Growing Fenugreek

[SnS]

That's really strange George. It looks like a different variety to the one I've grown. Mine's small and bushy, yours is long and lanky (I'm not confused?)

[SnS]

George

I've just dry fried a handful of fresh methi and the aroma is definately not as intense as the dried stuff? We need more info - I think.

[George]

I've just dry fried a handful of fresh methi and the aroma is definately not as intense as the dried stuff? We need more info - I think.

I agree. Do you remember my hunch, before we planted any of these seeds, that fresh Methi may not be as good as the dried variety? I think the drying process may concentrate the aroma. I've also found (shock horror) that I don't like the flavour/taste of fresh oregano on pizzas, as much as dried oregano! But this could be due to different varieties. Our seeds might be different varieties of Methi, perhaps. It's weird that my seeds had a strong aroma, but there's nothing from the leaves of the resultant plants. I also see the start of a flower forming.

The height of my plants increased when I placed them on a window sill with lots of light and warmth. Soil type and any fertiliser could also affect it.

Regards
George

[SnS]

I've also got lots of little white flowers all over the plant. They smell really sweet and perfumey but not at all like methi. The stems are also very tough. My guess is that the leaves should be used when the plant is young, well before the flowering stage. I need to do some research.

I'm growing another two pots of methi so this time I'll try cooking with it at an earlier stage - see if that's better.

Regards
SnS

[George]

The stems are also very tough.

It's really useful being able to compare observations here. My stems are thin and fragile - prone to break, as happened with one or two of my plants. And not a hint of any smell either. Perhaps I've done something wrong in getting the plants to this stage, or they may be a different variety to your fenugreek.

Regards
George

[George]

Here's the pack of seeds I used for growing my trial batch of fenugeek plants in an attempt to produce aromatic leaves. Of course, these seeds aren't intended to be grown on (they're for salad sprouts) but I didn't think there'd be any difference, except that Kings sell another line for growing as green manure, so perhaps there is a difference between various seed types. My plants are doing OK but the leaves still don't appear to smell of anything.

[SnS]

Hi George

I grew mine from fenugreek seeds bought from Spices of India.

The other two pots I planted a little while back (same seed source), are just growing their first set of true leaves. The smell is definately curry-ish and very strong. I suspect that fresh methi is best using leaves from young plants. The orignal methi 'bush' I grew has very little smell now and has nothing like the pungent taste of the young leaves.

SnS 

[kaled0070]

Hi Folks,
Here's my methi grown from barts fenugreek seeds, where the white flowers are there grows a sword like pod that contains the new seeds, the smell is not that strong with the fresh leaves but if you pick off a few and leave them to dry out for a day or two the smell and flavour intensifies, it's the real deal.

Cheers
Mike

[George]

the smell is not that strong with the fresh leaves but if you pick off a few and leave them to dry out for a day or two the smell and flavour intensifies, it's the real deal.

So my hunch was correct! The fresh leaves aren't going to be anywhere near as useful as the dried ones. In which case, growing my own seems a complete waste of time, since dried fenugreek is so easy and cheap to buy. Perhaps I'll throw all my existing plants on to the compost heap tomorrow.

Regards
George

[Chris303]

soaked for 24 hours... then put on wet kitchen paper for 24 hours and in my boiler cupboard.

result... a LOT of germination.