Greenhouse Saffron Cultivation in 6 Steps

Greenhouse saffron cultivation can be a magic opportunity for some farmers searching for a new investment challenge. We can have a top type of saffron in this method, and as you know, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

Multiple greenhouse saffron cultivation methods are done in some countries, and each of them is customized to specific environmental conditions of the same country. Hydroponics and Aeroponics saffron cultivation are the two main standard methods, and here we will look at the method of Aeroponic saffron cultivation.

So if you want to know more about greenhouse saffron cultivation, you can be with us and enjoy learning new things. Also, if you’re going to have more details about this method, you can call us for a free consultation.

Growing Saffron in a Greenhouse

These are some greenhouse saffron benefits compared to the soil saffron planting method.

• Facilitate the saffron harvesting process
• Reduce some of the costs
• Reduce water consumption
• control of environmental conditions
• Increasing the amount of saffron crocin

These benefits can be a good trigger for changing saffron production methods, but our priority must be existing conditions. If your country has enough resources to grow saffron in the soil, it’s better to try it first and then, If necessary, do the greenhouse method.

We use the greenhouse saffron cultivation method to prevent bad weather effects on saffron. In other words, in this method, we displace saffron bulbs during the flowering time to save them from heavy rain and snow.

Greenhouse Saffron Cultivation Income

Let’s account for greenhouse saffron production income in a 100 square meters greenhouse. On this scale, we should use 3-4 tons of Crocus Sativus bulbs, and for this amount of bulbs we can harvest On average, 5 kg of saffron per year.

Also, we will have another income stream: saffron bulb multiplication.

If we plant 5 tons of bulbs in the start year, we will have more than 20 tons of bulbs in the fifth year. This business is a beautiful example of a scalable business.

Required Tools List

If you want to have a saffron greenhouse, you should prepare these tools or their function. You should regulate the hall temperature, and it’s not important what type of tools you will use. Just regulate it.

1. Cultivation hall
2. Agricultural land
3. Humidifier
4. Heater
5. Air conditioner
6. Shelf and trays

Our recommended tray material is wood. Wood trays are resistant, economically, and valuable in controlling humidity. Also, you can use any accessible material for building shelves. For example, some farmers use cheap plastic trays.

Saffron Farming in Greenhouse

1. Saffron Bulbs Preparation

Saffron bulbs are the leading and most important part of your investment in greenhouse saffron cultivation. If you want to have a 100 square meters greenhouse, you will need 5-6 tons of saffron bulbs and a 5000-meter agricultural farm.

It would help if you bought saffron bulbs that are more than 15g and are entirely disinfected. This step of greenhouse saffron cultivation is done in the middle of summer. During this time, the humidity of bulbs reduces, and you can buy bulbs better economically.

2. Cultivation Hall Preparation

Preparation of the cultivation hall is our next step. Our hall should have this condition;

1. Free of any infection and contamination
2. Hall should have indirect light and a big window

Also, we need some tools for controlling hall temperature and humidity;

• Hygrometer and thermometer
• Humidifier
• Heater
• Air conditioner
• Shelf and trays

In this step, we should install tools and preparation the shelf for transferring saffron bubs. If you want to have a 100-square-meter greenhouse, you can use wood or metal for creating frames. You should make 4-5 floors with 40-50 cm height.

Your wooden trays can be 100*100 cm and the distance of the shelf should be 80-100 cm as a corridor.

3. Disinfection Bulbs and Hall

Disinfecting bulbs and the greenhouse hall must do exactly before transferring bulbs to the hall. You can use a common disinfecting agent for this work such as ethyl alcohol. Also, you can use natural and organic fungicides and mites that are ready in your local market.

Please don’t use carbendazim and Propargite. This disinfecting material is banned for using food production, but sometimes we see farmers using them out of ignorance.

4. Transferring Bulbs to the Cultivation Hall

We usually do this step in the last month of summer and after disinfecting the hall and bulbs, putting up the bulb on trays, and locating them on the shelf. Early bods of bulbs should be up and be careful about the density of trays.

In this step, we should regulate humidity at 80%, this action and reducing air temperature can awake bulbs and start the growing season. After passing this time and completing starting for all bulbs, we should get up the temperature to 17C.

5. Harvesting and Cleaning Saffron Flowers

So we arrive at the best step of greenhouse saffron cultivation. Saffron flowers come up in the middle of fall and for 10 days.

At this time, we have daily flowers, and we must harvest them on at same day. Of course, you can wait for a little, and you are not forced to harvest flowers as soon as they arise, which is the benefit of this method.

Each of the corms with at least 15g can produce 10-15 saffron flowers, and if we have larger bulbs, we will have more saffron flowers and more saffron.

6. Transferring bulbs to the ground

After finishing the harvesting process, we should transfer bulbs to the ground in this step. This process is usually done in early winter and is one of our significant challenges in greenhouse saffron cultivation. We should do this process fast and don’t waste time.

So if we will have rainy winter, we will probably miss the time, and in this condition, corms may spoil.

Potential Risks

Greenhouse saffron cultivation may have some risks, and most of them are location-based risks. One of the most critical risks is a disorder in the saffron bulb transferring step.

We should transfer saffron bulbs to the saffron fields, and if we have a long delay in this work, our bulbs get spoiled, and our investment gets destroyed step by step.

It may occur in rainy winters. When we have heavy rain and snow, we can’t transfer bulbs to the land, and our bulbs will be under severe stress.

Our Services

These steps were an outline of greenhouse saffron cultivation, and if you want to have more details and information, you can contact us. Also, some of our services in the saffron planting field are as follows:

• Greenhouse saffron cultivation complete training
• Professional Consultation
• Guaranteed purchase of your produced saffron
• Water and fertilization program