Saffron

Heard james Wong talk about growing saffron-I use a lot of it (or I would like to use a lot of it if only it was not so expensive) in Indian and brazilian cooking. Has anybody out there grown it? How do you harvest and store it? I see the Crocus company is selling 50 bulbs for about £12 at the moment

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on September 11, 2012 at 21:12

We've been growing and selling Saffron Crocus Bulbs for about ten years now.

Harvesting is 'simple' - you simply pluck the stamens from the flowers. You should get 3 stamens per flower - and once established 4 flowers per bulb. The reason Saffron is so expensive to buy is it has to be harvested by hand and is so low yielding.

Dry in the sun and then keep in a glass jar or similar for up to 18 months.

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Permalink Reply by Sue Gollop on September 11, 2012 at 22:59

Thanks! How long will the bulbs produce? Do they multiply in the ground? Have you actually done it and is it worth keeping a portion of the allotment solely devoted to saffron? What size bed do I need for 50 bulbs or are they known as corms?

Stephen Shirley said:

We've been growing and selling Saffron Crocus Bulbs for about ten years now.

Harvesting is 'simple' - you simply pluck the stamens from the flowers. You should get 3 stamens per flower - and once established 4 flowers per bulb. The reason Saffron is so expensive to buy is it has to be harvested by hand and is so low yielding.

Dry in the sun and then keep in a glass jar or similar for up to 18 months.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on September 12, 2012 at 8:03

Saffron are indeed Corms - but are better known as being bulbs so we have to sell market them as that for the likes of Google! We have indeed 'done it' - as we lift the corms we sell from our own beds!

They need planting fairly deep (about 4"- 6") deep and I would plant in the row about 6" apart.

At home I have a triangular bed of Saffron which performs well when the dog doesn't trample!

Lift every 4 - 6 years and break off the outer corms and plant out elsewhere - and to thin the bed.

Sue Gollop said:

Thanks! How long will the bulbs produce? Do they multiply in the ground? Have you actually done it and is it worth keeping a portion of the allotment solely devoted to saffron? What size bed do I need for 50 bulbs or are they known as corms?

Stephen Shirley said:

We've been growing and selling Saffron Crocus Bulbs for about ten years now.

Harvesting is 'simple' - you simply pluck the stamens from the flowers. You should get 3 stamens per flower - and once established 4 flowers per bulb. The reason Saffron is so expensive to buy is it has to be harvested by hand and is so low yielding.

Dry in the sun and then keep in a glass jar or similar for up to 18 months.