If you relish Aloo Methi, Methi Paratha and Gajar Methi in winter, it’s a good idea to grow their common ingredient — Methi or Fenugreek — in your own backyard.
While in India, Fenugreek is generally used as a condiment for flavouring, they have been used as food and medicine since ancient times in their native Ethiopia and the temperate regions of southern Europe and Mediterranean.
In 1878, German Egyptologist George Ebers unearthed papyrus written around 1550 BC which mentioned fenugreek as an ingredient in the Egyptians’ cosmetics, ointments, food and incense.
Their “holy smoke” known as kuphi contained a fair amount of Fenugreek. Antiseptic produced from this incense, not only helped preserve their mummies but it also disinfected their houses and places of worship.
But as far as it is known, there have not been any reference of Methi found in any ancient Indian literature. So it was probably Mughal emperor Akbar who started growing Methi in his gardens in Lahore.
In ancient times, some Indian communities believed that lactating mothers should add some Methi in their diet. This belief originated from the experience of farmers, who found that the milk yield of Fenugreek-eating cattle improved.
They also found that hay that had gone bad could be revived by mixing with some straw made from dried Methi. This technique was also used by the ancient Greeks. In fact, this is why Methi is called Fenugreek, meaning “Greek Hay”.
Fenugreek, a cool-season crop, is an erect, strongly-scented, robust, annual herb, about 30 to 100cm tall. It is quick-growing and produces upright shoots initially. It has compound leaves of light green colour, 2 to 2.5cm long. Fenugreek produces two or three white flowers at the base of each leaf but when the plant grows tall, yellow flowers appear on its crown.
In India, the Methi varieties that produce high yield are Rajendra Kanti, Hissar Sonali and Vallabh Chinki.
Climate and soil
Fenugreek needs moderately cool climate for proper growth and high yield. Cloudy weather and high humidity, particularly during its active growth phase, increase the chance of pest attack, causing less yield.
Fertile and well-drained loamy or sandy loam soils are best for its cultivation. However it can be grown in all types of soil that are rich in organic matter with good drainage.
Growing method
Add farmyard manure or compost at 10-15 tones/ha at the time of yield preparation. A dose of 50kg of nitrogen and 50kg of phosphate per hectare should be mixed in the soil at the time of sowing. If the soil fertility is high, the dose of nitrogen may be reduced.
The period between the last week of October and the first week of November is ideal sowing time for Fenugreek. It is grown as a rabi season crop.
In the south it is grown both as kharif and rabi crop. In case of kharif crop, sowing should be done between the second fortnight of June and July-end. A seed rate of 18-22kg/ha is optimum. The sowing should be done 30cm apart in rows with a plant-to-plant spacing of 10cm. The depth of seeds should not exceed 5cm. Methi may take 5-6 days to germinate.
Post-care
Two sessions of hoeing and weeding each are enough to keep the crop well-aerated and weed-free. Frequent irrigation is necessary for obtaining quick growth of the crop. Ample moisture in the soil keeps the plants succulent and gives allows more numbers of cuttings as and when required.
Harvesting and storing
Generally young Methi shoots are nipped off and a number of cuttings are taken. The leaves, if allowed to over mature, may taste bitter. Later on the whole plant is often pulled out, bunched and marketed. For obtaining seeds harvesting should be done when the lower leaves start shedding and pods become yellowish.
In this case harvesting should be done by cutting the plants with scissors. Delay in harvesting may lead to shattering of seeds. After drying the harvested plants are tied in bundles and allowed to dry. After proper drying, the grains are separated by thrashing and if the farming is being done on a large scale, cleaned will be done using mechanical separators.
Uses
Besides dishes like Methi Paratha, the herb forms an ingredient of curry powder. Dried Fenugreek seeds, apart from their use as spices, have medicinal value too. Seeds soaked overnight are a traditional tonic that controls arthritis, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Fenugreek leaves have excellent medicinal virtues.
S.K. Maiti, patron of Bidhannagar
Horticultural Society and a civil engineer residing in FC Block,
offers guidance on choosing trees to suit Salt Lake’s soil and climate
Send in your gardening queries.
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