Germination temperature
Sow when the soil is above 10 °C (50 °F); grows best at air temperatures of 8-27 °C (46-81 °F).
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Fenugreek is a fast annual legume grown for its leaves (methi) and its seed. Sow it directly in a sunny, well-drained bed in the cool season and cut the first greens about three weeks later.
Sow when the soil is above 10 °C (50 °F); grows best at air temperatures of 8-27 °C (46-81 °F).
About 2 cm (3/4 in); field crops 2-4 cm (1-1.5 in).
Quick in warm, moist soil; leaves can be cut 20-25 days after sowing.
Seed is covered; grow in full sun.
Optional 12-hour soak before sowing.
Direct sow.
Use fresh, plump seed. In India, TNAU treats seed with the biofertilizer Azospirillum and the beneficial fungus Trichoderma viride (4 g per kg of seed) to protect against root rot.
Not needed. Fenugreek seed takes up water readily.
Not needed. Fenugreek is an annual that germinates without a cold period.
Optional. OMAFRA soaks seed for 12 hours before sowing; this speeds up the start, but sow soaked seed into moist soil the same day.
Sow into soil above 10 °C (50 °F). The crop prefers cool to mild weather, 8-27 °C (46-81 °F); in summer heat leaf crops flower early.
About 2 cm (3/4 in) in garden beds. Saskatchewan field crops are seeded 2-4 cm (1-1.5 in) deep into moist soil.
Rich, well-drained loam. Fenugreek grows over a wide pH range (5.3-8.2) but dislikes waterlogging.
Water right after sowing. TNAU irrigates again on day 3 and then every 7-10 days. The crop tolerates heat but not severe drought.
No light needed under the soil; choose a sunny bed.
Seedlings come up quickly in warm, moist soil, and the first leaves are ready 20-25 days after sowing.
Do not transplant. Sow in rows: TNAU uses 20 x 15 cm (8 x 6 in). For bunches of greens, OMAFRA sows in bands about 5 cm (2 in) apart with 30-50 cm (12-20 in) between rows; give seed crops wider spacing.
Thin crowded rows early; the thinned seedlings are eaten as greens.
Keep young plants weed-free; they are small and slow to cover the ground in the first weeks. As a legume, fenugreek fixes part of its own nitrogen once its root nodules form.
Cause: damping-off and root-rot fungi in wet soil. Fix: sow in well-drained beds, avoid overwatering and treat seed with Trichoderma viride; TNAU drenches affected soil with copper oxychloride at 2 g per litre.
Cause: powdery mildew. Fix: at the first signs, spray wettable sulphur at 2 g per litre, as TNAU recommends.
Cause: hot weather. Fix: sow in the cool season and cut greens earlier in summer, before flower buds form.
Cause: Alternaria or Cercospora leaf spot. Fix: rotate beds, avoid overhead watering late in the day and remove badly spotted plants.
TNAU sows in June-July and October-November. The cool post-monsoon sowing suits both greens and seed best.
Dig in well-rotted manure and a balanced NPK fertilizer before sowing; TNAU gives one nitrogen top-dressing 30 days after sowing.
Pull or cut whole young plants 20-25 days after sowing on the Indian plains, or at 30-40 days in cooler climates. Harvest in the cool part of the day and keep bunches shaded.
Leave plants to ripen until the sickle-shaped pods turn brown: about 90-100 days in Tamil Nadu and 105-140 days in Canada. Cut, dry and thresh the pods.
TNAU lists Co 1, Pusa Early Bunching, Lam Selection 1, Rajendra Kranti, Hissar Sonali, RMT-1 and RMT-143.
Sow fenugreek directly in a sunny bed for fresh methi greens in under a month.
Yes, for greens. Sow thickly about 2 cm deep in a pot of free-draining compost in a sunny spot and cut the young plants after 3-4 weeks.
TNAU recommends June-July and October-November. The cool season after the monsoon gives the best leaves and seed.
Only lightly and only while young. It needs a frost-free period to flower and ripen seed.
Leave part of the bed uncut. Plants flower and form long, sickle-shaped pods that turn brown at maturity, about 90-100 days after sowing in Tamil Nadu. Cut the plants, dry them in the shade and thresh out the seed.