I bought ten saffron crocus bulbs (corms, actually) this fall, pretty sure that it would be a complete waste of five bucks, but I had to do it anyway. Just the idea of growing your own saffron was worth the fiver.
So I'm sure that you know that saffron is considered one of the most expensive foods in the world, and, as I found out this first time, darn easy to grow. It's the harvesting that requires all the work, although for my few blossoms, it was just a quick snip-snip with sharp scissors. My imagination balks at the vision of the fields and fields of tiny purple flowers in Iran and Kashmir, all needing to be harvested and processed within a few days.
I planted the bulbs right away. That was early October. With once a week watering, they were up and blooming by mid-November. Each morning I would go out and check for more blooms, clipping only the edible red stigmas (the girl parts. The world runs on girls.) and laying them out to dry inside.
From those bulbs, I got a dozen or so blooms, meaning a very small amount of fresh saffron threads, just enough for one or two paellas. My friend Gabe estimated that I had a stash worth about ten whole bucks. Making money now...
The bulbs go dormant during the summer, and require little or no summer water (music to my drought sensitive ears). They are supposed to multiply each year, so with luck, they will spring back up in the fall for another round of those lovely little flowers, containing that most treasured spice.
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