Turmeric Atop a Concrete Slab

Here's some photos of my turmeric patch growing in 6 inches of garden soil atop a solid concrete slab. After I had already done it, I was told that it couldn't be done. I'll tell you tomorrow how it is done. 

This turmeric patch is doing the best of all my turmeric gardens. The spot has had very fresh additions of manure/compost, is kept constantly mulched with grass clippings that are refreshed monthly, gets dappled sun with late afternoon shade. The ground stays moist. This year we've had almost daily light rain, which might have helped. 

The patch is 324 square feet. The soil depth is no more than 6 inches, less in a few spots. Inspite of the shallow soil, the turmeric is thriving. That black vertical stick in the photo is a hoe handle that's 4 1/2 foot long. That's gives you an idea of how tall the plants are......mostly 3 1/3 to 4 foot tall. 

The plants are lush, robust, green, well leaved, and all bloomed. They are not ready yet for harvesting, but I'm eager to see how the crop turns out. It will be at least another month or two before harvest. 

Turmeric - Reader Comments

Hers a few of the comments generated by my last turmeric post.....

From "S"...

"Thanks for the turmeric post....answered a bunch of question I didn't know I needed to ask.  Do your's flower?"

Some of my plants flowered this year, perhaps about 25%. Last year only one flowered. And the year before that, zero. Don't know the exact reason for this trend but it would either have to do with the improved soil fertility or the weather, or a combo. 

"J" remarked, "that clump of roots is far bigger than I have ever gotten. Should I plant a bigger piece? I was told to break off all the fingers and plant each individually." 

I tried planting individual fingers when I first tried turmeric, and I too found I got very small rhizomes (that's the term for the fleshy root part that we eat) in return. I now plant a larger chunk. The bigger the chunk, the better my return. 

"A" said, "Can turmeric be grown in a pot indoors?" 

I've heard of people doing that, but I've never seen it or tried it myself. I should think that it could easily be grown indoors since it has a low light requirement. The main thing to watch would be soil moisture. Turmeric doesn't like dry conditions. 

"B" emailed... "Should I plant turmeric in the sun?" 

I haven't had much success growing it in full sun, although it surely will survive. It does far better for me in semi or partial shade. 

"T" asked, "I haven't seen turmeric in my the seed catalogs. Can I buy it at the grocery store and plant it?" 

Yes, you could. But I would keep two things in mind. 1- diseases. I would wash the roots in soapy water then rinse in bleach water and air dry before planting. That may not prevent all root borne problems but it would help. 2- I don't know if an anti-sprouting chemical is used in turmeric, like is used in potatoes. So to be on the safe side, I'd buy the turmeric roots from an organic source, like a natural food store. 

Harvesting Turmeric - Step 2

This year I'm growing quite a bit of turmeric. The roots that I got planted early are just getting ready for harvesting, while the later planted stuff is still green and needs a couple more weeks (I'm guessing). And talking with some other gardeners, I've learned that the turmeric growing in lower, warmer elevations is ready for harvesting well before the higher elevations. I'm about mid-way on the elevation, so some folks have been harvesting for a few weeks while others are still waiting. 

Once the plant is turning brown, I can start harvesting....if I'm impatient. Which I am! I'm out of turmeric and am eager for a resupply. But usually I can let the plant die back even more, as long as the weather isn't daily rain. Below, this plant isn't quite ready for harvesting, but what the heck. It's actually a plant I missed harvesting last year, so it matured ahead of the other plants around it. 

In fact, I missed harvesting a number of plants last year and the tops died completely back and disappeared. Last winter I accidentally found a number of them and was able to harvest the roots.  The hidden turmeric roots were perfectly fine. So I discovered that once the plants die back, the roots can be harvested for use at anytime up until they resprout. 

(Above, when I dug up that dry plant I found a large root ball.) 

I'm finding that the larger the piece that I plant, the larger the fan of roots that I can harvest. Of course that assumes fertile soil and adequate water. Example, this plant I just dug up.........

Wow, what a large clump!!!! As I said, it was a plant I missed harvesting last year. Pretty impressive how much I can get from a missed plant. 

Once I harvest the roots, I cure them by putting them in a dry, airy, shaded spot. Then I store some in the frig wrapped in a damp cloth (so that it's handy) for fresh use. Some sliced up and in the freezer for cooking (it gets soft but it's fine for cooking). Some I will dehydrate then powder (I use a coffee grinder). But the bulk gets stored in the ground where it will stay in good condition until I use it or it starts to sprout. 

Harvesting Turmeric -Step 1

The first time I grew turmeric, I had not a clue what to expect. Besides the fact that I grew it all wrong, I didn't know what to look for as a sign that harvest was pending. The first time I saw the tips of the leaves dying, I actually thought it was either vog burn or a disease of some sort. Actually, it was the beginning of the plants natural dying back. The vast majority of the leaves didn't tip die, but it was the first sign I saw. 

At the start, a few leaves here and there look like something burned the tips. But before long the entire patch started yellowing. 

Next I saw entire plants yellowing and browning. 

Not all the plants were on the same time scheduke, but eventually they all die back. 

I'm waiting until the entire plant has died before I harvest the root. 

The Turmeric is Sprouting

The turmeric has been planted for some time now and I've been anticipating it sprouting, seemingly forever. Every year I question whether or not I did something wrong because the turmeric doesn't seem to sprout. But each year the tubers wait for whatever signal they need, then go about growing at their own pace. They don't care the least that I'm dying to dig them up to see what's going on there under the soil surface. 

I've started checking all the turmeric beds, looking for signs of awakening. Ah-ha! At last! A shoot here, another there. At the end of the orange box cutter is a vertical shoot that I swear wasn't there yesterday morning. 

Further along this bed I find a shoot that's already unfurling its first leaf. For some reason I'm overjoyed. 

A quick check of other beds reveals a few new shoots just popping up. So I'll give the turmeric a week or two to get going, then I'll go in and weed the beds, then apply mulch. 

This the season to be jolly, tra-la-la-la-la the turmeric is here! 

Turmeric - Harvest Time

December is time to harvest turmeric around these parts. These plants are apparently seasonal. Thus this is one of those crops that I can produce year around. Not that they die back because of frost. No, not that. But they must be day length sensitive, maturing and dying when the days get shorter. 

All my turmeric plants are dying back at the same time regardless of when the tubers were planted. I tried planting some early, some late. It made no difference, 

These, above, I planted on the late side. As a result the plants are smallish. But right on time the plants yellowed then died back. 

The earlier I planted the tubers, the better the plants grew and produced. And, the more fluffy and fertile the soil, the bigger the tubers grew. Plants in the shade produced far better than ones in the sun. This is definitely a crop for the shady spots. That's great because I have lots of shady areas on this farm. 

This past year I didn't plant lots of turmeric, but I am planning on dramatically increasing my production for 2017. 2016 was a year for experimenting and learning about this crop. Now, I hope to make this one of my income crops while still growing enough for friends and ourselves. Therefore I am replanting every tuber I've produced, plus several more pounds that I've purchased or had gifted to me. So if the weather cooperates and the diseases don't find it, next year should be a good harvest of turmeric. 

My Turmeric is Flowering!

Just a couple of days ago "S" posted on Big Island Self Sufficency Facebook page a picture of turmeric blooming. Quite honestly, I've never seen mine bloom. But lo and behold, there in the garden today was a strange bloom I had never seen before on the farm. But I instantly recognized it for what it was.....a turmeric flower. 

While I have perhaps 200 turmeric plants, only this one was in bloom. I wonder why this one but not the others?