I’ve given this addy to a member on Ozgrow who’s starting to grow saffron, and told him to talk to you HP.

bubba louie said:

I’ve given this addy to a member on Ozgrow who’s starting to grow saffron, and told him to talk to you HP.

Ok cool :)

Hi,, HP. Been trying to grow saffron for a decade, in pots mostly, and last year got it to flower after a final attempt in the vege garden. But the quality was poor. Then purchased some (a hundred, actually) commercial bulbs, got 5 or 6 flowers, great saffron, and have let them grow out this winter. They seem to be nearing the end of their growth cycle, getting a tiny bit of browning off on the tips. Hoping to lift a heap of corms this october – I need the space for summer veges, unfortunately.
What has your experience been?
Having a bit of trouble navigating this forum, too.
T

Templeton said:

Hi,, HP. Been trying to grow saffron for a decade, in pots mostly, and last year got it to flower after a final attempt in the vege garden. But the quality was poor. Then purchased some (a hundred, actually) commercial bulbs, got 5 or 6 flowers, great saffron, and have let them grow out this winter. They seem to be nearing the end of their growth cycle, getting a tiny bit of browning off on the tips. Hoping to lift a heap of corms this october – I need the space for summer veges, unfortunately.
What has your experience been?
Having a bit of trouble navigating this forum, too.
T

Oh wow, hi Templeton, that’s not a good return for your effort.
I had 6 bulbs in a pot 3 years ago abouts and first year plenty of leaf but no flowers.. 2nd year heaps of flowers, they had bulblets whilst in shed storage I imagine, and I couldn’t believe my eyes how many blooms. This was your normal premium potting mix and I watered it weekly with seasol from when they started sprouting. I divided them into 2 pots but this year I got only a couple blooms.
Earlier this year I planted another 20 bulbs in my front garden atop a retaining wall in the deadest soil imaginable, and 15 flowered within a couple weeks and again I watered them in with seasol and kept that up weekly. I intend to leave them there for years and this summer I will separate the potted ones when the leaf dies down and add them to the wall.
I now water them with worm liquid from my 3 worm farms, undiluted because I tend to overwater the worm farms, replacing the seasol altogether. Worm wee being free..
I have another 100 bulbs on order in Dec from a place in Tassie. They will go on the wall too.
My personal obveservation is that they don’t like being disturbed.
Are you in Vic?

So you can find this thread again right click anywhere on this page and bookmark it.
Back later, gotta get tea :)

Opps been too busy with family and kitchen cleaning to come back.

I saw some saffron plants in single pots on ebay.. beware of the seller showing a crocus flower bearing six saffron stigmas. What a scammer. Each flower only has three. And at $10 for one bulb…

Templeton, how many saffron threads do you harvest per year, on average?
I’m no expert, far from it, i’m a total beginner.. only tried to see if I could grow it because someone told me I can’t.. got hooked big time.
I’m also not sure of the quality of the saffron I grow as I previously didn’t pay that much for it, but a good chef friend told me it compares to her $80 first grade tiny pot of it. I love cooking with it and for the first time tasted real saffron.

If you find this thread again and would prefer not to have to wade through our constant chatter, you can email me at coz5 at hotmail dot com and we can natter about the red threads until we’re sick of them ;P

Happy Potter said:

Opps been too busy with family and kitchen cleaning to come back.

I saw some saffron plants in single pots on ebay.. beware of the seller showing a crocus flower bearing six saffron stigmas. What a scammer. Each flower only has three. And at $10 for one bulb…

Templeton, how many saffron threads do you harvest per year, on average?
I’m no expert, far from it, i’m a total beginner.. only tried to see if I could grow it because someone told me I can’t.. got hooked big time.
I’m also not sure of the quality of the saffron I grow as I previously didn’t pay that much for it, but a good chef friend told me it compares to her $80 first grade tiny pot of it. I love cooking with it and for the first time tasted real saffron.

If you find this thread again and would prefer not to have to wade through our constant chatter, you can email me at coz5 at hotmail dot com and we can natter about the red threads until we’re sick of them ;P

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

bubba louie said:

Happy Potter said:

Opps been too busy with family and kitchen cleaning to come back.

I saw some saffron plants in single pots on ebay.. beware of the seller showing a crocus flower bearing six saffron stigmas. What a scammer. Each flower only has three. And at $10 for one bulb…

Templeton, how many saffron threads do you harvest per year, on average?
I’m no expert, far from it, i’m a total beginner.. only tried to see if I could grow it because someone told me I can’t.. got hooked big time.
I’m also not sure of the quality of the saffron I grow as I previously didn’t pay that much for it, but a good chef friend told me it compares to her $80 first grade tiny pot of it. I love cooking with it and for the first time tasted real saffron.

If you find this thread again and would prefer not to have to wade through our constant chatter, you can email me at coz5 at hotmail dot com and we can natter about the red threads until we’re sick of them ;P

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

Ok.. possibly better for me to register there.
We’re a chatty lot when we get fired up heh

bubba louie said:

Happy Potter said:

Opps been too busy with family and kitchen cleaning to come back.

I saw some saffron plants in single pots on ebay.. beware of the seller showing a crocus flower bearing six saffron stigmas. What a scammer. Each flower only has three. And at $10 for one bulb…

Templeton, how many saffron threads do you harvest per year, on average?
I’m no expert, far from it, i’m a total beginner.. only tried to see if I could grow it because someone told me I can’t.. got hooked big time.
I’m also not sure of the quality of the saffron I grow as I previously didn’t pay that much for it, but a good chef friend told me it compares to her $80 first grade tiny pot of it. I love cooking with it and for the first time tasted real saffron.

If you find this thread again and would prefer not to have to wade through our constant chatter, you can email me at coz5 at hotmail dot com and we can natter about the red threads until we’re sick of them ;P

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

Alle these extra forums I have never trolled.

Happy Potter said:

bubba louie said:

Happy Potter said:

Opps been too busy with family and kitchen cleaning to come back.

I saw some saffron plants in single pots on ebay.. beware of the seller showing a crocus flower bearing six saffron stigmas. What a scammer. Each flower only has three. And at $10 for one bulb…

Templeton, how many saffron threads do you harvest per year, on average?
I’m no expert, far from it, i’m a total beginner.. only tried to see if I could grow it because someone told me I can’t.. got hooked big time.
I’m also not sure of the quality of the saffron I grow as I previously didn’t pay that much for it, but a good chef friend told me it compares to her $80 first grade tiny pot of it. I love cooking with it and for the first time tasted real saffron.

If you find this thread again and would prefer not to have to wade through our constant chatter, you can email me at coz5 at hotmail dot com and we can natter about the red threads until we’re sick of them ;P

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

Ok.. possibly better for me to register there.
We’re a chatty lot when we get fired up heh

I had something like thre hectares of saffron thistle to play with.. if that means anything.

RB, what’s saffron thistle?

Happy Potter said:

RB, what’s saffron thistle?

Oooh it’s a weed! mongrel of a one too.

roughbarked said:

bubba louie said:

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

Alle these extra forums I have never trolled.

Your kind of trolling would be welcome on most gardening forums, I’m sure… :)

Whoops thread hijack…

Guilty, m’lud

roughbarked said:

bubba louie said:

Happy Potter said:

Opps been too busy with family and kitchen cleaning to come back.

I saw some saffron plants in single pots on ebay.. beware of the seller showing a crocus flower bearing six saffron stigmas. What a scammer. Each flower only has three. And at $10 for one bulb…

Templeton, how many saffron threads do you harvest per year, on average?
I’m no expert, far from it, i’m a total beginner.. only tried to see if I could grow it because someone told me I can’t.. got hooked big time.
I’m also not sure of the quality of the saffron I grow as I previously didn’t pay that much for it, but a good chef friend told me it compares to her $80 first grade tiny pot of it. I love cooking with it and for the first time tasted real saffron.

If you find this thread again and would prefer not to have to wade through our constant chatter, you can email me at coz5 at hotmail dot com and we can natter about the red threads until we’re sick of them ;P

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

Alle these extra forums I have never trolled.

I belong to too many.

Yes Saffron thistle is a weed and I had to clear it to find a place to put a house yard and garden.

bubba louie said:

roughbarked said:

bubba louie said:

T hangs out on Ozgrow and there’s a saffron thread there.

Alle these extra forums I have never trolled.

I belong to too many.

Hard enough keeping up with this one.

My interests are more feral than most gardeners.

Thanks HP.
Sorry to not get back to straight away, as you did to my intial question, been down in Melb for a couple of days.

My intial saffrons were purchased about 10 years ago, i think i got them as single $3 bulbswhen i lived in heidelberg from Bullen art and garden – one of my fav nurseries when i’m back in Melb.
Grew them for a year or two, with some multiplication of bulbs in pots, but never any flowers. Carried the pots when i moved to bendigo, and while i was away for a week for work, Ms T, remarked on my return, oh, that plant in the pot flowered, it was really pretty! gnash of teeth!
Grown in pots mostly lifting them each year when i remember, with no flowers, with the occasional purchase of extra bulbs when I’ve seen them up here or when i get to melb in the bulb selling season and they have them, but never very large bulbs, and never a flower, so the provenance of my original stock is all mixed up.

two seasons ago I thought bugger it, i’m planting these in the garden, made a short little bed in the veges, manured and fertilised it, and wow! i got 3 flowers, and upon lifting, hade these ginormous – for me- bulbs bigger than a 10 cent piece.
Inspired, through a member at ozgrow i got hold of 100 bulbs last year (gave 10 away) , and in autumn, planted up 90 into a dedicated bed in the vege garden – about half a dozen or so flowered, and the saffron was great, much better than my motley old saffron, which had hardly any flavour – I’m comparing it to some i bought in the grand bazaar in istanbul a few years ago, of which i still have a little bit left, and some dodgy stuff rellies bought back from morrocco, which is clearly fake. The hundred new bulbs were sourced from a wholesale bulb grower in the Dandenongs, who don’t even list it, so i would never have found it myself. I did a quick net search for tassie suppliers, since they have farms down there, but i couldn’t find anyone, and after the ozG member offered, i stopped looking.

So my current plants look like they are just beginning to senesce, the ends of the leaves are looking a tiny bit ragged. My dillema is that i would love to oversummer them insitu, but i need the bed for a tomato breeding growout I’m committed to.

I could lift them, and store them, but based on your experience, and saffron farming practices in the commercial growing countries where they leave them in the ground for 4-5 years, I should probably leave them if I want to get flowers next autumn.

Some research i found a few years ago indicated that high temperatures, I think in the initial dormant stage initiated flower production – certainly the ‘embryonic’ flower buds develop in the season before they emerge. So my poor flowering could be from the treatment they received before i got hold of them, or while i held them in storae before i planted them out. I was a bit late in getting them into the ground – hadd to wait til my tomatoes finished, of course!

And its nice to find a relaxed forum where mentioning another forum isn’t frowned upon – OzG is relatively relaxed, too.

Of note, a member there, bulborum, is a bulb grower from France, and he was noting that planting depth influences flowering, which I’ve also found in the literature. Deep planting, 20 cm – flowers, shallow planting, less flowers, more bulblet production. They replant commercial fields because the bulbs effectively ‘migrate’ toward the surface as the fields age, leading to a decrease in production of flowers.

I planted mine a bit shallow for flowering, i think – recommended depth seemed too deep for relatively small bulbs, but there you go…

Hope this isn’t too repetitive or ‘wheel reinventing’ for you.
T

Hope this isn’t too repetitive or ‘wheel reinventing’ for you.
T
———————————————————
Not at all. I am learning even more from you. Keep up the writings :)

I did forget to say I planted my bulbs 20 cm deep wheather in pots or in ground.
It’s interersting about the heat affecting them, but then again mine bloomed well later in the year after the scorching ’09 summer. The pots were in the sun and I’d thought they were well and truely cooked. And about the bulbs ‘migrating’ upwards too.
I don’t get why you are getting so few blooms. I’m in a temperate area and technically they shouldn’t be able to grow here at all. We do get decent frosts in winter though. What area are you? thereabouts..
I’m betting that when I plant out the potted bulbs into the front garden they won’t bloom the next autumn. We will see. I’m going to put them in a 2nd row behind the ones already there. The potted lot are stating to die off at the tips but the ones out fron’t aren’t showing any signs of tips browning off yet.
I’m getting my next lot from Vogelvry Bulbs Online, they’re in Tassie and I’m getting 50, not 100 as I first posted. I’ve pre ordered them. Saffron crocus bulbs are available from Nov to March.

I know very well what you mean about lack of planting space. I have a tiny but very productive food bowl garden with a mini orchard and vege beds and chooks. Garlic and spring onions border vege beds and I plant things close together. I’m starting to go up now and use walls and fences, my newest is a strawberry wall. My S. bulbs atop the 2ft high retaining wall will eventually border the entire length of it, about 30 meters plus. I probably would need another 100 bulbs on top of the ones on order to complete my saffron plantings. I want them in this spot because it’s easy to walk along picking the flowers without having to get down nose to ground, and they can stay there for years and years.

And….. I have been known to change an appointment or put myself on unavailable because my saffron blooms are about to open. Aka…..“OMG! no way I can go out, my saffon is going to bloom any time now!!”………..

:D

HP,
I’m in Bendigo, Victoria.
My early lack of success i put down to small bulbs, lack of sunlight, and container growing. While my backyard vege beds are extensive, they aren’t big enough for me, and overshaded a bit in winter from eastern and western trees.

Saffron likes full sun, i think.

I remeber the volgeroy catalog – might have a look. Saffron should do well in central vic, with our cold winters and scorching summers.
Can’t remember my supplier, and i’ve thrown the box out…

At least i got some blooms last season, might leave a few rows in the ground, and see what happens next autumn – nah, who am i kidding, the tomatoes will win out for sure, and anywayt if i grew something next to them they would get wet, with a chance of rotting bulbs…
T

And its nice to find a relaxed forum where mentioning another forum isn’t frowned upon – OzG is relatively relaxed, too.

=============

They moderated my original post that included the URL for this forum, and then it was deleted entirely.

bubba louie said:

And its nice to find a relaxed forum where mentioning another forum isn’t frowned upon – OzG is relatively relaxed, too.

=============

They moderated my original post that included the URL for this forum, and then it was deleted entirely.

Ouch!
What’s that about? I thought the owner was a bit more relaxed than that – has been in all my dealings, so sorry to hear that report. Might be the stand in moderator.

Some stuff here on a tassie supplier – no experience with this one.
T

Templeton said:

bubba louie said:

And its nice to find a relaxed forum where mentioning another forum isn’t frowned upon – OzG is relatively relaxed, too.

=============

They moderated my original post that included the URL for this forum, and then it was deleted entirely.

Ouch!
What’s that about? I thought the owner was a bit more relaxed than that – has been in all my dealings, so sorry to hear that report. Might be the stand in moderator.

Some stuff here on a tassie supplier – no experience with this one.
T

Woops didn’t include link
http://www.boobookhill.com/

Templeton said:

Templeton said:

bubba louie said:

And its nice to find a relaxed forum where mentioning another forum isn’t frowned upon – OzG is relatively relaxed, too.

=============

They moderated my original post that included the URL for this forum, and then it was deleted entirely.

Ouch!
What’s that about? I thought the owner was a bit more relaxed than that – has been in all my dealings, so sorry to hear that report. Might be the stand in moderator.

Some stuff here on a tassie supplier – no experience with this one.
T

Woops didn’t include link
http://www.boobookhill.com/

Oooh thanks, more info, and agreeing with what I thought that the bulbs don’t terribly like being disturbed. What I also forgot to add was that when I overwintered the bulbs I left them in their pots and stored them holus bolus without lifting them out of the out potting mix. I just carried the pots to the shed, once the mix was quite dry feeling and left them in a corner, as is.

Templeton said:

HP,
I’m in Bendigo, Victoria.
My early lack of success i put down to small bulbs, lack of sunlight, and container growing. While my backyard vege beds are extensive, they aren’t big enough for me, and overshaded a bit in winter from eastern and western trees.

Saffron likes full sun, i think.

I remeber the volgeroy catalog – might have a look. Saffron should do well in central vic, with our cold winters and scorching summers.
Can’t remember my supplier, and i’ve thrown the box out…

At least i got some blooms last season, might leave a few rows in the ground, and see what happens next autumn – nah, who am i kidding, the tomatoes will win out for sure, and anywayt if i grew something next to them they would get wet, with a chance of rotting bulbs…
T

seems to me they might need a dedicated bed.

bluegreen said:

Templeton said:

HP,
I’m in Bendigo, Victoria.
My early lack of success i put down to small bulbs, lack of sunlight, and container growing. While my backyard vege beds are extensive, they aren’t big enough for me, and overshaded a bit in winter from eastern and western trees.

Saffron likes full sun, i think.

I remeber the volgeroy catalog – might have a look. Saffron should do well in central vic, with our cold winters and scorching summers.
Can’t remember my supplier, and i’ve thrown the box out…

At least i got some blooms last season, might leave a few rows in the ground, and see what happens next autumn – nah, who am i kidding, the tomatoes will win out for sure, and anywayt if i grew something next to them they would get wet, with a chance of rotting bulbs…
T

seems to me they might need a dedicated bed.

Certainly do. And it would seem that top of the wall is the perfect place for mine. It’s very well drained with a foot of gravel underneath, in full sun, and once I enrich the soil it I will have lot’s of saffron :)

I bandicooted one bulb in my less satisfactory bed, and some slugs have been at the corms! one tuft of leaves just fell out in my hands as i handled the tops with the bulb in the ground, so i had a bit of a dig. Annoyed!

The primo crop is not as advanced as the other – a bit of a peek showed they are still some way off. As for a dedicated bed, sunlit dirt is a bit of a premium here – i could chop down the trees, but i might have to get a divorce (note to self, hmmm,we would have to get married first…) and its a very beautiful corymbia citriodora.and the neighbour is a policeman, so his lilipilly is safe… I already plant tomatoes into the bed a week after i lift the garlic, no bed gets a rest round casa templetonia…
T

Templeton said:

I bandicooted one bulb in my less satisfactory bed, and some slugs have been at the corms! one tuft of leaves just fell out in my hands as i handled the tops with the bulb in the ground, so i had a bit of a dig. Annoyed!

The primo crop is not as advanced as the other – a bit of a peek showed they are still some way off. As for a dedicated bed, sunlit dirt is a bit of a premium here – i could chop down the trees, but i might have to get a divorce (note to self, hmmm,we would have to get married first…) and its a very beautiful corymbia citriodora.and the neighbour is a policeman, so his lilipilly is safe… I already plant tomatoes into the bed a week after i lift the garlic, no bed gets a rest round casa templetonia…
T

Yes space at a premium here too. My strawberry wall is full and now long rectangle pots of extras adorn the sides of paths. I can’t chuck a beaut froot runner!
Well saffron crocus do flower in pots..deep pots, but need the sunniest spot you can find.

Happy Potter said:

Templeton said:

I bandicooted one bulb in my less satisfactory bed, and some slugs have been at the corms! one tuft of leaves just fell out in my hands as i handled the tops with the bulb in the ground, so i had a bit of a dig. Annoyed!

The primo crop is not as advanced as the other – a bit of a peek showed they are still some way off. As for a dedicated bed, sunlit dirt is a bit of a premium here – i could chop down the trees, but i might have to get a divorce (note to self, hmmm,we would have to get married first…) and its a very beautiful corymbia citriodora.and the neighbour is a policeman, so his lilipilly is safe… I already plant tomatoes into the bed a week after i lift the garlic, no bed gets a rest round casa templetonia…
T

Yes space at a premium here too. My strawberry wall is full and now long rectangle pots of extras adorn the sides of paths. I can’t chuck a beaut froot runner!
Well saffron crocus do flower in pots..deep pots, but need the sunniest spot you can find.

afterthought….. do you have a sunny driveway? if so, ditch the car. Saffron is more important, lol!
Busy day today but I’ll try and get some pics of my saffron, pots and what.

Piccies
Saffron in a pot. 30 odd.

Front wall saffron.

Look like mine.
Is the rock wall in mostly full sun?
T

Templeton said:

Look like mine.
Is the rock wall in mostly full sun?
T

Yes it is.

Happy Potter said:

Templeton said:

Look like mine.
Is the rock wall in mostly full sun?
T

Yes it is.

Oh and, I’ve had people say they will get pinched from the front garden as it’s a mere couple meters to the footpath. But I figured that they aren’t anything much to look at for most of the year, a little grassy border, and I pick the flowers the day they open.

Potter, you must watch ABC2 at 1930 next Sat’dee night. The chef lady is getting her hands on some gorgeous looking saffron.

pain master said:

Potter, you must watch ABC2 at 1930 next Sat’dee night. The chef lady is getting her hands on some gorgeous looking saffron.

Thanks PM :) I will note the time.

Beautiful.

That’s all I need to say.

painmaster said:

Beautiful.

That’s all I need to say.

:D

Happy Potter said:

painmaster said:

Beautiful.

That’s all I need to say.

:D

Oh and I am going to the Fishmongers tomorrow, to buy some fresh prawns, a nice cut of fish, a handful of mussels and maybe some baby squid. I think a Paella is on the menu?

painmaster said:

Happy Potter said:

painmaster said:

Beautiful.

That’s all I need to say.

:D

Oh and I am going to the Fishmongers tomorrow, to buy some fresh prawns, a nice cut of fish, a handful of mussels and maybe some baby squid. I think a Paella is on the menu?

oooh yum!
let us know how it tastes please :)

Happy Potter said:

painmaster said:

Happy Potter said:

:D

Oh and I am going to the Fishmongers tomorrow, to buy some fresh prawns, a nice cut of fish, a handful of mussels and maybe some baby squid. I think a Paella is on the menu?

oooh yum!
let us know how it tastes please :)

I haven’t made Paella for ages. It’s not something that is easily made for one :(

I see people are having difficulties with their saffron. I am in South West Victoria. I bought bulbs last year and forgot about them and then found they were trying to flower in the paper bag. So I popped them into a long pot for this year and will think about what to do with them again later. I picked about 4 flowers, pulled the yellow, not the red, bits off them, realized my mistake and then a couple more flowers happened and I have a grand total of 4 strands, I think. But if they can do that with the poor handling I’ve given them…… Anyway, mine are at present in a sheltered place:

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/lizza_06/SaffronCrocus114April12.jpg

Are they really as picky as you are intimating?

(Apologies if I have posted that picture before, I thought I had, but it might have been in the Chat thread. The other things there are various mints, which I gaol up so they can’t escape)

buffy said:

I see people are having difficulties with their saffron. I am in South West Victoria. I bought bulbs last year and forgot about them and then found they were trying to flower in the paper bag. So I popped them into a long pot for this year and will think about what to do with them again later. I picked about 4 flowers, pulled the yellow, not the red, bits off them, realized my mistake and then a couple more flowers happened and I have a grand total of 4 strands, I think. But if they can do that with the poor handling I’ve given them…… Anyway, mine are at present in a sheltered place:

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n245/lizza_06/SaffronCrocus114April12.jpg

Are they really as picky as you are intimating?

(Apologies if I have posted that picture before, I thought I had, but it might have been in the Chat thread. The other things there are various mints, which I gaol up so they can’t escape)

Oh my aplologies, I sorta take it for granted that people know which bit to pick, the red stigmas, not the yellow stamens. And the two shouldn’t touch during picking as the pollen can distort the saffron flavour.
Leave the leaves to grow and feed them as long as they are growing, then once they have died down leave them in the pot and shove em in a shed until spring.

It’s OK, I should have made the effort to find out first!

:)