Debbie's First Saffron Crocus Bloom

Take a look at this beauty! This is the plant that saffron spice comes from.

The yellow parts of the plant are the stamen, they carry the pollen and they are not edible. The red stalks are the stigma, and that's the part that becomes the most expensive spice in the world.

Why is it so expensive? Because collecting it is very labor intensive. Each plant produces 2 to 4 flowers. Each flower has three stigma. It takes about 470 stigmas (about 160 flowers) to make an ounce of saffron. And the stigmas have to be harvested by hand with tweezers.

So we're not going to get rich growing saffron in the greenhouse. We're hoping to get about an ounce a year. And maybe make some dishes with fresh saffron right from the flower! We would probably only need 10 to 12 threads (the dried stigmas) for a dish, since saffron has such a strong flavor.

I'll post again when we have our first ounce of saffron!

Update... a Few Days Later

Apparently the first Crocus plant that bloomed send out a signal to the rest of the plants that said "It's safe to come out now!" Debbie went in the greenhouse the other day and found 75 plants blooming!

And here's the first harvest. This is from 16 flowers.

Debbie loves to talk about her garden and greenhouse, so if you have any questions about what she's growing just leave a comment below and she'll get back to you!