Hi,
I was thinking about giving Ginger a shot this year. I buy organic roots sometimes and I like to put a little knob in my smoothie or juicing it. Today I saw some Turmeric roots and got 2 pieces. Anyone grow Turmeric? Would be awesome to grow both of them. From what I read about ginger it prefers filtered sun and moist soil. But I read Turmeric likes full sun, and will tolerate some shade.
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PunkRotten
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lorax
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Honestly, as long as you give them light and water (and soil with good drainage), both Ginger and Turmeric are very easy to grow and hassle-free plants.
I think Applestar has a thread out there somewhere on starting grocery-store ginger; the same methods will apply to Turmeric if you can find rhizomes.
I think Applestar has a thread out there somewhere on starting grocery-store ginger; the same methods will apply to Turmeric if you can find rhizomes.
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PunkRotten
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I am on zone 9/10 so I could possibly grow them outdoors. I have read they would grow fine in these zones but then I read they won't tolerate anything lower than 65F. It gets to the low 40s coldest time of the year here. Perhaps they will go dormant and not die? Could they be grown as a houseplant? I wouldn't really be able to give them much light though. Maybe some filtered light at most.
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PunkRotten
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lorax
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I'd get all three - Galangal doesn't have very showy flowers, but the leaves are beyond awesome for wrapping rice and dumplings, and the rhizome has a very definite, strong flavour that's useful if you cook Indian, Lao, Thai, Nepali, Bhutanese, Tibetan, or western Chinese foods. Dried Galangal root is also a key flavour in properly-blended chai.
In terms of your winter temps, 40 C will kill the rhizomes, but you can lift them in the fall like you would bulbs (say, daffodils or whatever) and store them in a cool, dry, dark place, wrapped up in leaves or newsprint until the temperatures come up again. You can also grow the plants in pots, but that's more challenging if you can't provide them with lots of light. The advantage of lifting the rhizomes in the fall is that you can choose how many to save and how many to put in the pantry for cooking use....
In terms of your winter temps, 40 C will kill the rhizomes, but you can lift them in the fall like you would bulbs (say, daffodils or whatever) and store them in a cool, dry, dark place, wrapped up in leaves or newsprint until the temperatures come up again. You can also grow the plants in pots, but that's more challenging if you can't provide them with lots of light. The advantage of lifting the rhizomes in the fall is that you can choose how many to save and how many to put in the pantry for cooking use....
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PunkRotten
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DoubleDogFarm
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PunkRotten
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lorax
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I'm of absolutely no help for planting and harvesting in temperate zones. For tropical me, I plant when I've got sprouting rhizomes, and harvest when the patch looks too thick.
ETA - I've also never experimented with the lowest tolerable soil temps (the lowest my soil hits is about 55, which doesn't affect my gingers and their relatives any), but I'd expect 40 F to probably be the lowest that would be marginally safe for them. Galangal is one of the hardiest of the gingers and will probably be fine, but Turmeric is definitely a tropical and will be adversely affected by cool temps. True ginger falls in the middle.
An experiment to do would be to plant a bunch, then leave a few rhizomes in the soil over the winter and lift the rest - that way you'll see exactly what your winter does to the plants and know what to do in subsequent seasons.
Eric - if you're tempted to start growing the gingers, you wouldn't want to also check out Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet, a sweeter ginger flavour) and White Ladies/Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium coronarium, which is simulntaneously sweeter and hotter than true ginger, and has purple rings in the rhizome).... With those two plus true ginger, turmeric, and galangal, you'd have five of the best-tasting members of the Ginger family, all of which have different cooking applications. If you can get either of these to bloom, the flowers are excellent in salads.
ETA - I've also never experimented with the lowest tolerable soil temps (the lowest my soil hits is about 55, which doesn't affect my gingers and their relatives any), but I'd expect 40 F to probably be the lowest that would be marginally safe for them. Galangal is one of the hardiest of the gingers and will probably be fine, but Turmeric is definitely a tropical and will be adversely affected by cool temps. True ginger falls in the middle.
An experiment to do would be to plant a bunch, then leave a few rhizomes in the soil over the winter and lift the rest - that way you'll see exactly what your winter does to the plants and know what to do in subsequent seasons.
Eric - if you're tempted to start growing the gingers, you wouldn't want to also check out Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet, a sweeter ginger flavour) and White Ladies/Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium coronarium, which is simulntaneously sweeter and hotter than true ginger, and has purple rings in the rhizome).... With those two plus true ginger, turmeric, and galangal, you'd have five of the best-tasting members of the Ginger family, all of which have different cooking applications. If you can get either of these to bloom, the flowers are excellent in salads.
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PunkRotten
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So generally ginger and turmeric are planted in Spring and harvested in Fall? I was reading how it takes a good 10 months for them to be fully mature, but harvesting around 4-6 months will give you baby ginger. How long do you get your turmeric and ginger rhizomes to store?
I got a few rhizomes of each now but doubt they will store till Spring. So I may just order or go looking for fresh rhizomes in the Spring.
I got a few rhizomes of each now but doubt they will store till Spring. So I may just order or go looking for fresh rhizomes in the Spring.