Back in the Fall our friend Jim brought me a bag of Saffron corms. Because I know nothing about growing saffron, I decided to plant them right in front of the house so I could watch their daily evolution. More importantly, seeing them every day, I would not forget to water them. Concerned that the rebel roving chickens would pull the little sprouts out of the ground, I decided to plant them in large pots. In a week, they began sprouting. In another week and a half, I had my first flower! It was so exciting.
Every day for almost two weeks, I got flowers. And every day I harvested those delicate beauties, then very carefully pulled then one stamen with the three threads of saffron. After harvesting, I let them sit out for a couple of days to dry. By the end of it, my first harvest of saffron feels so rewarding. And as life tends to roll, there recently was a segment on PRI about farmers growing Saffron in Vermont. I figure if it can grow in Vermont it certainly can grow in Dixon! The one draw back everyone likes to point out is how much labor is involved. I figure just about all farming is a lot of labor, but few things are as expensive as the precious saffron threads. I plan on doing some research and who knows, maybe saffron will become the newest addition to our list of crazy projects!