Author Topic: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)  (Read 510 times)

Vesp

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Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« on: March 01, 2009, 08:55:33 AM »
Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)

Strains of Papaver Somniferous
   There are many different strains of  papaver somniferum. They vary in growth rate, flower color, pod size, alkaloid content, and about every other aspect you can imagine. Papaver somniferum seeds are commonly used as a spice.  McCormick’s Poppy Seeds, sold as a spice, are an easy and cheap source of viable papaver somniferum seeds. However controversy exists if McCormick’s Seeds are a good variety to use if you are growing for the alkaloids they produce.
   When choosing a strain of papaver somniferum, it is recommended to research what strain is most ideal for all aspects in where they are to grow. If one is able, get several strains and see what ones grow best in the garden.

Soil
   Before one goes about germinating the seeds, they will want to put them in a soil in which they can not only survive, but flourish.  Papaver somniferum thrives in loose sandy, well draining soil. They can survive in different soil, but they may not grow as well. Avoid compact soil. Compact soil often has high levels of clay and do not drain well, and also may make it difficult for the plant to get a large root system. A large root system is important to grow large  papaver somniferum  plants, since it will allow the plant to get high amounts of water and nutrients.  The pH of the soil can vary, but it is believed that near neutral is ideal.

When to Plant.
   Papaver somniferum grows best at cool temperatures. It is best to plant the seeds in the fall, winter, or early spring.  

Germination.
   Papaver somniferum seeds germinate very easily. Tossing them on the soil, and gently covering them with a small amount of soil or sand works well. If they are kept moist, the bulk of the seeds should germinate with in several days. It is important that they are not in a soil, or watered so much that it encourages damp off. If one attempts to start growing papaver somniferum in the heat of mid summer, they will find it is relatively difficult to get  past a small sprout with only a few true leafs.

Maintaining.
   Once the plants are well established in their garden, they must be maintained. Fertilizing, Watering, and ensuring they get adequate sunlight is important. The plants should be maintained until harvest.

Harvest.
   There are many ways of getting a harvest from papaver somniferum. One can make a small incision into the pod two or three weeks after the last petal has fallen from the pod. Cutting the pod will allow for latex to flow out onto the surface, and will dry with sufficient time. Scraping away the dried latex, or opium will allow you to make more small cuts on the pod, allowing for more opium to be harvested.
   Once you are done collecting the opium, the pods can be taken , dried, and brewed into a tea. extracted. Often the tea is thought to be very distasteful, so to avoid the horrible taste an extraction can be preformed to get more alkaloids.

Extraction and Purification.
   Purifying the alkaloids from the opium, or the pods from papaver somniferum is an easy task if you understand what you are doing, and have the required equipment. Luckily the concepts are not too hard, nor the equipment rare.
   Below is the United States Patent 6,054,584 which describes how to extract morphine and other alkaloids from opium.  

Adjusting pH levels
   The pH level of any soil can be adjusted by adding acids or bases. Acids such as aluminum sulfate will decrease pH levels. Bases such as lime or ash will increase pH levels.  Remember, near neutral is favored.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:46:54 PM by Vesp »
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llamabox

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2009, 08:40:46 PM »
Some pics from this past fall.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:47:08 PM by Vesp »

Vesp

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2009, 11:10:03 PM »
Very nice plants! How long did it take for them guys to go from seed to harvest?
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:47:25 PM by Vesp »
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llamabox

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2009, 11:31:23 PM »
I put out seeds just after the last frost, so about now. And they tend to flower around the summer solstice. Poppies react to light just to opposite as things like cannabis. Cannabis begins to flower when the dark period it around 12 hours. Poppies begin to flower when the light period is around 14hrs or longer. That is why they will grow vegetatively during the fall, winter and spring and flower mid summer. This allows them to self seed and start growth before winter hits.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:47:44 PM by Vesp »

Vesp

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferous)
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2009, 11:33:24 PM »
I see, well very interesting.
Did you happen to grow any of them in shade? A shade area is really the only place I'd be able to grow any type of poppies, and I don't know how well that would work.
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llamabox

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2009, 11:35:36 PM »
Yea those middle pics of the plants without pods are grown under a tree. This will however give small pods as they don't get all the light they could use. The bigger pods in the first pic are in full sun on the east side of the house. So they got from 8am till 1-2pm in full sun.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:48:12 PM by Vesp »

cft

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2009, 06:23:07 AM »
Any tips for helping seedlings to survive? I always get heaps of them germinate but then 90% or more die before they get more than an inch or so tall...never worked out what I'm doing wrong and it seems a waste of seed to have to plant so many extra!
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:48:29 PM by Vesp »

Vesp

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2009, 06:29:24 AM »
I really think the time of year at which you plant them is a big factor, if it is to hot they can suffer severely. Soil is also a big problem sometimes, if it doesn't drain well enough they seem to get root rot, if it drains to well they seem to inevitably die from dehydration, etc.

I've heard a lot of people having the seedling problems, but I think if you plant them thick, you'll get a decent amount of plants in the end.  Wasting seeds is better then not having the plant grow at all though, right? One pod of seeds from a last years harvest really could produce a heck of a lot of plants though if you could get them all to live.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:48:42 PM by Vesp »
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cft

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2009, 06:35:25 AM »
Yeah I think it may just be the climate where I live, winter isn't usually cold enough here to get frost, just very wet...and while its easy to fake frost just by putting the seed in the freezer for an hour or two to break the dormancy, its much harder to stop it raining too often!

I guess well drained soil is the only solution really, but be good to see if llamabox has any suggestions as they seem to be the resident expert  ;D
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:49:02 PM by Vesp »

Vesp

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferous)
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2009, 06:43:53 AM »
Yeah, I haven't seen him around lately unfortunately :(
I'd say a soil with high sand is probably a good choice if it is wet, maybe some perlite or possibly vermiculite.
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djtrickdog

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #10 on: July 11, 2009, 05:55:38 PM »
i think its too hot to grow around here, i live in california. what is the best time to begin germination?
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:49:14 PM by Vesp »

Vesp

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2009, 08:24:47 AM »
Quote
When to Plant.
   Papaver somniferous grows best at cool temperatures. It is best to plant the seeds in the fall, winter, or early spring.  

Depends, the cooler the better as long as it doesn't kill them ;)
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:50:35 PM by Vesp »
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Mr.Murphy

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2009, 12:01:48 PM »
Pedantic Murphy says: The correct name is Papaver somniferum.

IIRC, planting seeds indoor and then moving them outdoor as soon as the last frost is over, is not recommended. I tried to get some plants once and it was quite easy. The soil should be rich in humus and lime, that's it.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:50:50 PM by Vesp »

Vesp

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2009, 06:45:02 PM »
Oops, you are right, spell check must have done something since that is apparently a word meaning bringing or inducing sleep, as drugs or influences.
I guess I will be fixing that.

Yeah transplanting poppies should always be avoided.

I noticed a few people growing them in their front yard this year, they never collected them, or anything like that though, so apparently some store around here has been selling them.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2009, 06:51:03 PM by Vesp »
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hypnos

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2009, 03:02:15 AM »
my grandma used to put the seeds in water in the fridge for 24hrs to 'shock' them into thinking it was winter--and apparently they like 'disturbed soils'  thats why they are associated with WW1

in egypt for example''they would sprout where ordanance landed and had blown the dirt all over the place

llb i am totally jealous of your wicked pods

vesp you have a rockin little nursery there!!
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Seuss

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #15 on: December 19, 2009, 02:01:26 AM »
As an additional note, I've found that poppies don't fare too well indoors.  :(

Naf1

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2009, 02:09:46 AM »
"As an additional note, I've found that poppies don't fare too well indoors."

How do you mean? Under high pressure discharge HIDS like a HPS, or MH? How was it grown?

Seuss

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #17 on: December 19, 2009, 04:01:05 AM »
How do you mean? Under high pressure discharge HIDS like a HPS, or MH? How was it grown?
Ah, I should have said they usually don't fare too well. Poppies suffer without high pressure bulbs and demand a lot of root space that can't always be provided by a pot.  They can do well indoors, it just requires a much more complicated set-up and isn't very worthwhile if you have the option to grow outside.

jon

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #18 on: December 24, 2009, 05:21:43 PM »
a good way to grow poppy is to dirive and find where thier doing road construction most of the work is done for you and the ground is "disturbed" plowed and cleared then drive back by in say may or june

Ventillator

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Re: Growing the Opium Poppy (Papaver Somniferum)
« Reply #19 on: February 07, 2010, 07:40:06 PM »
I Have a question regarding the opium poppy. I Grow these beuties well. But my question is more on the lines of. What is the best way to get off on these beasts? A Friend of mine tells me that 3 pods get's him smashed. But i am stumped as to how exactly he consumes them. Should i just eat the pods whole? Or what? I Know for a fact that uhh.. what i am growing is papaver somniferum.. Without a doubt.. It's exactly the same flower and even shade of purple as posted in these pics.. And the seeds are definitely papaver somniferum as i have seen and identified based on microscopic analysis of the seed structure.. Morphine is nifty.. And a good supply is vital for pain relief.... Any advice on consumption would be much appreciated!!!
« Last Edit: February 07, 2010, 07:41:53 PM by Ventillator »
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