Growing your own fresh organic turmeric is extremely easy, whatever the size of your garden. Turmeric can be grown direct in the garden bed or in pots on your apartment balcony. Generally, turmeric is grown in tropical or sub-tropical climates and originally comes from Southeast Asian countries and from India. In colder climates, grow your turmeric indoors or in hothouses.
All parts of the plant are technically edible; however, it is the tuberous rhizomes that are generally harvested and used. Turmeric is used in dahls, curries, pickles and tandoori dishes. It is also used as a natural dye, as it stains cloth, wood and fibre a bright yellow colour. It will also stain your fingers when you chop it up for cooking!
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The first step to cultivating turmeric is to find a source of good quality, organic, fresh turmeric from which to propagate. Turmeric is grown from rhizomes and not from seeds or cuttings. The rhizomes need to be fairly fresh and not completely dried out like the whole turmeric you buy from Indian stores. You can often purchase Turmeric plants from local nurseries or at farmers markets. You will only need one plant to begin propagation, as you will be able to get many more plants started from this one, after only one growing season.
Turmeric is best planted in early spring when the rhizomes will begin to send out small, fresh shoots. This is the time to plant from rhizomes. If you have purchased a turmeric plant, you can plant this directly in garden at any time of the year.
It is always good to have your garden bed prepared in advance of your planting, usually around 3 to 4 weeks in advance. Remember as well, that your beds will grow best if you let them fallow for a season every few years. To prepare your garden for turmeric, it is good to dig over the soil lightly; spread a thin layer of manure, green manure, or compost; and then add a thicker layer of mulch. Water lightly once or twice (if it doesn’t rain) to aid the decomposition, and leave for at least three weeks.
Now you are ready to plant your turmeric! Remember that you will be harvesting the rhizomes, so like other root crops, it is good to have loose, friable soil and to plant at a decent depth. Loosen your soil with a garden fork and plant your rhizomes 20-30 cm into your soil. Another method is to create a few small “hills” in your garden by raking the soil into a mound and plant into this mound. This will allow you to know exactly where your turmeric is. I have planted turmeric in full sun, part shade, and even under a tree canopy and have seen it grow well in all conditions. It is a very hardy plant, and also very attractive, so plant wherever you would like it in your garden. There is no need to water turmeric very often, as it is a drought-tolerant plant.
Turmeric is a perennial plant that will keep growing year after year. It will grow to a metre high at the most, with large, lily-like leaves and a beautiful white or yellow flower in the centre. It flowers during summer.
As turmeric is a sub-tropical and tropical plant, it is attuned to dry winters and wet summers. It generally will die back completely during cool, dry winters and will shoot out new leaves in spring, as the weather warms, and will grow to its full height over summer, when warmth and rain are present. Due to this, people growing indoors or in hothouses need to remember to mimic these conditions: water only during the warm summer months.
Turmeric is best harvested once the aerial parts of the plants have died back. This is generally in winter, and it is best to wait till then to dig up your patch. You can start to “bandicoot” a little earlier and take off a few side rhizomes for your curries. But it is usually best to wait until the plant has disappeared. Then you dig up the whole area and begin again, or you can carefully excavate your turmeric mounds and take the rhizomes on the side, while leaving roots in the ground to grow again. If you leave it completely for a few seasons, you will end up with a big patch of turmeric. I tend to do a bit of both, leaving some patches for a few years, and digging up others completely.
Once I have dug up the turmeric, I use it fresh in food and for dying for a few months, while drying out some pieces for later in the year. You can always powder it and store in jars for a year-long supply. There is usually a big hunk of rhizomes and roots, and I always leave some roots/rhizome pieces to plant again next season. After a few years of doing this, you will have many different patches planted and no end to your turmeric supply. If you leave even the tiniest piece of rhizome in the ground, you will find a new plant there next season.
Turmeric has been used for centuries in India and other parts of Asia as a medicinal plant. Western practitioners are being to wake up to its healing properties. Turmeric is used in wound healing, due to its anti-bacterial properties; which is also why it is often used in food to prevent spoilage. It is also known as a digestive aid, in particular the digestion of fats, as it helps to stimulate bile. It has other healing properties for your internal organs, as it aids in the fight against intestinal parasites and also works to protect your liver from damage.
The Indian healing science of Ayurveda uses turmeric for many conditions and recommends its use in foods. Ayurvedic medicine uses turmeric for purifying the blood, for relieving congestion in the lungs and soothing coughs and asthma. Turmeric is also known to be an anti-inflammatory. It has been shown to help healing swellings and abrasions. There is also data to suggest that this spice has anti-cancer properties and may also help to protect against heart disease.
With so many things going for it, besides how good it tastes, there is more than enough reason to add this plant to your garden, hothouse or window sill. Fresh turmeric from your garden is the very best source of turmeric you will ever get. You will not be disappointed!
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