Preparation for Planting
Preparing your beds properly is key to success when growing your own saffron. For bulk planting, aim for beds that are 50cm wide, with 50cm pathways between them. These paths make harvesting much easier and can be mulched with sawdust to help distinguish where your saffron has been planted since saffron flowers aren't always visible at first.
Soil Preparation:
- Dig your beds to a depth of 15–20cm.
- Incorporate Oderings Compost into the soil to ensure good nutrition.
- Fertilise the beds after planting and again in January or February.
For a specific nutrient boost, mix the following:
- 2 parts rock phosphate for root growth
- 1 part dolomite for magnesium
- 1 part lime to raise soil pH (saffron prefers neutral pH)
- 1 part gypsum to break up clay and provide potassium
- ¼ part potassium for enhanced flower production
Important Note: While nitrogen is necessary for plant health, too much will produce more leaf growth than flower production.
Planting Your Saffron Corms
Saffron corms should be planted 10cm deep and spaced 10cm apart. To help the plants thrive, water them with a liquid fertiliser that contains seaweed, fish emulsion, and trichoderma. This natural ingredient (Trichoderma) helps prevent root rot and strengthens the plant's immune system.
We recommend Egmont’s Commercial Fish & Seaweed Growth Booster, which contains all three essential ingredients and is 100% natural. It’s a crucial part of your saffron plant maintenance.
Harvesting Your Saffron
Saffron flowers typically bloom from late March to early May, with the season's peak falling in April. Flowers appear in a 4-week window, but timing can vary slightly depending on the first rains in March.
Picking the Flowers:
- Harvest flowers every morning, as soon as they bloom, to ensure freshness and quality.
- Flowers not picked on the same day will quickly deteriorate, so prompt action is essential.
- Flowers that are just emerging can be left for an hour or two before picking.
To pick saffron flowers, gently twist them with your fingers or nip the stems with your nails. Place the flowers in dry, sanitised buckets with paper towels at the bottom to absorb excess moisture. You can keep the flowers in the fridge for up to three days before processing.
Each corm can yield up to 6 flowers during the flowering period, with the number of flowers increasing in subsequent years. However, once corms become overcrowded, they may compete for nutrients, so it's important to dig up and replant your corms every 3-4 years.
Processing the Flowers
After each day’s harvest, it’s time to process your flowers to extract the saffron stigmas—the prized part of the flower. Here's how to do it:
- Hold the flower gently with your left hand, using your fingers to pinch the base.
- The flower will fall apart, leaving the orange-maroon stigma (with three prongs) in your hand.
- Place the stigmas on a flat surface and dry them in a dehydrator at 65°C for two hours.
Once dried, store the saffron in an airtight container to preserve its flavour and potency.
After Care of the Plants
After the flowering season, your saffron plants will enter a dormant phase, with only grassy leaves remaining. To ensure your plants are strong and ready for the next season, it's important to continue fertilising during autumn and winter.
Fertilise regularly with the Fish & Seaweed Growth Booster every two weeks to build the plants' strength and increase corm production. Stop fertilising in October, as the plants naturally prepare for dormancy ahead of summer.
Growing saffron may require patience, but the rewards are worth the effort. You can enjoy this luxurious spice right from your garden with the right care and attention. Not only will you have a fresh, sustainable supply of saffron, but you'll also experience the satisfaction of growing your own "golden" crop.
