A member of Fabaceae family also known as legume, Fenugreek has lots of uses. You can use the leaves dried or fresh, seeds ground or whole as a flavor to any menu. The fact that it has lots of uses, a lot of people start to grow this plant, and if you want to have one, below is the guide on how to grow Fenugreek.
Varieties of Fenugreek Plant
A lot of seed catalogues don’t give so many choices or identify ranges or varieties of fenugreek. It is popularly cultivated from the sachet of seed spice on hand in grocers or also known as Mathi or Methi.
There are 2 distinct types; the large variety has a bit bigger leavers and has white flowers. This type of Fenugreek could just be prune once, therefore requires occasional sowing. On the other hand, the smaller type has smaller leaves with yellow flowers and re-grows after pruning.
Fenugreek Cultivation
This plant doesn’t like to be transferred or transplanted; it must be planted directly to well-drained soil with enough sunlight. Sow or plough 0.5 centimeter into drills 20 centimeter apart aiming for five centimeter spacing in row.
It could be planted anytime between the month of April and August and will survive some frost. The germination will usually happen in just a matter of week. Fenugreek grows fast and is strong enough to compete against weeds.
Even if this plant comes from legume family, it does not fix nitrogen. To obtain this, the appropriate bacteria have to be present in the soil. To determine if your Fenugreek are fixing nitrogen, dig up a plant and then try to find pink colored nodules on its roots. Plants which are fixing nitrogen are able to make lush green development on low fertility soil with a couple of issues. Poor soil nutrient could have an impact to the taste of your crop.
Harvesting Fenugreek
When harvesting, prune the step a couple of centimeter above the bottom when the plant is up to twenty five centimeter tall. The bigger white flowered type will not grow again after flowering; therefore it needs constant sowing wherein the yellow type could be prune many times and must be trim on a frequent basis to avoid it seeding as well as keep it productive. Basically they will be ready by six weeks after sowing, it depends on the weather.
Uses
Fenugreek plant has lots of uses. The leaves can be steamed or an ingredient in a curry. The flavor is relatively mild. You can also dry the leaves to flavor dishes. However dried leaves have a bitter taste. The seed of Fenugreek has a strong bitter taste as well as characteristic smell which is an essential ingredient of curry powder.
The sour taste could be mellowed through roasting. They could be utilized whole or ground in order flavor curries as well as rice dishes. The seeds in Egypt are sweetened as well as utilized as a tea while in Middle Eastern cultures; the seeds are utilized in cakes as well as confectionary.
