Last edited by CloCkWeRX on November 11, 2026. View history
Grains Of Paradise
A variety of ginger
How to sow grains of paradise: Direct seed roots outdoors
Sun requirement for grains of paradise: Plant in Partial Sun
Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice (ground or whole); it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is also known as melegueta pepper, Guinea grains, ossame, or fom wisa, and is sometimes confused with alligator pepper.
Aframomum melegueta is an herbaceous perennial plant native to swampy habitats along the West African coast. Its trumpet-shaped, purple flowers develop into pods 5–7 cm (2–3 in) long, containing numerous small, reddish-brown seeds.
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Grains of paradise facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For grains of paradise, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 10°C and a shortest growing cycle of 270 days at its best temperature, about 3915 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your grains of paradise will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
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Grains of paradise crops
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Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 270 to 365 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Aframomum melegueta Schumann
| Family / Taxonomy | Liliopsida Zingiberidae Zingiberales Zingiberaceae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | perennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | heavy, medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | moderate |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours) |
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