – May.
• Passion fruit vines are often planted from seeds and will take 2-3 weeks to germinate. Seedlings can be transplanted into soil when they are 10 inches tall. It should take roughly a year for the vines to flower and fruit using the seed method. Planting a pre-grown plant could lead to fruit (dependant on climate) in 2-3 months (I would estimate early to mid June by the time is was properly in the soil and growing.)
• Seed to harvest would take roughly one year.
• When planting a potted passion fruit plant you have to have the plant (can be purchased from many nurseries in San Diego) which will be a clone that can with stand a plant disease that typically plagues vines grown from seeds (Fusarium wilt), a trellis or fence for the vine to grow on, and lots of compost! Passion fruit vines need LOTS of organic nutrients and with lots of compost we will have LOTS of fruit.
• For us to produce a large amount of fruit we would need two potted vines and a 5 ft by 4 ft trellis or growing fence. The vines will grown like crazy with enough sun and compost so we could do a smaller one but it is imperative that we are able to control where the vine can grown because it will go nuts. A growing space that big would produce 40+ fruits (two per square inch of growing space average assuming they don’t grow over each other, should that occur we would have twice or three times as much.)
• Passion Fruit vines can grow in many different soil environment but grow best in light to heavy sandy loams. Passion fruit is a fast growing vine and therefore needs to have a ridiculous amount of nutrients, like a teenage boy growing a foot per month might need, but in plant form so LOTS of compost, worms and microbials. Soil pHs of 6.5-7.5 are preferable but some growers swear by acidic soil (adding lime juice and pulp to the soil.) NPK ration of 10-5-20 is ideal for the vine.
• Passion fruit vines will NOT grow in overly watered soil, so drainage is important but they do need continuous watering. The soil should remain moist between watering. The more frequently the vine is watered the more fruit it will produce, but the tender must be extremely careful of over watering.
• Passion Fruit is great at smothering other plants because of it’s fast growing and nutrient demanding nature. Vines also steal water with their shallow root systems and will should they be given the chance. Passion Fruit vines grow like bunny populations and will need to be confined and pruned regularly.
• Passion fruit is from Brazil but the most commonly know passion fruit (grown in Hawaii) has no known origin, it sort of just appeared one day in Australia and is a hybrid of a passion flower and passion fruit vine neither of which were native to that area.

Works Cited
"Guide to Growing Passion Flowers, Passiflora incarnata." How to grow your favorite plants, create a new garden, and resolve your plant and gardening problems. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .
"How Not To Kill Your Passion Vine." Tropica Mango: Rare and Exotic Plant Nursery. Web. 27 Jan. 2010.
"How to Grow Delicious Passionfruit | eHow.com." EHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .
"How To Grow Passion Fruit? By Growing Passionfruit Seeds..." Tropical Permaculture Gardens: Growing Fruits And Vegetables The Easy Way. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .
"How to Grow Passionfruit." Homely Capers | Home and Garden Discussions - Mostly Garden. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .
"PASSION FRUIT Fruit Facts." California Rare Fruit Growers. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .
"Passionfruit." Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .