Turmeric

I've been too lazy busy to harvest my turmeric before now, which is very slack of me. Lucky we've had hardly any rain this winter, or they would have rotted. In fact, it was the 20 or so mm of rain we've (finally) had in the last couple of days that got my bum into gear to dig it out.


This is what I got from just one of the three turmeric rhizomes I planted! Not bad, huh? There'd be about 7-800g there I guess after I clear away the roots. The other two rhizomes were just about as big, so I'm really happy with that! I'll be interested to see how much I get out of it by the time I dry it and powder it? We use a lot of turmeric in curries, but only a tiny amount in each, so I'm guessing it will go a fair way to supplying a year's worth for us? I'm also going to try it freshly grated, like ginger, in our next curry. Yum :-)

Next year, like my ginger, I will be growing the turmeric in pots due to space constraints in my garden. I grow a number of other ornamentals gingers (including Curcumas, related to turmeric) very successfully in pots, so I'm not anticipating having any problems. In fact, it should be easier to harvest them - no digging required. And as a bonus I can move the pots to where we can enjoy the pretty white flowers it has at the base of the leaves in summer. You can see these in an old photo below.


If anyone is interested in growing turmeric too, I grew mine from rhizomes I bought from my local organic grocer (the same as I did with the ginger). It needs protection from drying winds, shelter from hot midday sun, good drainage and a reasonable amount of water. It dies down over winter this far south, so I reckon it's worth having a go in frosty areas (although I am by no means an expert, LOL). The rhizomes didn't shoot until early December last year, due to mild weather too by the way, so I wouldn't water it until it shoots to avoid rotting the rhizomes. It's a really pretty plant :-)