Saffron Farming?

[frankyj]

Was just wondering if anyone has tried their hand at cultivating saffron in Thailand? My old man lives in Isaan in a village and I mentioned the prospect to him but he said the locals have a very closed mind when it comes to farming and they like to stick to their old ways - pretty much means rice with no modern farming techniques..

[jamescollister]

Op just a wild guess, but Saffron grows in dry hot desert regions and I have not seen much desert in the tropics. Jim

[doggie888888]

Op just a wild guess, but Saffron grows in dry hot desert regions and I have not seen much desert in the tropics. Jim

Or a Mediterranean climate?

I do wonder about vanilla though, since it is meant to be off a tropical plant.

[BAYBOY]

Grows well in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. On the east coast of the North Island and has a Mediterranean type climate. They get big money per kg however you need a lot of saffron to make 1 kg

BAYBOY

[tim armstrong]

I asked this question a couple of years ago on this forum. It does grow here in the north but under glass, shade and other stuff that contributes to its very expensive price. Its also a closed shop for marketing amongst a few wealthy thai farmers. Pound for pound its the most expensive agricultural product in the world.

I also asked the same question in Oz some years ago when I had a 5 acre block in tropical northern NSW. The amused lady at the local ag. research station asked me if I had ever seen a saffron field. I hadn't. Apparently you need to pick the 2 thin filaments from the centre of each crocus flower. A one acre block has about 1 million flowers. One decent strong wind or gale is capable of knocking the whole crop over. Back to the drawing board.