How to Grow Saffron

Saffron is actually a very popular spice. You can find them inside the Crocus sativus flower, which is a beautiful lavender flower that comes with a yellow stamen. Inside that stamen are the red stigmas that make the saffron spice. Saffron is said to be very expensive and popularly used in many Mediterranean cuisines.

The thing with crocus sativus flowers is that it can only produce three pieces of saffron (stigmas), making it one of the most expensive spices in the world. Buying a small packet of it is like buying a barrel of black pepper. So if you enjoy Mediterranean dishes or any dish that uses saffron, then you might want to learn how to grow saffron instead, so that you can save money from this expense.

Here is how to grow saffron the simple way:

Raised Garden Beds

The Crocus Sativus flowers grow better in raised garden beds because you can control the temperature of the soil better, the nutrients that comes in it, and so much more. Ideally, the Crocus Sativus flowers like the warm temperature. It also likes to be planted in rich potting soil mixed with mature compost. The soil should also be well draining, so that the water will not drown the roots of your flowers and kill them.

Planting Your Saffron Bulbs

You can grow the Crocus Sativus flowers through bulbs that you can buy from greenhouses, nurseries, or even in a local garden supply store. Plant your bulbs at least 3 inches deep. The bulbs should also be planted at least 6 inches apart.

Ideally, you should start planting the bulbs during the first day of fall. But after planting, do not water them. Watering your bulbs will not help. Instead, it will just rot. Wait for it to sprout before watering. Sprouting should begin on the next autumn, so you should be a little patient on this.

After a year, or when the next autumn has started, you should already see some sprouts. You can now start watering them, but not too much. Making the soil moist is already enough to keep the sprouts well nourished.

Harvesting Saffron

When the flowers starts to bloom, gently pluck each stigma that you see. You might be disappointed during your first harvest, as you can only yield about a tablespoon of it. But don’t worry! On your second harvest, you will be able to yield more, as the bulbs under the grown have already divided, giving you more blooms for the next year’s harvest.

Once you have finished your first harvest, wait for your flowers to wilt. When it does, stop nurturing it like watering it and weeding the ground. It will already enter the dormant stage again, and the only time it will bloom again is next year. Normally, the crocus sativus flowers grow and bloom during the winter season, and starts wilting during the spring season.

Growing it isn’t hard if you follow the simple steps on how to grow saffron. Pretty soon you will have more saffron than you know what to do with.

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How to Grow Herbs Indoors

Wintertime is fast approaching, which also signifies the time when planting outdoors is not a good idea anymore. If you want to still continue your planting hobby this winter season, and would like to find satisfaction from seeing your plants grow, then start checking out some of the herbs that you want to grow.

Herbs are quite manageable even during the winter season. They are not very hard to handle, and they require very little maintenance. They just need a good well draining soil to grow on, and water to keep their roots nourished. They can also grow in containers that you can place indoors, so you do not have to worry about planting them outside, or on land.

To help you plant and grow herbs indoors, here are the things that you have to do and remember:

1. Choose Your Herbs – It is always best to go with multiple herbs, as you can use herbs to spruce up the flavor of every dish. You can choose to grow chives, mint, parsley, bay, and so much more! However, you might want to stay away from dill, because this particular herb cannot really grow during the cold weather, regardless of what you do. The nice thing about herbs is that they can be planted in the same pot. So if you have limited space in your kitchen where you intend to place your pots, nor worries! Two to three variants of herbs can share one pot.
2. Choose Your Pot – Ideally, you would like to use clay pots for herbs, because clay pots can allow moisture in and out. But if you can’t find clay pots, you can always use any type of pot made of plastic or metal. Just make sure to find the ones with holes that will allow easy draining. Just make sure to cover the holes with wire mesh so that the soil will not drain with the water.
3. Artificial Lighting – if you have a window in your kitchen where there is at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight, place your pots in that place. If you have none, then you can always use artificial lighting. You can use a full spectrum light for maximum results. This type of light is available in most garden supply stores.
4. Temperature – make sure that your herbs receive the right temperature. Please see details below:
   • Daytime – 70 degrees F
   • Nighttime – 55 degrees F
5. Nurturing – make sure that your herbs receive the right amount of water. Ideally, you want to achieve a damp soil, not wet. So watering every 2 days should be good. Remove yellowing leaves too. Leaves that are turning yellow, and still attached to the main trunk will just waste the plant’s energy. You can also add fertilizers if you wish. But if you want to grow organic herbs, you can omit that part.

These are the different steps to take if you want to grow herbs indoors.

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How to Grow Herbs

Growing herbs is both easy and fun. In fact, you can grow multiple varieties of herbs that you can easily reach from your kitchen’s window, to spruce up the flavors of your dishes. Many of us use different types of herbs from thyme, rosemary, dill, parsley, and more. All of these are very easy to grow, and you can grow them in pots too!

The nice thing about herbs is that you do not have to get several different pots of each type of herb. Most herbs can grow together in one pot bed, making it very easy for you to plant them and reach for them.

Here are the steps you should follow if you would like to grow herbs at home:

The first thing that you have to do is get the herb seedlings. That’s if you do not want to grow them starting from seeds. It is actually easier to grow herbs from seedlings because they have already established roots. So all you have to do now is make sure they live long, add nourishment for vigor, and water them to make sure that you will have constant supply of fresh herbs.

Herbs grow better in terra cotta containers. You can get this type of containers from garden supply stores or from online retailers. But if you can’t find one, plastic containers will do too! Just make sure that they have holes to drain excess water.

Before placing soil inside your container, you might want to put pieces of broken pots at the bottom. This will hold your soil intact, and prevent them from spilling out, when you start watering.

Pour garden soil inside the container. Arrange your herbs in a manner that you like. Ideally, taller herbs should be arranged at the back or in the middle. Shorter herbs should go in front or around the tall herbs. If you feel that the seedlings need more soil, do so!

Make sure that the soil is always moist. It might be best to spray them occasionally, or when you think that the soil is starting to dry out already. You can add organic fertilizers once each month if you wish. But if you can’t find organic fertilizers, and you do not want to use chemical fertilizers, you can skip this part. Most herbs grow easily without too much maintenance. So you do not have to worry at all; so long as you are watering it and keeping the soil moist, your herbs are sure to grow healthy and will have a lengthy life.

Snip herbs when you need to use it for cooking. Just make sure to snip healthy ones, and remove the ones that have dried out already.

These are the different methods you should incorporate, if you want to grow herbs at home. They are fun to have because they not only add great taste to every dish, they can also make a beautiful accent piece in your kitchen that provides a nice aroma as well.

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How to Grow Ginger in Colder Climates

Ginger is what they say a tropical crop. It grows in warmer areas only, including the beautiful Hawaii in the US. You need at least 8 – 10 months of warm weather if you want to grow ginger. This is the reason why majority of the places in the US cannot grow ginger in normal lands. But just in case you want to try to grow ginger at home, here are the things that you have to do: make sure that you have an indoor space where you can plant ginger, and the temperature can be closely controlled to keep the ginger warm.

Hydroponics is the only possible way for you to plant ginger in colder areas. In this process, baby (immature ginger) is planted in a mixture of peat as well as perlite. When the ginger has already developed roots to as much as 3 inches long, they will now be transferred into a different bed, where water is treated with Chem Gro 8-15-36 along with magnesium sulfate and calcium nitrate. The process starts in May, and harvest time will begin sometime in October.

Hydroponics is a method used by commercial growers to ensure a good amount of harvest that will meet the demand of the market. But if you want to grow ginger in your own home, you can also try a simpler method. However, since ginger is quite sensitive to the cold weather, you might want to do a little research on how to properly manage the temperature on where you want to grow your ginger. Furthermore, you have to manage your expectations, as the success of ginger growth might not happen quickly or possibly. Nonetheless, there is no harm in trying.

Successfully growing ginger is one of the most rewarding things you can ever experience. Despite the fact that you know it is hard to grow in colder weathers, you can also use ginger in so many ways; you can make delicious stir fried dishes with it, and you can also create hot drinks from it, that are not just tasty, but good for your health as well.

Some people find success growing ginger by getting an untreated and healthy ginger root from the grocery or from a farmer’s market. Then, you have to soak it in water, and plant it in a 12 inch deep hole. The soil should be loosen, so that you will give an ample amount of space for the roots to grow. Make sure that your pot is placed where there is direct sunlight. This will ensure warm temperature. Water your ginger regularly as well. Be patient because ginger will take at least 10 to 12 months before it starts to reach maturity. You can also use organic fertilizers to give your potted soil some nourishment.

This is a basic way to grow ginger at home. With proper care and nourishment, you can expect ginger by the end of the year.

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How to Grow Cilantro

If you are fond of Mexican or even Asian dishes, then you might want to know how to grow a garden full of cilantro, so you can be sure to have fresh and crisp cilantro every time you need it. Cilantro are not just very flavorful. It is also packed with so much vitamins and minerals that is good for your body and health.

The thing with cilantro is that they can rot easily even if you store them inside the refrigerator. Therefore, having them planted in a pot will be the best way to go, if you want to ensure freshness and flavor in every dish that you will be using it with.

Here are the steps for growing cilantro:

 Get The Seeds

You need good quality seeds if you want to grow healthy and abundant cilantro. You can purchase seeds online, farmer’s market, or from garden supply stores. When you already have them, wash them with soap and water. Make sure that you thoroughly rinsed the seeds. Once they are dry, you can now plant them. Make sure that the soil is well draining, and you have to place the pot anywhere where there is full sunlight.

 Planting The Seeds

Cilantro can grow tall, so you might want to set at least 1 inch in between seeds. Make sure that the seeds are planted not more than 1 inch deep. This depth is enough for cilantro to develop strong roots. Cilantro cannot live in the frost. So if you live in cold areas, you might want to plant them indoors, but make sure that sunlight reaches your plant box.

 Trimming & Pruning Your Cilantro Plant

Trim the leaves when they are already branching out far from the central stalk. This is because you want to conserve the energy of the plant, so that it will continue developing leaves. Cutting the leaves and flowers of the cilantro plant will also give you a good harvest of seeds that you can replant, in order to make new sprouts of cilantro. Pruning your cilantro plant will help you lengthen the time you have for harvesting fresh and crisp cilantro leaves.

 Harvesting

When harvesting cilantro, make sure to cut leaves from different spots. This is to make sure that no parts will be dull, so that every part of your cilantro plant will continuously develop new leaves that you will use for cooking.

These are the different steps that you can do if you want to know how to grow cilantro. The steps above are actually basic. You can still learn more on how to maximize your harvest by gathering seeds from dead flowers, so you can make your cilantro garden bigger and bountiful. It is important to know how to harvest seeds from your existing cilantro plant. This is because no matter how you take care of your cilantro plant, this short lived plant will eventually die.

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How to Grow Basil

Basil loves the sunshine. In fact, it needs at least 6 hours of being exposed to the sun during the day, in order to produce healthy leaves and branches. Therefore, it is best to plant your basil during late springtime, when there is more sunshine and the soil is well drained and a bit moist.

With basil in the garden, you can easily turn an ordinary dish into a restaurant quality dish. It is a herb that gives a unique flavor, whether you want to use it fresh or dry.

To grow basil does not require a lot of skills and know-how. But following a few guidelines will surely help you achieve healthy basil plants that you can keep for a long time.

Choosing The Type Of Basil Plant

In case you do not know, there are lots of different kinds of basil that you can grow in your garden. Each of them provides different flavors, so you might want to choose the ones that will appeal your taste. For instance, if you want a citrusy type of basil, there is what they call the Lemon Basil. If you want something that can be used for cooking as well as for aromatherapy, you can plant Purple Basil or Cinnamon Basil, because these variants of basil has a very distinct aroma that comes from its flowers.

If you are planting multiple variants in your garden, then you might want to label them, so you know what you are picking for the dish that you are cooking, or perhaps make your visitors know that there are different types of basil that they can use and also grown in their own homes.

Preparing The Seeds

You have to prepare the seeds of your basil by planting them indoors in separate pots. Doing this indoors is safer, because the temperature can be managed easily. Allow the seeds to germinate by mixing perlite, peat, and vermiculite (equal parts). Damp it with a little water. The seeds of your basil goes on top of the mixture, and cover it with plastic. Place the pot indoors but make sure that sunlight touches it. Water it twice a day, to make sure that moisture is maintained.

In just a few weeks, you will already notice sprouts. Once they are a bit taller already, transfer them in a different soil bed. Plant them at least with 6 inches space in between sprouts.

 Nurturing

At this point, you should have a growing basil plant already. Make sure to give it enough sunlight and water. Never overwater your basil plant, watering it once a day is already good enough for it to grow healthy and steadily.

Remove the flowers that you see growing. This is because flowers can take a huge chunk on the nourishment of your plant, which can decrease the actual flavor of the leaves. So snip it and remove it when you start seeing them.

These are the different ways that you should do, when you want to grow basil at home.

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Quick Way to Dry Herbs

Here is a simple and quick way to dry your herbs.

 

Just place a sheet of newspaper on the seat of your car and place your herbs in a single layer. Keep your car out in the sun with the doors closed and the windows up. In no time your herbs will be dry.

 

An added side-effect of drying your herbs this way is your car will smell great.