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!