How to Cultivate a Fenugreek

Choose an area for planting that gets full sun for six to eight hours daily. In late spring, turn and cultivate a 6- to 8-inch planting bed with a shovel and hoe, breaking up clods and and removing rocks as you go.

Amend clay soils with equal parts peat and sand for a loose, well-drained mix. Moisten the soil to a depth of 3 inches before seeding. Drag the point of the hoe in the soil to make shallow rows, 12 inches apart. Sow fenugreek seeds by hand in the rows, and cover lightly with 1/4-inch of soil.

Sprinkle the rows with water from a watering can to disturb the seedbed as little as possible. Fenugreek seeds will germinate in five to seven days. Thin seedlings to 9 inches apart when they are 1 to 2 inches tall.

Spread a 2-inch layer of organic mulch between rows to control weeds, regulate soil temperature and hold moisture in the soil. Cultivate between plants with a spade every three weeks to keep soil from getting compacted.

Harvest fenugreek seeds when pods turn yellow and brittle in early fall, or allow the plants to reseed into the garden. Turn dead stems under with a shovel after the growing season to enrich next year's soil.