How to Harvest Your Own Saffron

Grow the Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativa) in a sunny spot in your garden -- and harvest your own saffron in the fall! The saffron will be at its best if you harvest it the first day the flowers open. * Check your crocuses every morning, and when they open, take a bowl and a pair of garden snips, and cut each bloom at its base, dropping the flowers in the bowl. * In your kitchen, set out a dinner plate. Pull the stigmas out of the blooms (with your fingers or using tweezers) and lay them on the plate. * You don't want the stigmas to blow away, so cover them immediately with a paper towel. * Dry the stigmas in a dehydrator on low, or between two window screens. * Store the dry stigmas in a small jar. Keep an eye on the other Saffron Crocuses as they open, and capture the rest of the saffron stigmas.