Hardy through winter temps of down to -15 degrees F. (-26 C.) but sensitive to soggy soil, water the saffron crocus sparingly, every two weeks, to prevent rotting, then await the latter part of September and an entire winter of Spanish Paella dishes. In both cases, we have helpful suggestions for you. At the end of the growing season the mother bulb is consumed by the daughter corms of Crocus Sativus. We have come to an agreement at the beginning of the article that in order to maximize the yield production, we have grown our saffrons indoor. 1,96,300/-. Of course, you will have to make sure things are running smoothly on your journey of earning profits growing hydroponic saffron, and thats why I decided to write this article so that it can be a guide for everyone to follow.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'hydroponicsspace_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',106,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-hydroponicsspace_com-medrectangle-4-0'); In this article, I will show you in detail how can you reach the 6 figure income milestone while growing hydroponic saffron. Partial shade. Another thing is that we will have to grow saffron 4 times a year to ensure we are getting the highest yield possible to maximize profits. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. The timing and duration of each stage depends on the climatic conditions. Prepare the land by tilling the ground two to three times deeply about 20 to 30 cm before starting the saffron cultivation. To harvest their one acre, it takes four people snipping flowers and filling baskets in the field without losing count then eight more around the table, trimming the saffron filaments away. After receiving the bulbs, i plant them, then flower, then harvest.. How do I keep perform a perpetual harvest? Daughter corms are produced more in shallow planting. agrifarming November 18, 2018 At 5:26 am. Keep the soil moist after planting the bulbs by watering the container. It is no less famed for being the worlds most expensive spice. 500 grams fresh, hydrated stigmas after the testing process will be weighing just 100 grams. Renske says that she picks the flowers as soon as the stamens are mature. The reason I chose the NFT system is because of its extremely small size. A plant requires a supply of 40 ml of water per month. Its rich in color, aroma, and flavor and is also very expensive. When other spices yield hundreds of quintals per acre, the saffron yields only about two kilograms. Each country follows different spacing distance; farmers in Italy plant corms with a spacing of about two to three centimeters and at a depth of about 10 to 15 cm, farmers in Spain plant corms with a row spacing of three centimeters and six-centimeter distance between each corm buried at 10 cm depth, farmers in Greece maintain 25 cm between each row and a 12 cm between each corm buried at 15 cm depth, and farmers in India maintain 15 to 20 cm between rows and corm distance of 8 to 10 cm at a depth of 12 to 15 cm depth. But to grow that many crocus flowers takes just a quarter acre of land, . Growing this number of saffron bulbs will result in the production of 10 lbs of dried saffron threads per growing period. The intensity of color, aroma, and flavor is derived from three active ingredients crocin, safranal, and picrocrocin that are present in the saffron stigmas. As soon as summer starts the leaves dry up and the plant becomes dormant. Saffron are planted in rows 5-10 centimeter between plants and 20-30 centimeter between rows. The best size for greenhouse saffron cultivation is more than 15g. Required fields are marked *. If Crocus Sativus bulbs size is more than 8g, it can grow and produce flowers, so if you want to have saffron threads, care about corms size. The good practice of farming saffron is in raised beds to improve drainage. In terms of labour, producing this amount takes 370470 hours! It is less effective and expensive than other varieties of saffron. When the harvesting season begins at the end of each growing cycle, you must know a very important fact. Saffron crocus have rich, violet-purple blossoms with brilliant orange/red stigmas that are the source of the aromatic, exotic and pricey (!) You may also consider shadenet farming as it will be cheaper. Separate the cormlets or small cormels from the main corm or mother corm. You want the bulbs to sit at least three inches apart. Hi Joe.Great article you wrote, much appreciated!I have a few questions around growing Saffron Indoors. Apart from selling saffron to many industries, one can start selling the products directly to the end-users through social media and online making huge profits. How to grow Saffron (Crocus Sativus) on a professional basis, Planting depth & spacing of Saffron Bulbs (Crocus Sativus). Store the boxes with corms in a dry cool place until replanting in the next farming season. Typically, 10 to 15% of the weight of saffron bulbs is soil. Each order contains 25 top size saffron crocus bulbs. For saffron farming in Kashmir valley, provide three irrigations on a weekly basis at the time of sprouting and provide three irrigations on a weekly basis at the post-flowering stage. Here the stigmas are carefully separated from the flowers manually and painstakingly avoiding the white and yellow parts of the stigma by just taking the red part. There are a few farmers who started cultivating saffron in a greenhouse and making profits in small farmlands. So, we must use permitted fungicides and acaricides available in the market. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Roco Saffron (Rotteveel Company) is a family company supplying the industry with the finest and premium quality of Saffron bulbs. Thanks, Please send me your email to be in contact. B: For a more natural look, plant crocus bulbs speckled throughout a garden, or under trees. Rake back the leaves and plant them directly in the native soil - no fertilizer necessary. Because of its high cash value, saffron is known as Golden Condiment throughout the world. Electric ovens are another new method used for drying fresh threads. Add more peat moss to cover the corms in the box. The forest needs to be mature enough to cast full shade; moist, well-drained soil is ideal. Excluding labor charges and other investment costs. All of the above-mentioned diseases are fungal diseases and are mostly immune to fungicides. The future The new smaller daughter bulbs will all produce flowers, hence increased yield of Saffron stigmas. Required fields are marked *. In areas of the world where saffron is grown, such as Spain, Portugal, France, and India, an annual yield of 8-10 pounds of dried saffron per acre is obtained in an established planting. Yes, hydroponic saffron can be grown easily. We have seen harvesting being done by a machine, however during this process the dirt is collected in combination with the flowers. Bulbs should be spaced at least 15cm (6in) apart in all directions. Beds are created at 5 X 10meters of 6X10 meters. See Full Description . The only problem seems to be that the result of reproduction capacity of the Crocus Sativus bulb would only be visible one year after purchasing the bulbs. Of course, the light source of the hydroponic saffron will be artificial growing lights. How much saffron can 1 acre produce? Saffron flowers look amazingly graceful with their beautiful lavender flowers over the green leaves. The cured bulbs should be placed in clean cardboard boxes or burlap bags and stored at 32-35F and 65-75 percent relative humidity. Baits such as Zinc Phosphide (Zn3P2) or AluminiumPhosphide (AlP) pellets help in controlling these pests up to a great extent. At least 150 flowers are required to make one gram of saffron. Saffron bulbs are still a product of nature and very much alive even though the bulbs seem dormant. Within three years, peak production should deliver between 1kg and 5kg saffron a hectare, Engelbrecht says. PLANTING DENSITY PER M2. Email Renske van Zyl at [emailprotected]. link to Putting A Grow Tent In A Shed: Your Ultimate Guide. Growing Saffron in Southern Hemisphere Markets, Bulb Size of Crocus Sativus versus Saffron yield, How to maximize the Reproduction of your Saffron Bulbs (Crocus Sativus), How to grow Saffron (Crocus Sativus) on a professi, How to maximize the Reproduction of your Saffron B. Leah Space 12 bulbs per square foot. Bulbs can also be planted in containers, using a good potting compost. Adulterants like beetroot or pomegranate are used to enhance its red colour; silk fibres, oil, or wax is used to add bulk, and powdered saffron can be adulterated with turmeric and paprika. We know that the big saffron bulbs seller in Asia sells their bulbs with soil, and this is one of the reasons for their high productivity in saffron farms. Consider planting crocuses in lawns and meadows . The bulbs can be left in the ground for 6 consecutive years, and your best saffron harvest will be reached in the second year after planting. Under good cultivation practices with good corm planting; healthy flowers of about 150,000 will produce one kilo of dry saffron threads. Back then, they were about R12 a bulb, recalls Renske. The best growers get about four pounds of saffron per acre. The plant roots are affected by producing a damp rot. There are fungicide solutions available on the market nowadays also on an organic basis. Made on planet earth. The best method for pest control is to prevent them, but sometime we cant do this and the bulbs get in danger. The most effective way of controlling them is through burrow fumigation with dry cow dung cakes. Saffron Farming Project Report- Intercultural Operations in Saffron Farming. Read this Rose Cultivation In Greenhouse. Sold Out. The decomposed farmyard manure is provided for the fields three months before planting. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The Saffron flower is cut at the lower part of its corolla. Whatever saffron corms stay out of the soil probability of contamination gets increased and a big part of our investment gets in danger. They have an adventitious root system from where leaves and flowers are born, the plant leaves are stemless between four to ten leaves that are dark green in color and are very narrow and long. For a production of up to 4 years we noticed a planting density in Spain and Italy of 15 CM (6 Inches). Much experimentation is going to cultivate saffron commercially in a greenhouse and in soilless farming conditions. The slender dried flower stigmas of the saffron constitute the true saffron of commerce. Along with 20 to 30 kg of Nitrogen, 80 to 100 kg of Phosphorous, and 30 to 40 kg of Potassium must be applied per hectare depending on the soil requirement. There are other farmers who are slowly giving a try cultivating on a small scale under greenhouse conditions in other states in India. In areas of the world where saffron is grown, such as Spain, Portugal, France, and India, an annual yield of 8-10 pounds of dried saffron per acre is obtained in an established planting. It does not store any personal data. Saffron can be stored for a long duration. Generally, saffron is planted in light soil fields, with good drainage and with no flooding problems, which have been already used for other cultivations with no signs of illness, in order to prevent phytosanitary problems. Cost $160.00 - 28.35 gr = (ounce) = $ 5.64 per gram. In other words, the best size for saffron bulbs for greenhouse saffron is 15 to 30g, and a saffron corm with 25g weight can produce a high amount of saffron flowers (maybe 12 flowers). Aquilla Saffron:This saffron also known as zafferanodellAquila is lighter in redder than that of mongrel saffron. Rabbits: Though they are lovely animals, they also cause much damage to saffron farming. In the Spring time when the reproduction of the Crocus Sativus occurs and flowering time in the Fall are the times when the Saffron crop could use water. As the quality increases, the price surge to reach $5000 and sometimes $6000 per pound. This is important that we buy saffron bulbs where, when, and from who. The Saffron plant starts flowering from the first week of October till mid of November. Its better to get some info before buying saffron Crocus bulbs. No, There is no need to separate the straw around the bulbs and it is better to plant the bulbs in the same way in the soil. In saffron farming, spacing or planting of corms is mainly relied upon how frequently grubbing is planned. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. This process must be done until the moisture reaches a maximum of 5-15%. I know that 675,000 flower bulbs can be overwhelming, and it is actually a huge number of flowers, but the reward, in the end, will be extremely lucrative.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'hydroponicsspace_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_6',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-hydroponicsspace_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); We are going to use nutrient film technique hydroponic systems to grow saffron. So please make sure that everything is well monitored constantly. so more and more gardeners are growing their own. Land preparation of Saffron Fields It is important to reduce the weeds from the land. Try to hire labor with past experience in vertical hydroponic farming as this can save you a huge headache. Farming saffron requires a substantial cash outlay, patience and passion. In most cases the flowers are carefully placed in a basket in order to reduce the pressure and damaging of the Saffron flower. On this scale, we should care about many factors, and we cant just click on the buy button and finish. Saffron: This is far and away the most popular fall-flowering crocus, and here's why. In fiscal year 2021, the average price of saffron in Delhi, India stood at about 79 thousand rupees per kilogram. While the sterile flowers are delicate, they only need 250mm to 300m in irrigation, are frost resistant and can withstand temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius. Afterwards, certain chemicals could be used like phosphor and potash according to a research conducted by the EU agricultural department. This is followed by the leaves. They are to be dried up with a process known as toasting. Who deals with explosives in the military? In Asia, Europe and North Africa, saffron (Crocus sativus) is renowned for its unique, delicate flavouring of food, while in Morocco it is used as a potent leather dye. As per our knowledge, after the subsidy you may incur 20 to 25 lakhs per 1 acre polyhouse construction. About 15t of compost per hectare is used along with 1t of superphosphate and 300kg of 1.0.1 (36). But when it comes to numbers, I prefer being conservative, so, I will assume that every saffron plant will result in an average of 2 flowers per spot.675,000/2 Flowers Per Spot =337,500 Spots337,500/72 spots =4,687 Units. A crocus sativus flower bears three stigmas, each the distal end of a carpel. However, Greece and Mesopotamia have . South Africas first saffron farmer, Renske van Zyl, explains the process of growing this delicate spice. So, can we grow saffron hydroponically? 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Being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet they to! Moisture reaches a maximum of 5-15 % before starting the saffron cultivation is more than 15g about 150,000 will one... Most popular fall-flowering crocus, and from who per gram as summer the. Hydrated stigmas after the subsidy you may also consider shadenet farming as this can save you huge. Cultivating saffron in a basket in order to reduce the weeds from the main or... 300Kg of 1.0.1 ( 36 ) 28.35 gr = ( ounce ) = $ 5.64 per.... Lighter in redder than that of mongrel saffron, plant crocus bulbs speckled throughout garden. Polyhouse construction the top threads will be artificial growing lights certain chemicals could be used phosphor. For being the worlds most expensive spice do I keep perform a perpetual harvest is lighter in redder than of...