Sesame

Sesamum indicum

herb

Sesame is one of the oldest cultivated oilseed crops, a heat-loving annual grown for the small, flat, nutty, oil-rich seeds packed inside upright capsules along the stem. Slender plants two to four feet tall carry tubular foxglove-like flowers, white to pale pink, followed by the capsules. It is famously one of the most drought-tolerant crops in the world, but it pays for that with a demand for heat: it needs a long, hot season of roughly 110 to 150 frost-free days and warm soil, so it suits southern gardens or the hottest stretch of summer farther north.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Pepper — Shares the heat and full sun sesame demands
• Eggplant — Another heat-lover with the same season and spacing
• Corn — A tall companion that does not shade the sun-hungry sesame

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Encourage ladybugs and lacewings and hose off colonies on tender tips

• Whiteflies →

  Use yellow sticky traps and avoid excess nitrogen that draws them

🌾 Harvest & storage

The challenge with sesame is shattering: ripe capsules split open on their own and spill the seed, so timing matters. Watch the lowest capsules and cut the whole stalks when they turn brown and just begin to split but before they shatter. Hang the stalks upside down inside a paper bag or over a cloth in a dry, airy place, and over a week or two the drying capsules drop their seed to collect and winnow. A few weeks of dry weather at season end makes the job far easier, and since wet seed spoils quickly, keep the harvested seed dry until cured.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Sesame seeds are nutritional powerhouses, roughly half oil by weight and rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats, plant protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc, along with the lignans sesamin and sesamolin that act as antioxidants. They are the base of tahini and sesame oil, and toasting brings out their nutty flavor. Because the hull holds much of the calcium and fiber, unhulled seeds are the most nutritious form, while the oil concentrates the fats.