Elettaria cardamomum Cardamom
Cardamom, 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.

  1. Start by preparing fresh cardamom seeds. Wash the seeds in lukewarm water to remove any mucilage. Allow cardamom seeds to dry in the shade.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Now, take the seeds out into a strainer and rinse the seeds under running water.
  5. Transfer seeds to a bowl of lukewarm water and let sit overnight.
  6. Choose a site or a pot with well draining, moist soil, and filtered shade.
  7. After all danger of frost has passed, plant the cardamom seeds in a thin layer of soil.
  8. Spread a thin layer of seeds over the bed.
  9. Water the soil deeply until it feels moist.
  10. Cardamom should germinate anywhere from 20-40 days.
  11. Once germination starts, remove the twigs and just keep the soil moist.
  12. Depending on the variety you've planted, cardamom can be ready for harvest in the fall or the year after.