THE DELICIOUS SESAME SEED, NOT ONLY A SEASONING AGENT WHEN TOASTED, BUT A HIGH PROTEIN ENTREE, as HUMMOS and pitta or DIP.
This DYNAMITE tasty herb /seed was mega favored by the Babylonians
and Assyrians many years ago. MIDDLE EASTERN restaurants to this day feature
it as a toasted topping or as HUMMOS, that bean paste you eat on pieces
of PITA BREAD! They make it into TAHINI a kind of loose peanut butter and
slop it over the delicious fried GARBANZO bean balls that they call FALAFEL.
(served in split pita with pickle, salad, tomato, WOW! And INCREDIBLY good
for the body as super high in calcium.)
Sesame started off as an ancient oilseed, first recorded as a crop in Babylon and Assyria over 4,000 years ago. The crop has since spread from the Fertile Crescent of the Ancient Near East to be grown in many parts of the world on over 5 million acres. They turned 'toasted sesame seeds' into oil for that insanely tasty flavor. I slash a little of that oil into any stewed meat i make.
The biggest area of production is currently believed to be India, but the crop is also grown in China, Korea, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, South America and several countries in Africa. U.S. commercial production reportedly began in the 1950s. Acreage in the U.S., primarily in Texas and southwestern states, has ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 acres in recent years; however, the U.S. imports more sesame than we grow. It would take at least 100,000 acres of sesame in the U.S. just to meet domestic demand, and production on more acres could be exported.
Thomas Jefferson recognized the potential of sesame when he grew it in test plots (he referred to it as beni or benne), and HIS GROUP PUT OUT THE BEST GROWING INFORMATION. 200 years later we have done little to develop this crop in the U.S. and prices reflect it. An Ounce Bag is a buck! That is a costly spice! So right now it would make a fabulous cash crop for gentlemen farmers. The delicate pods which shatter at the touch prevent MACHINERY from doing harvesting. So you'll rule the marketplace. This seed should be HAND HARVESTED meaning big agri business farms aren't going to get into it. You'll rule the marketplace!
Sesame seeds are unusually high in oil, around 50% of the seed weight, compared to 20% seed oil in soybeans. Sesame is a fairly high value food crop, being harvested both for whole seed used in baking, and for the cooking oil extracted from the seed. This warm season annual crop is primarily adapted to areas with long growing seasons and well drained soils. It is considered drought tolerant, but needs good soil moisture to get established. Sesame has been researched extensively in Missouri and seems to be well adapted to our growing conditions.
RECIPES: The ancients would pound the seed into peanutbutter add lemon, coriander, toasted sesame oil, garlic and twice the amt of garbanzo beans and call it hummus. It is very high in calcium and is a fabulous FAMINE FOOD FOR FARMERS.Sesame craves well-drained and fertile soil, but don't add too much nitrogen.
Sesame grows nicely from direct seedings after the last frost. If you plant your sesame outdoors, space rows 27 to 40 inches apart. Soil must be perfectly friable. Any crusting and the seed won't be able to push through it. Although this herb can tolerate dry conditions, it requires adequate moisture for germination and early growth. It also does not like strong winds. So fence your garden, plot or do a tree-surround.
Days to Harvest: 90-150
Days to Germinate: 8-15
FOUND ON THE INTERNET: Sesame [Sesamum indicum (L.)] is a broadleaf plant that grows about 5 to 6 feet tall, with height dependent on the variety and growing conditions. Large, white, bell-shaped flowers, each about an inch long, appear from leaf axils on the lower stem, then gradually appear up the stem over a period of weeks as the stem keeps elongating. Depending on the variety, either one or three seed capsules will develop at each leaf axil. Seed capsules are 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, with 8 rows of seeds in each capsule. Some varieties are branched, while others are unbranched.
The light colored seeds are small and flat, with a point on one end.
Seed size varies, but one report indicates that sesame has roughly
15,000 seeds per pound. Since the flowering occurs in an indeterminate
fashion, seed capsules on the lower stem are ripening while the upper
stem is still flowering. The lowest flowers on a stem may not develop
into pods, but pods will generally begin 12 to 24 inches off the ground
and continue to the top of the stem. Sesame is a long season crop,
taking about 125 to 135 days from planting to maturity in Missouri.
If
planted in early June, leaf drop will usually occur in early October,
and the stem will begin drying down. Plants stand upright reasonably
well with sturdy stems, but strong winds can force the plant into a
leaning position late in the season. When Pods look dry, pick and
harvest over newspaper, popping the pods. Watch out they don't run
away
and open on you spilling on the ground. Sesame Gardening Tips and Advice
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/sesame.html
http://www.organicgardentips.com/how_to_grow_sesame.html
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