Earlier last month, I wrote about how to find True Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) plants in Australia and which nurseries stock the real thing. I thought I would write a follow up post with an update on how my cardamom seed pods were doing.
Something very exciting happened on Christmas Day – my cardamom seeds sprouted. It was nature’s Christmas gift to my garden after I had all but resigned myself to the idea that I would not be able to grow cardamom from seed (after about three attempts). I am now pretty certain I have worked out what I was doing wrong the first two times I attempted to grow them. So here are my tips:
- Buy certified organic pods. Regular (non-organic) pods have been treated with radiation and will not germinate. I have tried with non-organic pods and have not had any seeds sprout from these, I found the pods just rotted.
- Be prepared to be patient! I cannot stress this enough. Just wait. Whatever the internet tells you – it can take twice as long for the seed to germinate than some of the guides you will find online. I have found this was true with my tamarind seeds too. Nature does not care about our guides – seeds can lie dormant for quite some time before the conditions are just right.
- Sow in the warmer months and keep moist. Just before and during summer is ideal. Cardamom is a tropical plant and thus loves plenty of water and heat. Midday sun is too much as it is an understorey plant in its native habitat (the Western Ghats of India). I placed the seed trays in my seed raising shelves (which are covered with shade cloth) on the east wall of my house. Have the trays sitting in water as much as possible and top-up when dry. Do not allow for the trays to dry out completely (a shaded spot will assist with this). For a more complete guide on sowing, I recommend referring to this Gardening Australia segment.
After seeing so many videos of cardamom seed failures in Hindi on YouTube (one claims 16 attempts!), I can confirm it is definitely possible for the amateur gardener to grow this exotic and fragrant spice from store bought seeds – as long as they are certified organic, you are patient, and give them the conditions they require.
And you might be pleasantly surprised, I have read that the germination rate on these pods is really low – as you can see from the picture I have had quite a good germination rate from approximately 100 pods. Still not as good as some other plants I grow from seed, but I really can’t complain for half of a 50 gram packet of organic cardamom pods!
Zacaconia Tropical Gardens 