Elettaria
cardamomum CardamomCardamom, Lesser Cardamom, Malabar cardamom, Ceylon cardamom
Origin: Coastal area, India
Shelf life: 1- 2 years
Elettaria cardamomum a tall herbaceous perennial, with branching subterranean rootstock, from which arise a number of upright leafy shoots, 5-12ft. high, bearing alternate, elliptical or lanceolate sheathing leaves, 1-3 ft long. Flowers borne in panicles, 2-4 ft long, arising from the base of vegetative shoots; panicles upright at first and ultimateliy pendient or prostrate; flowers about 1.5 inches long, white or pale green in colour with a central lip streaked with violet, borne in a close series on the rachis; they are bisexual, but self-sterile, and open in succession from the base towards the tip. Furits trilocular capsules, fusiform to ovoid, pale green to yellow in colour, containing 15-20 hard, browinish black, angled and rugose seeds, covered by a thin mucilaginous membrane.
Germination Info
Plant seeds 1/2-1" deep in moist, sterile soil. Keep soil temperature at 70-85F for best germination. Don't over water soil and allow the soil surface to begin to dry before re-watering.
- Start by preparing fresh cardamom seeds. Wash the seeds in lukewarm water to remove any mucilage. Allow cardamom seeds to dry in the shade.
- Place dried seeds in a glass jar and place the jar in a tray filled with cold tap water. Leave the jar in the cold water until the jar feels cold to the touch.
- Slowly pour a 2.5 percent nitric acid solution over the cardamom seeds, just enough to cover the seeds. Stir the seeds with a spoon for about 2 minutes. After the 2 minutes, drain the solution using a strainer.
- Now, take the seeds out into a strainer and rinse the seeds under running water.
- Transfer seeds to a bowl of lukewarm water and let sit overnight.
- Choose a site or a pot with well draining, moist soil, and filtered shade.
- After all danger of frost has passed, plant the cardamom seeds in a thin layer of soil.
- Spread a thin layer of seeds over the bed.
- Water the soil deeply until it feels moist.
- Cardamom should germinate anywhere from 20-40 days.
- Once germination starts, remove the twigs and just keep the soil moist.
- Depending on the variety you've planted, cardamom can be ready for harvest in the fall or the year after.