This farm in Tasmania’s Huon Valley grows rows of the delicate flowers that create the spice that is worth more than gold.

Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus) are a small, somewhat unassuming flower with purple petals. But it is what’s inside that counts – the red, three-pronged stigma. When plucked and dried, this becomes what we know as saffron.

30 years ago, Nicola Noonan and her husband left their corporate jobs in Sydney, purchased a farm and began importing Saffron bulbs. While this farm produces over 100,000 saffron crocus flowers per year, that doesn’t equate to a lot of saffron strands – one kilo of dried saffron comes from 250,000 flowers!

Nicolas son Patrick is now very much involved in the farming of these fragile, finicky corms. To harvest, Patrick explains that it is a matter of selecting open, upright flowers, and gently pinching of the flower, without damaging foliage or pulling the plant from the ground. Harvesting is done by hand, which ensures accuracy, and a higher probability of the crocus repeat flowering in the season. Harvesting occurs in the morning, as early as possible – this ensures the flower is sitting upright, and the stigma has not been exposed to too much sun.

To grow Saffron Crocus a home successfully, there are some requirements – a cool, temperate climate, night-time temperatures of five degrees or below through Autumn and Winter, well-drained soils and full sun. Corms can stay in the ground from one year to the next, needing only to be dig up and divided every three to four years.

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