All about Sesame > Cultivation

General information

• Family: plant of the Pedaliaceae family
• Climate: hot
• Cultivation: annual
• Soil: ordinary, well-drained
• Height 1 to 1.8 m.

Sesame is a bushy plant with oval, deeply-ribbed light green leaves, 7.5 to 12.5 cm long.

Its gamopetalous, trumpet-shaped flowers are marked with white, pink or mauve and produce pods inside measuring from 1 to 3 cm.

When ripe, the pods burst and release small, flat, oval seeds about 1 mm thick. The seeds are not uniform in colour: they can range from off-white to dark grey, including light orange and honey blond, and contain up to 50% oil.

Outdoor cultivation
Sesame is grown in Asia, particularly India and China, in the Balkans and in Mexico. The plant likes sun. The seeds are sown in the spring in a mixture of earth enriched with compost, 6 mm deep, in rows spaced 60 cm apart. When the plants reach 5 cm in height, the seedlings are thinned out so the plants are 15 to 20 cm apart.

Harvest
Cut the plants off at ground level before the pods burst.

Drying
Place in a bag. When the pods are dry, rub them between your hands to remove the seeds. Keep in a tightly closed container.