Permaculture - Turmeric & Ginger

Turmeric & Ginger

Growing, Harvesting, & Storing

Turmeric and ginger have been some of my favorite crops to grow! The plants are beautiful, and the joy of pulling up the rhizomes to make your own spices is worth experiencing. The care for turmeric and ginger (as well as galangal, another similar plant that is on our wish-list) is relatively straight-forward, especially in warm growing zones. Florida has a wonderful climate in which to grow these plants.

CARE

These plants can grow in the ground or in containers. Either way, it is important to have well-draining soil with lots of organic matter or compost mixed in. Turmeric, ginger, and galangal do well in partial shade, especially in Florida where the summer sun is high overhead and scorching temperatures can quickly dry out the soil.

Ginger and Turmeric growing together in a pot with soil rich in organic matter.

Turmeric and ginger growing in rich dark soil

We have our turmeric and ginger growing together in a large pot on our front porch. We are able to make sure the pot is full of good organic compost, and ensure that the plants get watered regularly. The plants are protected from the strong midday sun, but still get a few evening rays as the sun sets in the west. Although I will eventually propagate more plants throughout our yard as our forest grows, this location has been a great starting point for us, and enough to produce spice to last us for several months.

The best time to plant turmeric, ginger, or galangal is early spring, so that the rhizomes have many months to grow and develop before being harvested. In winter, Florida does get cold enough temperatures, especially farther north in Florida, to kill back the foliage. I use this as an indicator that the rhizomes are ready to be dug up. So, around February or early March, after a year of growth, I go out and see what I can find!

HARVESTING

When you are ready to harvest the rhizomes, all you need are your hands! At the base of each plant, simply dig with your hands into the soil. You will be able to feel the large rhizomes and pull them up and out of the ground or pot. Harvesting the golden-orange turmeric or sunny-yellow ginger is reminiscent of searching for some imagined buried treasure or dinosaur fossil as a child. There is no reason we cannot still experience simple joys like this as adults.

Ginger rhizome dug up from a pot after a year of growth.

A large ginger rhizome I harvested

I keep the largest rhizome sections for using in the kitchen, and save smaller bits to replant. Use this time to add new compost to the container or ground in which you are growing the plants if needed. Plant the rhizomes an inch or so below the surface and keep the soil watered. As the weather continues to warm up, you should see new growth popping up through the surface after a few weeks.

Also note that the foliage of both ginger and turmeric is great for cooking! So throughout the year, if you have happy healthy plants with lots of greenery, feel free to harvest some of the leaves. A simple internet search will reveal many recipes and ideas for using the leaves for various dishes.

USING AND STORING

Once you have used home-grown turmeric and ginger, there is nothing else like it! The flavor and aroma are so much more complex. The colors are more vibrant as well. Keep a few pieces to grate and use fresh.

For longer storage, I like to thinly slice and dehydrate the rhizomes, and then ground them into a powder. You can leave the skin on or off; I have tried both ways. The skin can be a bit woody though, especially after dehydrating, so I think I prefer to peel them a little bit. Once the rhizomes are peeled and thinly sliced, I dehydrate them in our air-fryer at a low heat setting (140°F or 60°C). Depending on the thickness of your slices, it could take a few hours to fully dry the pieces. You’ll know when they are ready by the crisp snap sound they will make when you try and break one in half. If it bends, let it dry longer.

There are a few research papers out there about optimizing curcumin content of turmeric in the drying process. The articles are interesting to read and make you wonder how the various brands available at the store are dehydrated. In our home setting, with no time constraints, I opted for 140°F and let them dehydrate for a few hours.

Once I hear that snap when breaking pieces in half with my hands, I grind them into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle. I store the powder in mini mason jars, or you can re-use an old spice container. Our first batch was relatively small, but ginger and turmeric go a long way. We still have enough to cook with pretty regularly, and each year will only bring greater harvests as our food forest continues to grow!