How to Grow Sesame seeds

Sesame plants are actually quite beautiful. They have attractive dark-green leaves and tubular flowers that can be white or pale pink. Mature plants can grow 3 to 6 feet tall, depending on the variety, and the seeds are collected from the dried seed pods at the end of the growing season.

 Growing:

• Sesame will grow to a height of approximately 3', with narrow dark leaves and tubular flowers which can be white, pink, lavender or light blue.  
• Sesame prefers full sun and well-drained soil.

Harvesting:

• Manual harvesting of homegrown sesame seeds is best done by carefully plucking the seed pods off the plants. Place the pods on newspapers to dry. Once the pods are brittle and fully dried, crack them open gently to release the seeds. You can separate the chaff by sifting the seeds through a colander or running a fan over the seeds to blow off the dried seed pod pieces.
• Flowers of sesame plants bloom in order up the stem 40 to 50 days after sowing the seeds, stretching the stem upward. Its trumpet-shaped flowers in several colors such as white, pink and violet come out from the base of its leaves. “Capsules” closely packed with seeds are produced 30 to 40 days after the flowers fall. When these capsules are dried, they split open and grains inside the capsules jump out. So sesame plants are reaped before all capsules ripen and pop, and seeds are harvested due to beating the plants, which have been dried against a wall. These seeds are sesame.

Maintaining:

Sesame is best started indoors 4 weeks prior to the last frost of spring. Seeds should be sown in a lightweight potting medium, approximately 1/4" or less beneath the surface of the soil. Keep moist.

Using Sesame Seeds:

Store completely dried sesame seeds in sealed glass jars in a dark cupboard. You can also freeze sesame seeds for longer storage.Sesameseeds can be eaten raw or toasted.