Turmeric has been used as a medicinal plant for many centuries. In this article, we explain how you can grow, care for and use turmeric.
Turmeric, also called saffron root, belongs to the ginger family. Turmeric was originally cultivated in China and India, where it has been used for food and medicinal purposes for more than 5,000 years. In Ayurvedic nutrition, the South Asian spice is of great importance, if only because it is in almost every curry powder.
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Location and Soil: How turmeric thrives
As a tropical plant, turmeric requires constant warmth, which is best achieved indoors in European latitudes. Generally, you can plant the sanfran root all year round. In order for it to reproduce, you need to divide the root of the plant and replant it. Only then will it grow steadily larger and slowly produce new shoots.
Before you can do this, of course, you need a piece of turmeric, which you can buy in Asian stores, greengrocers or at the weekly market. Make sure that the piece of turmeric is at least five centimeters long, so that you can plant it well. Then proceed as follows:
Place the turmeric root in a warm place and wait for it to germinate. Meanwhile, you can fill a large enough pot (about 30 x 20 centimeters) with soil and put the root in the soil with the shoot facing up. Moisten the substrate slightly. To keep the humidity constant, place a glass lid over the pot. Lift it once a day to prevent mold from forming.
After that, the turmeric plant thrives best in a semi-shaded location, preferably outside on the balcony or even in a heated conservatory. It is important that the temperature does not fall below room temperature. Therefore, in a normal garden, even in summer, it is often too cold when the temperatures drop at night.
After planting, the turmeric plant grows quite quickly up to 80 centimeters. If you don’t want the turmeric to be a long-term plant, you can harvest after nine months. At this point, the rhizome has grown well and the leaves are wilted. Now you can carefully dig up the rhizome and either use it whole or replant only part of it.
These are the health benefits of turmeric
From a health perspective, yellow ginger brings a number of benefits: It is said to have an anti-inflammatory and detoxifying effect. Turmeric is said to stimulate liver and gall bladder detoxification and even help with weight loss. In addition, the curcurmin contained in turmeric is said to bind free radicals, which is why the spice counteracts the aging process of the skin. The claim that turmeric helps against cancer, however, is not sufficiently scientifically proven, according to the Cancer Information Service.
How to use turmeric correctly
As mentioned earlier, turmeric in ground and dried form is considered the main ingredient in curry spice blends. By the way, you don’t have to grind the turmeric root, you can also chop it and add it to vegetable stir-fries, for example. Since turmeric leaves a yellowish tinge that is difficult to wash off, be sure to wear gloves when handling yellow ginger in the kitchen. If you do notice turmeric stains, you can get rid of them quickly thanks to our tips
Important: The consumer advice center points out that turmeric as a spice causes allergic reactions in rare cases. So if you are one of those people who are sensitive to some spices, we recommend eating turmeric only in small amounts at a time as a precaution. Too high a dosage can cause bloating, heartburn and other digestive problems.
Proper care of the turmeric plant
The correct way to care for your turmeric plant is to maintain a constant ambient temperature. This should ideally be 18 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 80 percent. If the temperature drops below 12 degrees, the leaves will die. It is best to water with lime-free water and start fertilizing only in spring or summer, when the plant leaves start to sprout. Normally, you do not need to cut the spice plant while it is growing, but you can remove dried leaves regularly.
If you take care of the turmeric plant indoors, watch out for possible infestation by spider mites. You can recognize this by the white webs that form on the leaves. If you want to take action against spider mites, then read on here: Recognizing, combating and preventing spider mites.
Tip: A turmeric plant can overwinter. During this time, however, you must also ensure a constant ambient temperature and keep the plant in rooms with little light, for example, a storage room. By the way, in winter turmeric needs less water, if too wet, the roots rot.
