Cultivation of Saffron

Obtaining Saffron is achieved by cultivating a bulb crocus sativus , this kind of bulb is the only one that produces the briznes that a Once roasted they become the most appreciated and expensive spice used for cooking, there are other bulbs that produce similar flowers but do not contain the precious red pistils .

In contrast to the Most of the flowers, their germination occurs in autumn and not in spring , their proliferation is achieved by multiplying the bulbs in time by means of cell division of the bulb itself, or which is the same, that each bulb multiplies in its vegetative cycle .

The crop has no major complications and it is very easy to have the plant whether in ma cetas, garden or field, nowadays it is very common to find small plantations in urban gardens for own consumption.

Vegetative cycle of the bulb

Bulb plantation , from mid-June to early September being more advisable in June or July . Flowering , as of October 10 the flowers can start to come out, the leaf " espartillo " is growing, in mid-November the flower production ends, Espartillo continues to grow, reaching a considerable length until mid-May when it dries. During the winter the plant develops actively and during the summer it remains lethargic. In the image on the left we can see the saffron bulbs.

Soil preparation for cultivation

The first thing is to till the ground so that the earth is loose, it is advisable to go deeper into 25 ctm., it is convenient to clear the ground to facilitate the work that is they will be carried out throughout the year, once the land is loose it is necessary to fertilize it , if possible with equine and cow dung , the sheep also usually goes well, yes, well fermented.

In order to have a good development of the crop, it is appropriate to keep the surface of the land to be cultivated throughout the year clean from weeds, also before carrying out the cultivation so that the nutrient that must to be used for saffron bulbs.

Azafranal plantation

Starting from the fact that the crop can be grown in a pot or garden (small quantities), only or it must be taken into account that the bulb must be placed at 10 - 15ctm deep and with a minimum separation of 8ctm between each bulb , in case of extensive cultivation in agricultural field it should be pass a fence to move the land, as the earth will be very loose it is convenient to pass the curl to compact it and that the bulbs do not move once planted, the depth of the bulb must be 15 - 18ctm to make sure that the work of weeding Mechanical will not affect the bulb by contact, the bulb will be planted in line "groove" with a separation of 10ctm between bulbs and the recommended separation between rows is 20ctm although this measure can change depending on the tool that is going to be used for cleaning.

Currently the most effective way to perform the tasks related to saffron are done with mechanical traction, either with a hoe or a tractor, specifically to plant the better is a tractor with a planter and if it is not possible you have to use a mouldboard to open and close the furrow.

Precautions to take

Moisture or over-watering

The bulb of saffron is very sensitive to humidity , it is considered a dry crop, for this circumstance it is preferable to have the azafranal in a land that drains well the water so that it filters it quickly when it rains, a clay-calcareous soil avoiding heavy, clayey soils would be appropriate where possible diseases would proliferate more easily.

If there is possibility of irrigation the best for saffron is the sprinkler or drip irrigation , avoid irrigation by foot as much as possible.

Field mouse

This animal is the most damaging to the crop, move in their pipes and create galleries in search of food being the bulb its main objective, if it is not controlled they reproduce very fast and the damage can be important. On our right we can see the trap that is usually used to catch them.

Rabbits

Rabbits eat the leaf of the plant, unable to grow the plant finishes dying, usually they begin to eat the external plants, in case of having this problem the best thing is to make a fence with the fence buried in the base and with a height of 60ctm like minimum.

Diseases

The most common are fusarium and rhizoctonia , are diseases caused by fungi and rapid proliferation, to eliminate it can tear off the plants that are seen affected, this is seen in the leaves, if they yellow or have no strength to grow it is usually motivated by fungi, when the extraction of the bulb is done it is advisable, when cleaning them, review them one by one and discard those that are affected with marks of disease.

Mushrooms are common and most are not harmful, if there is an excess of irrigation and constant humidity creates a suitable field for them.

Harvest, Desbrizne and toast of Saffron

Harvesting

The bloom begins to take place in October , it is convenient to start early In order to collect most of the closed flowers, the brin (pistil) is more protected and has not yet been affected by external factors such as sun, rain, air, etc. , at midmorning the flowers begin to open and in case the wire is born the harvesting work becomes more expensive in time and effort, the harvest must be done before 14h since It is a very heavy task and it is not convenient to have to stop to eat and return to the task since the performance of the collector goes down a lot, we must bear in mind that the collection lasts between 20 and 25 days what is good is reserving forces to carry the best way throughout the campaign.

The flower should be cut by the stem and without breaking the leaf or moving the bulb by the well of the plant, to pick them up it is very good to have a wicker basket where the flowers can be aerated and loose, if they are tightened or heated quickly they wither and can become doughy making the subsequent tasks difficult, to the table debrizne "monda" must arrive as fresh as possible .

Desbride

The debris is the task of separating the saffron threads from the rest of the flower, it is a simple task to perform but it requires a great patience and a certain ability to be able to do it quickly, this skill there is no other way to get it more than practicing, it must be cut the stem at the base of the tepalo so that the saffron thread is obtained with the three pistils together and with the minimum possible corner (see image on the left)

Toasted

Toasting consists of dehydrating the saffron threads in green to preserve the saffron in time, you could say that roasting is one of the most important tasks to obtain a high quality saffron , it must be done on a soft heat source and each time you have to toast a quantity of saffron that does not exceed 1ctm thick, traditionally was made over a bucket of embers and using a " sieve " that consisted of a wooden body and had a silk fabric where the saffron was placed, which once roasted on one side was turned with the help of another sieve to finish the toasting on the other side, to know the optimal point in which it is necessary to leave the saffron must be fixed in daylight that the color is with an intense red, the texture very sensitive, so much that touching it breaks, once it is like that it is removed and preserved, at least , for a month before using it since it takes a while to set its organoleptic qualities "Taste, color and aroma".

You have to have a special care in which the toasted is not passed since burning the saffron supposes to lose the working day of the collectors, the debris and the t and it would be a shame to lose a product as special as it is scarce.