Saffron Crocuses Planted & Seeds Germinating

Village Farm Team,

We will be experimenting with growing and harvesting one of the most precious spices in the world: saffron! The bright yellow-orange threads you see sold on the spice aisle are actually the stigma, or female portion, of the saffron crocus flower. We planted the corms (bulbs) this past week in our wooden planter boxes on the North Farm. Crocuses do best in full sun with well-drained soil so our planter boxes proved to be the best option. Hopefully we will start seeing some flowers in about 6 to 8 weeks.

The greenhouse is starting to look a little greener lately as our starts are germinating. The seeding in the greenhouse has been mostly focused on members of the genus brassica. Brassicas are part of the mustard family and are made up of cruciferous vegetables and cabbages. They are high in fiber, vitamin C, and selenium. Among the brassicas seeded this week were cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

On the North Farm the team added more beds for Farm Club this week. As of the official launch last Saturday, a few members have already planted out their beds. We will be having a Farm Club orientation at the greenhouse this Saturday (October 28th) at 11am. If you are a Harvest Green resident and interested in joining Farm Club, check out the information and application here.

Egg watch continues! The team has been checking the coop daily to spot and collect eggs. At this point we think that roughly a third of our hens have started laying. Since we have three different chicken breeds in our coop, the eggs vary in color. Our White Leghorns lay white eggs while the Barred Rock lay brownish eggs and the Ameraucana give us the beautiful bluish-green ones.

In addition to all of the daily farm duties, the team has been busy planning and preparing for Harvest Fest. This free festival will take place on November 11th from 11am to 3pm in the model home park. The veggie wagon will be out in addition to some of our goats and chickens. We even re-located our tractor “Edith” to the South Farm since she makes such a beautiful back drop for pictures. For more information on the event, head here.

Happy Harvesting,

The Agmenity Farm Team

Words & Photos by Courtney West