Turmeric

The roots of turmeric add a lovely savoury flavour and rich colour to all kinds of indian dishes and the leaves can even be shredded and used as a herb. You would normally harvest the turmeric roots for the kitchen cupboard in the autumn, but until then these turmeric plants make great houseplants

Known as Curcuma longa these plants are related to the ginger family and in a very sunny spot may even eventually produce exotic flowers. Our turmeric plants are coming along nicely now and we expect them to be available as a bushy 2 foot plant from the beginning of July

50cm high in 2L pot Order this plant now for delivery from 03/07/2013 onwards

We are updating the website all the time, and care instructions will be posted here soon. Please do check back or call us with any questions

Looking after your Turmeric

These instructions are sent with the plant gift

These fascinating plants originate in India and we whilst we know them best in this country for the bright yellow powder used to add flavour and colour to curries, the leaves themselves are also really fragrant and add a unique flavour to dishes as a herb in their own right.

Turmeric naturally occur in warm, damp but shaded forests so try to ensure they are kept warm and out of direct sunlight in the home. Water regularly when the top of the soil dries and you might try misting occasionally in a very dry room to keep the leaves looking fresh.

This year your turmeric plants has been grown on from a rhizome and already has a sizeable root system however for the best crop we would recommend allowing them a further growing season and then harvesting the crop next autumn. You can do this in two ways. You can either either pop the plant outside until the cold kills the foliage off with the first frosts and the entire root ball can be harvested and dried and used as required in cooking. Or alternatively you can split the plant by hand or with a sharp knife, drying a portion of the root and repotting the mother plant for a further crop the following year.

Brown tips to the leaves are quite common in the winter months but extreme browning and crinkling of the new leaves is a sign of either scorch or cold so try to move the your plant somewhere warmer out of direct sunlight. Over time the lower leaves will naturally shrivel and can be removed to keep the plant looking fresh.

These are a new introduction to our range of edible plants and we’d love to hear your experiences and perhaps your recipes?

We are updating the website all the time, and new information will be posted here soon. Please do check back or call us with any questions