How to Grow Saffron?
You may be surprised by how easy it is to grow saffron. Saffron can grow in an even cold climate if you take care of it and pay attention to it. Saffron comes from the red threads of the Crocus Sativus. Every flower can produce only a few threads then they are dried in a safe environment to prevent any spoilage.
The tiny threads the Crocus produces are really flavorful and you may ask why saffron is so expensive? Well, to yield 1 gram of pure dried saffron, you’re going to need around 150 saffron flowers. If you cover an entire field, you may only get around 2 kgs of saffron.
But the truth of the matter is, if you are going to grow saffron for yourself, you don’t need 2 kgs. You can easily get the flavor from a few threads or a tiny pinch. There are many articles on how to use saffron that you can read and learn how to make saffron tea, mashed potato, etc. Saffron has many benefits for your health and saffron can reduce anxiety as well.
In this article, we would like to discuss how to grow saffron. The first step is to buy saffron bulbs.
Where to buy saffron bulbs?
Saffron is produced from a specific flower. There are many flowers in the crocus family but what you need to buy in order to grow saffron is Crocus Sativus. It’s worth mentioning that only saffron crocus is actually edible and you shouldn’t consume other crocus flowers.
The saffron flower (Crocus Sativus) can be bought online from either gardening websites or Amazon. The best timing to buy saffron bulbs is in the late summer.
How to Grow Saffron?
Saffron flowers blossom in the autumn. The plants are best suited to the Mediterranean environment, and they fall dormant (sleep) in the summer to avoid the severe heat and drier climates. Saffron bulbs first appear in the early autumn before becoming purple in the late autumn.
Prepare a drainage soil that is relatively rich in organic elements and plant the saffron bulbs once you have them in your hands. Plant them 3 inches deep, 3 inches apart, then 3 inches apart again. Because saffron bulbs proliferate, depth is very essential while cultivating them. New bulbs will grow over the old ones, and if they aren’t planted deep enough, there won’t be enough room for next year’s bulbs to grow.
Thin grass will emerge after a few weeks after planting the saffron bulb. The bulbs will begin to show us the purple blooms we are all familiar with after the foliage has fully developed. The blooms will begin to emerge in around 5-8 weeks and will continue to grow for about 3 weeks. Keep in mind that the saffron blossom is only visible in the autumn, and after a few months, they will go dormant and you will not be able to see them, but they are there and will return the next year.
How to grow saffron in cold weather?
Despite being a sensitive flower, saffron flowers will be okay with mild frosts and they will keep on growing during the fall. However, they may be in trouble when the ground is covered with snow. To avoid having the saffron bulb freeze to death, you can cover them with mulch. If you’ve done this properly the flower should be ok. Once, the snow is gone remove the mulch covering and just weed them. There is no need to water them for now, you can do that in the fall.
In the extreme case, if the snow is really bad and you think covering the saffron flower with mulch is not enough, you can plant them in pots and bring them indoors. You can plant a few bulbs in pots and during fall burry them in a growing bed (make sure the rim is covered by at least 2 inches) and during winter and heavy snowstorms, bring the pots indoors. Make sure you place them in a cool and dry place, also, don’t water them at all. Once the storm is passed, plant them in the garden again.
During the dormant season of the saffron flower, they need to be in dry and well-drained soil. Do not water them until fall, and that’s how to grow saffron in cold climates.
Harvesting Saffron
The saffron plant may not yield as much in its first year. However, in the second and third years, it will begin to produce a large amount of saffron. Each saffron bulb should yield approximately 8 blooms in the second and third years, each with three saffron threads. Farmers usually take flowers from the field and bring them inside to clean, dry, and pluck them correctly. Bring them inside whenever they’re ripe and pick them one by one.
Keep in mind that saffron must be dried as soon as possible after being harvested to prevent spoiling. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to dry. You may dry them in the sun on a piece of a clean sheet. Place the saffron in an airtight jar after it has dried completely.
