Kitchen Garden Forum

I was wondering if anyone has tried to grow saffron? I know its from an autumn floweriong crocus but I'm not sure which one. Also how much would I have to grow to get a good harvest?

Hi Tiamaria1,
The Autumn Crocus is Colchicum autumnale which is poisonous.
The Crocus used to produce Saffron is Crocus Sativus so be very careful how you proceed!
Autumn Crocus is used in medicines generally dealing with the treatment of Gout. Although poisonous, in the hands of a chemist, it helps to ward off the gout from oldies like me thankfully.
JB.

Hi all - new to the forums - im sorry for going off subject Johnboy but i noticed some previous posts you made regarding the Wolf Terrex Autospade - i've just aquired one and wondered if you still had the instructions and if so could i buy a copy from you.

I've searched high and low to no avail.

Sorry - i would have sent you a pm but could not find how to do it on here.

Excellent forum by the way, very imformative.

thanks

Neil

Hi Neil,
I do in deed still have the instruction book and if you PM me an address
I will gladly send them to you.
This goes for anybody else who would like a copy.
JB.
PS. Sorry Neil I obviously didn't take your letter in fully and below you will see that Tigger has kindly given you the 'gen' on how to PM me.
It's all printed off and ready to go!
JB.

Tiamaria I found this article which gives an idea of cultivation and quantities
they need a raised bed to give them a hot dry dormant period in the summer, I was thinking of growing some too, looks like we will need a lot of bulbs !

http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2009/02/saffron-crocus-crocus-satvia.html

ncd72 - to send a PM go to the top of the page and click on 0 new messages in the green panel. Then select new message and identify who you want to send it to. Write your message and send it. It will sit in your out box until the intended recipient decides to pick it up, at which point it transfers to your sent box.

If you want to have a trial run, send me a PM and let me know you have done so via General Chatter.

Yes, I had a go at growing saffron a few years back (since we use it quite heavily).

I got my bulbs from a specialist supplier - think it was Rare Plants. A quick Google showed that they do supply a variety of crocus bulbs but please heed the earlier comments about buying the correct ones out of the list below:
http://rareplants.co.uk/search.asp?s=fi5462467246&strKeywords=saffron&strSearchCriteria=all&CAT_ID=0&btnSubmit=Search

As for my experience? It was an even more expensive way of getting saffron than buying it in the shops! In addition, only some my bulbs survived to the following year. However that probably reflected my gardening abilities as much as anything else

Unless you plant a lot of bulbs, you'll get a tiny amount, so it's probably more for fun than any practical application. Now if you wanted to try Pineapples, that's another matter - click here for more info