Ginger and turmeric growing may not be the privilege of tropical areas. Even behind the normal window of the panel apartment you can harvest roots full of taste, aroma and active substances.
Both ginger and turmeric are among the most valuable humanity has known for centuries. We buy them as a common raw material in stores, but few can think that they can easily grow them at home. Both plants come from the tropics and love heat, moisture and scattered light. Still, they are doing well in our conditions. Just give them a suitable environment and a little patience.
Have you managed to grow your own organic ginger at home? But do you know how to process it properly? Watch a video to learn everything important:
What you need and how to start
The basis is quality seedlings. In conventional supermarkets you often buy chemically treated ginger or turmeric that have suppressed the ability to germinate. Therefore, reach for organic quality or proven source from gardeners. It is ideal to start at the turn of September and October.
Cut the rhizomes into smaller parts before planting, each should have at least one “eye” from which a new shoot will be built later. Allow them to dry and then Store to the Moon in a dark and airy spacewhere they start to reliably.
Once the shoots appear, it is time to bet. Choose deeper pots with plump, humous and well -permeable soilideally with the admixture of compost. Plant the rhizomes shallow, only 2-3 cm below the surface. Water regularly, but never let the water stand. Ginger and turmeric are sensitive to waterlogging.
Cultivation and harvesting
Both plants need enough heat, so they best benefit from the window south or west. Suits them temperature around 22 to 26 ° C and higher air humiditywhich you can support, for example, regular dew of the leaves.
Ginger begins to form rhizomes after about four months, turmeric a little later, around six. During the summer you can fertilize the plants. If you decide to grow in containers, always choose dark flower pots: you will support growth due to higher soil warming.
Harvest usually comes in autumn, when the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry. Carefully remove the rhizomes with your hands, clean them from the soil and allow them to dry for a few days. You can either store them or use it in the kitchen.
How to store ginger and turmeric
The simplest is to freeze or dry the rhizomes. Cut them into thin slices and put them in the dryer or sun. After drying, grind them to a fine powder. You can also store them in a clean sand bucket. In dry and cold will last several months without loss of quality.
The use of fresh ginger and turmeric is wide: it is suitable for teas, soups, curry, smoothie or domestic elixirs. You can also use Kurcumcé leaves as a natural “cover” for food, similar to banana leaves.
Growing ginger and turmeric at home, however, is not only the way to exotic and fragrant crop, but also a small return to nature. You get fresh, healthy and absolutely incomparably tastier ingredientsthan what ordinary shops are offered. And most importantly? You will learn patience, care and joy of your own harvest.
