Gardening / Farming

[GeekyGuy]

Hey folks,

Am interested in something in particular, but please feel free to post anything (questions, pictures -- show off your stuff -- opinions, etc.) regarding this topic.

For me, I am interested in growing my own saffron. And not simply because of its relative cost, but because I want to know that I'm actually consuming real saffron. There's a shop I've been buying from for years, a good, trusted bunch of folks who sell it. Thing is, I live in the southeast of the U.S., and I'm not sure about a lot of things regarding growing it. Now, perhaps I can grow it here with the right amount of love and attention, but does it continue to grow? Can I spread it where it will continue to yield year after year?

Thanks, and enjoy!

And for some visual appeal, here are some apple trees, a fig tree, and a pecan tree my wife and I planted some years back (purchased from the same folks I mentioned):

 

[FAST6191]

Is fake saffron a particular problem these days? Fake olive oil is ever the fun one but rarely do I read anything about saffron, then again enough is grown in the UK ( https://www.norfolksaffron.co.uk/environment.html for one major example) that even with my fondness for saffron cake (don't get me wrong I enjoy a Cornish pasty more than someone probably should but saffron bread, closer to a cake in reality, is my favourite Cornish delicacy/well known food), curries and ras malai it is not that bad. Crocus flowers tend to grow naturally in meadows all around here as well (though nobody harvests them/might even be illegal to depending upon ownership).
That picture looks similar to what I would expect to see, though I do usually see it in more shady areas if wild versions are gone in for. No idea what compost types you want to go in for though. Also quite annoying to harvest but I suppose for the cost it is not so bad to do.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Is fake saffron a particular problem these days? ...

Yeah, sure seems like it, including products sold through big outlets such as Amazon, Kroger and Walmart.

But I'd also enjoy growing it, I think. Give me something else positive to focus on, a new daily chore. Need things to occupy my days again.

 

[CoolMe]

It helps to do some research before wasting time & money into it (the Saffron growing), and if there's any specific environmental or soil requirements for it to grow..
Good luck nonetheless!

 

[Chary]

Saffron is an immense pain to grow, according to my uncle. He's got a huge backyard with all sorts of interesting things--eggplants, banana trees, fig trees, okra, tarragon, cucumber, and saffron. He's a very experienced gardener, and he's complained about how difficult it can be to keep alive. Of course, I live in the completely opposite kind of climate from Iran, and saffron is very fragile, so that doesn't help.

Once you get them going, though, they're the kind of plant that'll flower yearly, but iirc you barely get anything the first year? They'll keep propagating over time, assuming you've got the room and kept them well. I'm not so sure about spreading them manually though--my personal knowledge of gardening is about zilch--just wanted to share some input about what I've heard.

 

[rantex92]

Hey folks,

Am interested in something in particular, but please feel free to post anything (questions, pictures -- show off your stuff -- opinions, etc.) regarding this topic.

For me, I am interested in growing my own saffron. And not simply because of its relative cost, but because I want to know that I'm actually consuming real saffron. There's a shop I've been buying from for years, a good, trusted bunch of folks who sell it. Thing is, I live in the southeast of the U.S., and I'm not sure about a lot of things regarding growing it. Now, perhaps I can grow it here with the right amount of love and attention, but does it continue to grow? Can I spread it where it will continue to yield year after year?

Thanks, and enjoy!

And for some visual appeal, here are some apple trees, a fig tree, and a pecan tree my wife and I planted some years back (purchased from the same folks I mentioned):

Those looking good but ive would watch those brownspots on the leafs

Let me give some tipps wich i used for ages

First one : Go get some ectomycorrhizae (ecto and endo is depending on the plant type you should be fine with ecto)
this will boost you root systeem and overall health of the rhizospheere wich should be a growers first goal

Remember: the larger the rootsystem, the greater the yield


here is a list of beneficial bacteria you can/should use to enhance your rhizosphere/soil

Endomykorrhiza
Glomus clarum
G. intraradices
G. mosseae
G. deserticola
G. monosporus
G. brasilianum
G. aggregatum
Gigaspora margareta


Enctomykorrhiza
Rhizopogon amylpogon
R. fulvigleba
R. rubescans
R. villosuli
Laccarria laccata
Pisolithus tinctorius
Scleroderma spp

Trichoderma
Trichoderma hamatum
T. harzianum
T. koningii
T. longibrachiatum
T. reesei

Bazillus
Bacillus subtilis
B. amyloliquefaciens
B. licheniformis

B. brevis
B. cirulans
B. coagulans
B. firmus
B. halodenitrificans
B. laterosporus
B. megaterium
B. mycoides
B. pasteuri
B. polymyxa

Now that we colonised our rhizosphere with some beneficials it time to feed our small workers
the best thing to keep your bacteria and fungis working and happy is unsulphured Molasse
just add a tablespoon for every 10liters of water

 

[Alexander1970]

Gardening is a wonderful Thing.
I love it....when my Wife is doing the Main Part.
(She wants the Garden by the Way...)

My Part is the usual:

Grillen / Grilling / Barbeque

....and the Maintenance of the Gazebo / Sunshade etc.



Gardening is wonderful......

....with the exception of the noisy neighbors
with their screaming and shouting plagues of pests called children....

 

[JuanMena]

Used to grow my own herbs, since I live in a building/condo and I literally don't have my own spacw of dirt, so I planted roots of my favourite herbs in pots.
Mint was by far my favourite, added a really nice taste to my broths and it was delicious as a tea/infusion.

I tried to grow shrooms for consumption but they rot quickly.

Grew an orange plant that bloomed flowers after half a year, heard you could use them to make a super tea of azahar (orange blossom) to get you high. So I did, and those were the most productive months of my digital painting (over 600+ portraits).
That meant to be tree kept growing and I didn't knew if I should've trimmed it a bit as it kept growing until it crushed itself to the ceiling.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Saffron is an immense pain to grow, according to my uncle. He's got a huge backyard with all sorts of interesting things--eggplants, banana trees, fig trees, okra, tarragon, cucumber, and saffron. He's a very experienced gardener, and he's complained about how difficult it can be to keep alive. Of course, I live in the completely opposite kind of climate from Iran, and saffron is very fragile, so that doesn't help.

Once you get them going, though, they're the kind of plant that'll flower yearly, but iirc you barely get anything the first year? They'll keep propagating over time, assuming you've got the room and kept them well. I'm not so sure about spreading them manually though--my personal knowledge of gardening is about zilch--just wanted to share some input about what I've heard.

Very cool. Yeah, was surprised when I watched a YT video of folks who started a growing business up in Canada, growing just saffron. They've been having some great success for a few years it seems.

But it sounds like you're suggesting it would be best to just focus on letting them take root (both figuratively and literally, of course) the first two or so years before even thinking about harvesting any, right?

Those looking good but ive would watch those brownspots on the leafs

Let me give some tipps wich i used for ages

First one : Go get some ectomycorrhizae (ecto and endo is depending on the plant type you should be fine with ecto)
this will boost you root systeem and overall health of the rhizospheere wich should be a growers first goal

Remember: the larger the rootsystem, the greater the yield


here is a list of beneficial bacteria you can/should use to enhance your rhizosphere/soil

Endomykorrhiza
Glomus clarum
G. intraradices
G. mosseae
G. deserticola
G. monosporus
G. brasilianum
G. aggregatum
Gigaspora margareta


Enctomykorrhiza
Rhizopogon amylpogon
R. fulvigleba
R. rubescans
R. villosuli
Laccarria laccata
Pisolithus tinctorius
Scleroderma spp

Trichoderma
Trichoderma hamatum
T. harzianum
T. koningii
T. longibrachiatum
T. reesei

Bazillus
Bacillus subtilis
B. amyloliquefaciens
B. licheniformis

B. brevis
B. cirulans
B. coagulans
B. firmus
B. halodenitrificans
B. laterosporus
B. megaterium
B. mycoides
B. pasteuri
B. polymyxa

Now that we colonised our rhizosphere with some beneficials it time to feed our small workers
the best thing to keep your bacteria and fungis working and happy is unsulphured Molasse
just add a tablespoon for every 10liters of water

That's a lot of good stuff, thank you. I'll be completely honest in saying, we've given zero love to those trees over the years. They just happened to be hearty enough to spring up on their own. Now, my wife has, for the past year, dedicated a little attention to the fig tree, and it is paying off, it seems, but once all three kids were in college, I moved into management, and she took a second job. So, the "garden" got no love. But we've still got blackberries, raspberries, basil, rosemary, mint, and other random stuff we planted years ago, that have just spread out. When I mow the backyard, I'm mindful to try and leave that stuff alone 'cause my daughter still likes to pick some when she visits, but we haven't actively cared for any of it.

All that being said, I am again on medical leave, and it's looking like there's a very good chance I'll be going on permanent disability here soon. So, I want to see if I can't focus some of my time and attention to productive activities throughout the days. I try to do an hour walk each day, have taken up a few extra chores around the house. But doing something that actually interests me personally might be nice as well.

Are any of those chemicals unnatural/harmful in any way? I really want to try to stay away from anything like that. Now, we have an empty bed we never used in the backyard -- probably a good 10-by-10 -- and I'd be happy to start digging around to get the right soils going.

 

[rantex92]

Very cool. Yeah, was surprised when I watched a YT video of folks who started a growing business up in Canada, growing just saffron. They've been having some great success for a few years it seems.

But it sounds like you're suggesting it would be best to just focus on letting them take root (both figuratively and literally, of course) the first two or so years before even thinking about harvesting any, right?

That's a lot of good stuff, thank you. I'll be completely honest in saying, we've given zero love to those trees over the years. They just happened to be hearty enough to spring up on their own. Now, my wife has, for the past year, dedicated a little attention to the fig tree, and it is paying off, it seems, but once all three kids were in college, I moved into management, and she took a second job. So, the "garden" got no love. But we've still got blackberries, raspberries, basil, rosemary, mint, and other random stuff we planted years ago, that have just spread out. When I mow the backyard, I'm mindful to try and leave that stuff alone 'cause my daughter still likes to pick some when she visits, but we haven't actively cared for any of it.

All that being said, I am again on medical leave, and it's looking like there's a very good chance I'll be going on permanent disability here soon. So, I want to see if I can't focus some of my time and attention to productive activities throughout the days. I try to do an hour walk each day, have taken up a few extra chores around the house. But doing something that actually interests me personally might be nice as well.

Are any of those chemicals unnatural/harmful in any way? I really want to try to stay away from anything like that. Now, we have an empty bed we never used in the backyard -- probably a good 10-by-10 -- and I'd be happy to start digging around to get the right soils going.

thats how i got into gardening too but i took it more professionel

and that arent chemicals that are beneficial bacteria those occour naturally in your soil but you have to overpopulate the growmeedium so that other bad bacterias dont survive

those beneficial bacterias are breaking down the nutrients that the plants then can take up through the roots some of the bacterias are even predatory and will keep other pests and insects away

another nicee tip would be make a concoction out of neemoil,seaweed,yarrow and stingin nettle and spray your plants with that it will act as a coat + it will give your plants viable humid acids and micronutrients wich actually plants can take up via their leafs

 

[GeekyGuy]

thats how i got into gardening too but i took it more professionel

and that arent chemicals that are beneficial bacteria those occour naturally in your soil but you have to overpopulate the growmeedium so that other bad bacterias dont survive

those beneficial bacterias are breaking down the nutrients that the plants then can take up through the roots some of the bacterias are even predatory and will keep other pests and insects away

another nicee tip would be make a concoction out of neemoil,seaweed,yarrow and stingin nettle and spray your plants with that it will act as a coat + it will give your plants viable humid acids and micronutrients wich actually plants can take up via their leafs

That sounds great! Thank you.