Ginger and turmeric are two of the most useful items we grow here and not cheap to purchase. They can be used in juices, stir-fries, curries and many other dishes.
Gotta love the smell and so good for you.
You can plant both straight into the garden or you can do like we do here at Tullamore Farm and use 20 litre food grade buckets.
Make sure you have four or five holes about the size of a five cent piece in the bottom of each container to allow excess water to drain out. Growing them this way makes it easy to manage and they can be moved around.
No need to dig up the ginger or turmeric when it is ready to harvest. Just tip the bucket out and remove it. Then wash and remove the finer roots.
No back breaking work and almost no damage to the crop.
We fill those containers about 70% so they are not too heavy.
We plant three or four pieces to each container burying them six to seven centimetres deep. We place a small covering of sugar cane mulch to reduce the chance that they dry out. Try to source your initial planting stock from a local producer or maybe an organic shop or Asian grocer. Supermarket bought ginger or turmeric may not produce as it has most likely been refrigerated or frozen.
We plant our ginger and turmeric out in September and sometimes through into October. We grow our ginger and turmeric in our homemade compost. They are heavy feeders so planting in compost removes the need to fertilise them. You harvest both after about six months in March or April. You will notice when they start to die back.
They need lots of sun but try to avoid the late afternoon sun. When we harvest ours we freeze them in containers. When needed, we grab the desired size piece. Grow your own, save some dollars and enjoy the benefits.
