I know, I know, I have been away from this blog for soo long that I probably have no-one left reading! But exams are over

We had some guests from Europe and Asia. There were all our reliable customers who traveling long distances to meet us at zargol saffron , In Persia!

All of the new crop harvested but we go to the saffron farms, our bless, history, reputation.. related to these farms and hard worker farmers that are up-dated with the latest technics to growing the best and organic Saffron.

We are in the farms with one of zargol’s partner, he didn’t see this plant yet. It is amazing, he said.

Two months after harvest in zargol saffron group

The farm is covered with grasses and there isn’t any saffron flower. BUT there is one here  Look at this precious one!!!

Saffron flower is here. NICE

We passed more than one month but I wish you a truly happy Christmas, filled with love, hope, warmth, good food, gentle times, and quiet joys. Thank you for being a such a sweet part of our days, and our business. We love you guys and would like to meet all of you in zargol saffron agriculture group by face.

Ali Hoseini, board member of National council of saffron said “The development of identification of Iranian saffron and improving productivity and quality of saffron is our key to save Iranian saffron production and its originality.”

“This project is applying in south khorasan. The survey responses showed that the learning time investment was 400 hours. Thank you to all farmers that cooperate with us, it was beyond our expectation” Ali Hoseini said. http://khorasan.isna.ir/default.aspx?NSID=5&SSLID=46&NID=17721

Chairman, Board members, Agriculture expert, Professors and members are all beside the farmers in project site. Happy harvest

This is for the first time in the country to applying new method to identification of Iranian saffron, product ID, in these pilot areas -south khorasan- thanks for all support.

Lands are wet!

Crop harvest is underway in Zargol saffron farm and our big farmers group in South khorasan. Harvest is about done and row crops are starting to be taken.

After too dry a summer and too cold a winter, it seems that new crop 2011-2012 will be excellent, and won’t be smaller than last year. Our specialized guys are busy to reminder all the organic steps to the farmers and control everything exactly.  We are also working with harvest planners to calculate harvest time for each farm in south khorasan (some farms are marked) The Department of Agriculture is working to ensure that quality standards are being met. We are going to be ready to say welcome to precious flowers

We are planning to produce 8500.kg of zargol saffron TQ, it is Top quality of zargol saffron with the highest coloring >285 unit!!! We have been selling most of this quantity/category in advance!

Everything is perfect, Weather is suitable and it will be quiet cold in near future, November, my favorite month! With the help of Mother Nature, we will provide great produce this upcoming season. We look forward to sharing our farm and the produce it provides with you!

I will write about National festival  – Bringing the Harvest to the Harvest Festival, you know that we will also attending in 6^th national festival with new article and our latest achievement in saffron production and cultivation..

The conference on organic saffron production, the possibilities and exportation, organized by Saffron Council of science and Industry, was held on March 2 and 3 at Birjand Agriculture University under the theme of possibilities, advantages and demands of Organic saffron. A total of about 30 participants gathered during the two-day conference. The conference started with Dr Mohammad Reza Miri, chairman of saffron council, conversation on biological advantages and opportunities in South khorasan.

During the sessions that followed, lively discussions were held on these subjects: Current status of organic farming worldwide, problem, advances, prospect, economy and market.

This Conference serves both as researchers and business men/women to discuss on Organic saffron production, possibilities and its benefits for Persian saffron in global market. The conference was concluded successfully.

Dr Mohammad Ali Behdani, Dr Gholam Reza Zamani and Eng Ali Hosseini were also members of Saffron council that were part of participants.

Dr Koochaki, Dr Rezvani moghaddam, Dr Ghorbani, Dr Vafa bakhsh, Dr Mahmoodi, Eng Se’adati where other participants that were in part of conversation.

Following are the most important and brief summaries of the conference on organic saffron production, the Possibilities and Export :

• Fertilizers promote, consumption of bio fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizer
• Using indigenous knowledge system in the field of saffron production
• Improve fertilization in order to avoid additional contamination
• Designing and Disseminating Ecological Production Systems for organic
• Systematic cooperation between private sector and the government on more researches
• Strict standards in terms of organic formulation

They served us with tasty Jujube and Pistachio..

Oops… We passed more than three months since I was in south khorasan, fifth national festival of saffron,  and I’m just posting. Sorry about that. I was busy with my exams in the university and also had crazy days in the office with a lot of orders!!!!

So, since I’m so late, I’ll keep it short and sweet, I think it had consistently been a great Festival over years, It was great overall :

I really enjoyed, what about you

I love to say Thank you to him every day, He is most merciful, most gracious.

I like this quote that is from William A. Ward :

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.

Have you used one to say

“thank you?”

Thank You

For flowers that bloom about our feet;

For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;

For song of bird, and hum of bee;

For all things fair we hear or see,

For each new morning with its light;

For rest and shelter of the night;

For health and food;

For love and friends;

For everything Thy goodness sends !

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mother Nature has created great beauty….
hmmmm Beautiful.. aren’t they?! I think Saffron flowers are beyond beautiful.

Flowers of crocus sativus

Collected flowers of crocus sativus, the saffron crocus, during the saffron harvest in Qaenat, South khorasan, November 04, 2010

Today In Zargol Saffron farm we collected more than

1500.000 flowers!!

Who can recognize Saffron flowers and Zargol Saffron Cards ?!!!!

Saffron a lovely bright purple with red stigma. Flowering for the first time this year.

The first bloom is glorious, but its repeats are fabulous as well.

Around the 4 of November the field will be an absolute mass of bloom and it was difficult to know where to look first.  This precious flowers went on for 2-3 weeks.

More to follow soon….

IT’S often said to be worth its weight in gold.

And the arrival of autumn means only one thing for many of the inhabitants of South Khorasan and Qaenat province.

With the searing summer heat having passed, villagers will flock to nearby fields and begin the arduous task of plucking purple crocus heads.

These blooms contain striking red stigmas that, when dried, become the much sought after saffron – the world’s most expensive spice.

Only after having gathered about 150 stigmas will there be enough to make just 1g of the spice.

Iran is now the first largest saffron producer in the world !

You actually need 150,000 flowers to produce just one kilo of dry saffron.

So delicate are the stigmas that the production of saffron is now one of the few food processes that are still completely non-mechanised.

The whole chain from harvesting and drying, right up to packaging, is totally done by hand for fear of damaging the delicate stigmas.

Nevertheless, time is still of the essence as – for every hour that passes – the intensity of the colour and the flavour diminishes as well as the value of the spice.

Whole villages therefore fight the back-breaking conditions to collect as much saffron as possible during the three week harvest period.

Once in bloom the flowers are picked – always before sunrise – to reduce any potential damage to the stigma as the petals are still closed.

Working against the clock, the stigmas are immediately cut out and dried in baskets above a heat source.

Thanks to specialist knowledge handed down over generations, Iranian harvesters are highly adept at ensuring their export loses minimal value during the production journey.