How to Grow Sesame UK

Quick Facts

Factor	Value
Soil pH	5.5 - 8
Germination temp	30°C
Time to harvest	75-150 days
Soil texture	Most cultivars are salt-sensitive and do poorly on gravelly or sandy soils
Drainage	Well-drained
Lifecycle	Frost-tender annual; growth is delayed below 20°C and inhibited entirely below 10°C.

Soil & Growing Conditions

Water: Low; 500-650 mm evenly distributed through the growing season

Soil pH range

5.5 8

Span reflects genuine variation between the cited authorities, not a single agreed figure.

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: Capsules split as they dry and shed the seed, so the crop is cut before they are fully ripe and finished under cover. PROTA gives 75-150 days, typically 100-110.

Sesame through the season

The seed

Golden and black. Both come from the same species; the colour is cultivar, not species.

In flower

PROTA gives flowering 42-45 days after sowing under ten-hour days. Sesame is a short-day plant.

The flower

Tubular and carried in the leaf axils, opening white or pink up the stem.

Flower detail

The speckled throat guides insects in. Cultivars vary from white through to deep pink.

Pollination

Sesame is largely self-pollinating but readily worked by bees, and is a useful late nectar source in hot climates.

The whole plant

An erect annual carrying capsules up the stem. Maturity comes 75-150 days after sowing, typically 100-110.

Why it is cut early

The capsules split as they dry and shed the seed, so the crop is cut slightly before full ripeness and stood in stooks to finish.

Drying in the field

Stooks are later inverted over sheets so the seed falls out as the capsules open.

Carrying the crop

Handled gently: every knock at this stage costs seed.

Threshed

ALLERGEN: sesame is a major regulated allergen in the UK, EU and USA. Reactions can be severe -- label anything you share.

What the research guides add

Sesame is a tropical crop that needs five frost-free months, so the useful question for a cooler garden is how long your warm season really is.

• Because sesame is of tropical origin, it performs best where temperatures stay high through a growing season of 110 to 150 frost-free days. (Texas A&M AgriLife)
• Seed does not germinate well when the soil is below 70°F, and growth is held back by cool temperatures even after the stand is established. Texas A&M says soil temperature is a better planting cue than the calendar: plant once the soil at 8 inches averages 68°F at 8 a.m. for ten days. (Texas A&M AgriLife)
• Commercial varieties take 90 to 110 days from planting to physiological maturity, and growth and fruiting are favoured by average daily temperatures of 86 to 92°F. (Texas A&M AgriLife)
• Plants usually reach about 2 feet (up to 4 feet) in a garden, the seedpods shatter when mature and spill their seed, and the plant is drought tolerant but does not do well when soils are too moist. (UF/IFAS)
• The flowers attract a wide range of pollinators, including bumble bees. (UF/IFAS)

Sources for this section

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo: Sesame Production Guide
• University of Florida IFAS: Sesame (Gardening Solutions)

Section researched and checked on 24 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.

References

1. Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA) - Sesamum indicum (PROTA)
2. Useful Tropical Plants (tropical.theferns.info) - Sesamum indicum

2 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.