Is New Mexico Perfect For Growing The World’s Most Expensive Spice?

New Mexico could be looking at a new cash crop, and farmers at big profits, as the northern New Mexico climate and soil are perfect for the worlds most expensive spice.

Saffron is grown primarily in Iran while the United States of America imports most of its saffron from Spain. It's called "red gold" for a reason ... it's expensive AF.

Saffron is pricey for a couple of reasons, one of which being shipping. Growing it in New Mexico could help lower prices, especially for those saffron lovers closest to the land of enchantment.

By some comparisons, Saffron is more expensive than gold so producing it locally could really be a boon for local farmers.

Why Is Saffron So Expensive?

It's easy to grow but harvesting it is time consuming and removing the "threads" that are the actual spice is super, insanely time consuming. A typical plant, (it only grows on one type of Crocus plant), yields 3 - 4 red threads called "stigma". That's the spice.

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These must be gently pulled from the plant by hand. Easy, right? It better be 'cuz it takes about 75,000 flowers, and hundreds of hours of labor, to produce 1 measly pound of Saffron.

How Much Is It?

Forget drugs, Saffron is where the, (legally obtained), money is.

A kilo of quality Saffron can go for $5 - $10 grand. A single gram runs about $5 at Costco if bought in bulk but other, high quality types can fetch anywhere from $50 - $75 per gram.

Why New Mexico?

The northern New Mexico climate is perfect for these guys and they don't require a lot of water. Being that water is scarce across New Mexico, that's a big plus.

The plants benefit from an arid climate and periods of cold, which help them break out of dormancy and start producing flowers. It’s a low-input crop — it grows quickly, requires little water and can come back year after year. - santafenewmexican

Some farmers in Iran only irrigate 4 times a year.

How Can I Grow It?

Growing it is, apparently, not hard at all ... just plant it, water it and harvest it. In fact, it can grow so quickly that experts recommend peeps start small. The plants can flower daily.

Small, backyard gardens are advised; you can always add more plants as you decide how many you can handle. The bulbs the plant grows from will come back year after year for about 7 years.

Saffron is not only tasty, it also has a number of health benefits.