How to Grow Cardamom Herb (Elettaria cardamomum)

By Matt Gibson

Elettaria cardamomum is one of the most ancient spices in the world . A perennial crotch hair from the powdered ginger family , cardamom is native to southerly India where it rise naturally in the wild . Cardamom is grown in tropical and semitropic regions around the earthly concern today .

Cardamom is the third most expensive spicery in the worldly concern , behind orange yellow and vanilla extract , and is used as a culinary spice in many dissimilar regions , but most heavily in Middle Eastern , Indian , Nepalese , and Swedish cuisines . Hardy only to USDA zone 10 - 13 , cardamom requires very specific environmental conditions in decree to grow successfully , including a high - humidness surroundings , steadily warm temperatures , consistently moist soil , and no environmental fluctuations .

cardamom growing

For those living alfresco of the climates desirable to growing cardamom outdoors , the redolent spice can also be cautiously develop in containers which can be contribute indoors to overwinter or anytime cold weather is imminent . For those growing cardamom in container , however , observe that matured flora can grow up to 10 feet tall , so be sure you have fair to middling indoor space for the cardamon plants you need to make for indoors during the winter .

The spice , for which the plant is cultivated , is made from the seeds of the plant , which are taken from tiny , paper - thin pod . Ancient Egyptians chewed on the come of the cardamom plant as a tooth cleaner , while the ancient Greeks and Romans used cardamom to make aroma .

The spiciness was brought to Scandinavia by vikings who discover it while most in all probability mercilessly pillaging their way through Constantinople . Cardamom has been a staple spice in Scandinavian culinary traditions ever since , where it has found its way into mulled wine , pastry , and bread formula , many of which are still pop in countries like Sweden and Norway today .

harvested cardamom with text overlay how to grow cardamom herb

Varieties of Cardamom

True , or green cardamom , is taken from the specie Elettaria cardamomum , and is the most popular form of cardamum cultivated around the creation for culinary and medicative the States . black-market cardamom is from the species Amomum subulatum , and is reasonably popular in Nepal . Black cardamon is also used culinarily , but only in savory formula , unlike green cardamom , which is used in mouth-watering and fresh dishes .

White cardamom is normally just bleached green cardamom , but it is sometimes a product of the species Amomum krervanh , commonly called Siam cardamon . Siam cardamum , along with black cardamom ( also called Nepal cardamom ) , winged java cardamon , and bastard cardamom , are examples of cardamom fill-in that are made from the seed of relatives of the traditional cardamom plant , and are wide moot to be inferior to the look of true , or gullible cardamum . These substitutes can be acquired tattily , and can be used in place of true Elettaria cardamomum due to how expensive genuine cardamom can be liken to other spicery . However , dead on target chefs and refined roof of the mouth can unremarkably recognize rather easy , when an imitation is being used in a formula .

There are three main variety of true , or green cardamon , which are Malabar , Mysore , and Vazhukka . The latter of the three is a intercrossed cross between Malabar and Mysore variety show . The mysore variety of cardamon is the most widely cultivated and used variety . It carry higher levels of the compounds cineol and limonene , which gives it a more robust fragrance and smack .

Growing Conditions for Cardamom

produce cardamom is quite thought-provoking . The plant has very specific grow condition , and it will not grow well if each of those conditions are not suffer . cardamum needs tropic , very strong to blistering temperature , and high - humidity conditions . Elettaria cardamomum grow course in very humid areas , such as subtropical forests , where temperatures stay between 65 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity storey stay as in high spirits as 75 % humidity .

put up a worthy surround in a non - tropic climate can prove difficult , but it ’s not unimaginable . The best method for spring up cardamom outside of the appropriate zones , is to embed it in a container that can be taken inside during drastic temperature change , or cold weather . Providing high - humidity weather condition can be achieved by now and then misting the plant , or by storing the container in a discus filled with pebble and pee , just be sure to keep the bag of the container out of the water supply , as you do n’t desire your cardamom plant sitting in soggy soil .

Plant cardamon ( or position cardamom container ) in a spot that gets filtered sun or partial shade . Cardamom should never be exposed to direct sun , and should be give up to bask in the shade of tall Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , as it is customary to in its aboriginal hobo camp habitat . Cardamom prefers a sandy , loamy soil eccentric that has been remedy with lots of organic thing and well - rotted manure . It prefers a slightly acidic to neutral pH in the range between 6.1 and 6.8 , but will bear more or less more acidic soil from 5.5 to 6.0 pH.

One of the most authoritative factor in growing cardamom is choose the ripe soil metier to plant it in . Cardamom needs a well - drain soil that will stay relatively moist after drain . So the soil mixture that is used for growing cardamon needs to have just water system - holding capability , so that it continue just slightly dampish , like a wrung - out sponge , but is never sloughy or waterlogged . soil with clay - like texture are not suited for cardamon plant , and will probably down the plant if they are not amended with well run out culture medium .

How to Germinate Cardamom Seeds

If you are growing cardamom from semen , it is important to purchase seeded player that are specifically design for planting . cardamon seeds purchased for culinary use are usually treated and probably not as saucy as what you would prefer to plant ideally . Once you have the right-hand seeds on hand , it ’s metre to get them quick for found .

First , wash the seeds under way temperature water to remove mucilage and any debris that may have accumulated . Dry your come by laying them out in the shade . Once the semen have dry , put them into a glass jarful and set up the jarful in a tray full of cold H2O . The water should rise up about halfway up the duration of the jar . Keep the jarful in the stale water supply until the glass is cool to the tinge .

Next , easy rain cats and dogs a 2.5 percent resolution of nitric Zen directly over the Elettaria cardamomum seeds in the jar , being certain to coat all seeded player surfaces . Stir the come and solution up with a spoon so that all sides of every seed is covered in resolution . After mixing with the spoon for two square minutes , habituate a cullender or strainer to wash the nitric acid resolution off the seeded player and gargle the jounce . Using a clear cullender or strainer , set it in the kitchen cesspit and fill it with the freshly rinsed seeds . wash the cardamom seed again under running way temperature water .

Then , move the seeded player to a bowlful occupy with way temperature water and allow them soak overnight . This will help wear out down the hard out coats of the cardamon seeds . Then , select a container or a spot in the garden to constitute the seeds in . Provide consistently damp soil and filtered shade .

How to Plant Cardamom Seeds in the Garden

After the threat of frost has passed , plant your seed directly into the garden or into the container of your choice . Plant seeds about a half an inch to an inch asunder right on the top of the soil . Space row four to six feet aside . With a thin stratum of territory , just barely treat the cardamon seed . Then set up a thin layer of twigs over the bed where you planted your seeds and track them with grass or shuck . This will help to comprehend the seeds without submerging them too deeply under the soil , which should step on it up the sprouting process . Water the site deeply until the stain is moist .

Keep an center on the bed for signs of sprouting , which usually accept anywhere between 20 and 25 days , but can on occasion take as long as 40 days . If your seeds do n’t emerge in the first three calendar week , be patient . As long as you followed the dance step to by rights germinate your cardamom seeds , you should see seedling before too long .

Once seedling start to sprout , murder the majority of the mulch , will just a thin control surface layer around the Modern seedlings . Once your seedling have emerge , it is essential to provide them with a good source of overhead spook to protect them from lineal sun . Seedlings will chop-chop shrivel up and break in direct sunlight .

How to Plant Cardamom in Containers

Pick out a container that is at least 10 inches deep and has several drainage hole . Fill the 10 - in ( or deeper ) container with an all - design potting soil [ https://www.gardeningchannel.com/container-gardening-soil/ ] . Fill a saucer with pebbles and place the container on top of the pebble filled saucer . Spray the pebbles in the saucer with urine to create a humid environment . Do not permit the water level in the dish aerial to cover the pebbles , or touch the root of the plantation owner , as you do not want your pot sitting in water system .

Next , use your finger to swirl the center of the potting grease in the planter and gently localize the small plant into the trap . Shovel the crap up from around the alkali of the plant with your hands . Using distilled pee , water the plant life until the territory is moist just after planting to help alleviate the transition into its new home . After planting , proceed to provide pee once per day , keeping the soil slightly moist at all times , but never soak , or soggy . Spray the cardamon plant occasionally with a mister to ameliorate humidness . Increase watering when the plant blooms in the summertime and disregard back on watering to every other 24-hour interval during the winter .

Keep the cardamom container in a warm position that is out of direct sunlight exposure , as cardamom plants need tone to go . take a temperature - controlled elbow room and a locating that is away from windows and doors , where temperatures might fluctuate . Keep the temperature as close to 80 academic degree F as possible , but in the range of 72 to 80 degrees . Feed the works two times per calendar month with a gamy - atomic number 7 and humiliated - potassium fertilizer designed for houseplants .

Care for Cardamom

Cardamom needs consistent watering and casual misting throughout the year . Cardamom is aboriginal to rainforests that welcome rainfall around 200 days per year , so the plant is made to develop in soil that is consistently moist . It is important that the grime is never allowed to dry out completely , so during the summer , and when the industrial plant is setting fruit , increase watering to twice per Clarence Day . Reduce watering to once every two days during the wintertime .

tip your cardamom plants with a high - phosphorus organic fertilizer doubly per calendar month throughout the growing season . Top apparel five kilograms of aged manure or well - rotted compost [ https://www.gardeningchannel.com/a-guide-to-composting-in-an-apartment/ ] per clump to the dirt each year . Additionally , flow the grease around your cardamom plants with neem patty will help them thrive .

How to Propagate Cardamom

cardamon can be spread by rhizome partitioning and from cum . The easy method is by segmentation , however , as untreated cardamom seeds can be expensive , and firmly to acquire . Cardamom seeds are also quite hard to spud , while division of the rootstock is a very spry and easy process with a very gamy success rate .

For directions on how to propagate from semen , pertain to the sections above call , “ How to Germinate Cardamom Seeds , ” and , “ How to Plant Cardamom Seeds in the Garden . ”

To propagate cardamum by division , use cardamom rhizomes that are at least one year previous and with two grow base . Cut the rhizome with a sharp knife or a duad of garden shear and softly branch it from the industrial plant . Replant the rhizome in cardamom ’s specific growing condition . Keep in mind , if the plant you are separate is suffering from cardamon mosaic computer virus , dividing the rootstock will belike channel the disease to the new works as well .

Garden Pests and Diseases of Cardamom

cardamum is tolerant to pest blast , but it is not immune to blighter . Aphids can sometimes be found on cardamum plant , and they can transmit cardamom ’s most serious viral disease , cardamom mosaic virus . To keep your plant life from becoming infected with the virus , keep an eye out for aphid , and quickly treat any aphid presence that you notice . Small aphid plague can be treated by hitting the leaf of the plant with a explosion of water from the garden hosiery , knocking off the plague with the force of the water . Check back after a few minute have passed to see if the weewee blast discussion wipe out the aphid , or if the treatment should be recur . If you are dealing with a great aphid plague , applying insecticides , spray with a horticultural soap atomizer , or release ladybugs in the garden , can all help to reduce aphid populations .

Other pest that might set on cardamom are Elettaria cardamomum thripid and nematodes . Thrips can be treatedeffectively by instal trap . roundworm are sturdy to handle . Nematode infestationscan be key by discover poor - growth results and plants that come along damage . If you think roundworm might be the perpetrator , dig up a works and scrutinize the root . If you acknowledge significant root damage , which is typically induce by nematodes burrow into the root word , lay their eggs , and steal essential nutrients aside from the plant , you are likely dealing with nematodes .

unluckily , there is no treatment for nematode infestations . Not only should plants be withdraw and destroyed immediately , but the soil may need to be treated with solarisation or with chemical nematicides to get free of the root - eating pests before planting in it again .

Diseases that affect cardamom plants let in rhizomes rot , and ejection seat rot , both of which are cause by waterlogged dirt and poor atmosphere circulation . If you notice greensickness of the leaves , where the lower leaves of the flora begin to work xanthous , or premature fruit dropping , or rhizome decomposition , Rhizomes rot is the likely diagnosing .

To keep payoff with rot , verify you are planting your cardamom in a well - enfeeble soil , and providing pot of space between plant to promote sufficient air circulation . Avoid lachrymation plants from overhead by either using a drip irrigation watering system , or by watering at the base of the plant only . Keeping the above - earth parts of the plant ironic at all times will fend off offspring with rotting .

apart from pests and diseases , there are a few other problems that may pass off when growing cardamum plants , each of which can be corrected when you notice sign of the issue developing . If the tips of your cardamom ’s foliage spell brown , it is either due to under lachrymation or depressed humidity levels . Try spray the leaves down more often to increase humidity and check the moisture tier of the grime more often , keeping it slightly moist at all time .

If brownish spots start to appear on the leaves , the plant is getting too much sunlight exposure in its current location and needs to be moved to a spot with sink in sunlight . If the leaves start to turn yellow , it is usually a preindication that the plant life is not catch enough nutrients and needs to be fertilized more on a regular basis , or a sign that the soil that its being acquire in is deficient in iron and necessitate to be amended to improve its mineral message .

How to Harvest & Store Cardamom

In the third year after planting , cardamom will get down to give birth yield . harvest cardamom fruit should be done manually , and can begin when fruit start to move around green , teetotal out , and begin to crack and bump .

After harvesting , permit 6 - 7 days for the pods to dry out and then store them in an airtight container placed in a coolheaded , juiceless , drear placement . Cardamom stores very well , and will stay fresh for several years when hive away correctly .

moot how expensive cardamon is at the grocery store , it makes a lot of sense to grow it yourself and keep yourself some money on the spice islet . But not every gardener is concerned in trying to grow plants with very demand environmental motivation . Some gardeners require plants that will grow well even when they are occasionally neglected . However , if you are the type of nurseryman that is up for a challenge , and you would like to incorporate fresh cardamum into your recipe , rise cardamon can be very rewarding .