Fenugreek

The leaves are a welcome addition to any fresh salad and the cooked leaves along with the seeds are used in curries. Highly fragrant seeds have a sweet, nutty flavour, described as a mix of celery and maple. Fenugreek is used to treat indigestion and symptoms of menopause due to the hormone-like substance diosgenin. Also useful for headaches. Plants grow 1 1/2 - 2 feet tall.  

100 seeds

PLANTING

Trigonella foenum graecum

Annual

Germination:  5-7 days

Germination Temperature: Optimum soil temperatures 60-65ºF

Seed Planting Depth:  Sow ¼” deep, soaking seeds overnight aids germination. 

Starting Indoors:  Direct sowing is preferred, fenugreek doesn't like its roots disturbed. Using biodegradable peat, cow, or paper pots can help with the stress of transplanting, and successful transplanting may be challenging. Start indoors 4-5 weeks before the last frost. Transplant 6” apart.

Sowing Outdoors: Sow 2 weeks before or around the last frost. Sow a few seeds, every 4-6”. Thin to the strongest seedling. 

Growth Habit: Erect, single stem or multi-stem

Height and Width: 24” by 12”

Spacing:  4-6” apart   

Light Needs: Full sun 

Soil Needs: Fenugreek needs verage, sandy loam well-drained soil 

Harvest: Leaves- 30-40 days or starting when the plant reaches 10-12”. Seeds- after the plant matures, flowers and the pods start drying, 95-110 days - 10-20 seeds per pod. Pull plants, tie in bundles and hang in a cool, dry dark place until seeds are fully dry or harvest by hand right off the plants

Uses: Fresh or dried, culinary-edible seeds and leaves, medicinal. Containers, fixes nitrogen                                 

Care:  Keep weeded, does not compete well with weeds. 

Tips: Pinch seedlings back to encourage branching