Saffron Walden

Tim Eck teck11@embarqmail.com
Thu, 06 Nov 2014 05:49:56 PST
Saffron grows very well in zone 6 USA.  The only problem is voles which will
destroy (decimate is too mild a word) a patch in a few weeks.  The secret
involves hardware cloth.  It's also very easy to control weeds because the
summer dormancy allows mowing or herbiciding depending on your bent.
(Please don't rant about RoundUp - pure glyphosate is less toxic than table
salt).  At my previous house I had about 100 square feet of saffron bed
which grew from a couple of pounds of bulbs a Pennsylvania Dutch  friend
gave me.  There was no real secret in Lancaster county - they double or
triple each year and need to be thinned every other year.  
When I moved, I thought I'd give it a try without the hardware cloth and the
patch disappeared completely except for one or two that bloomed a couple of
years.  I still have a few ounces of saffron lying around and giggle every
time I see the prices in stores.  The PA Dutch also use 'American saffron'
which is the flower of safflower, a brilliantly yellow orange flowered
annual thistle reminiscent of holly.

-----Original Message-----
From: pbs [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of David Pilling
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2014 7:48 AM
To: Pacific Bulb Society
Subject: [pbs] Saffron Walden

Hi,

Today many of the newspapers in the UK report the return of commercial
saffron growing in England, after a break of 200 years, to the town that
takes its name from the flower "Saffron Walden".

Here's a link:

http://telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/…
n-back-into-Saffron-Walden.html




--
David Pilling
http://www.davidpilling.com/





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