Tips for growing Ginger, Turmeric, and Yacon?

11 years ago

Hi,

I would really love to grow all 3 of these plants next year. I really would like to grow the ginger and turmeric especially. I have a space of 2x2 for turmeric and same size space for ginger, and can give a 3x3 for the yacon. What I need to know is when to plant, light and water requirements, as well as a fertilizing schedule (if any), and time to harvest. And when you do harvest, is there a special way to handle them? Do you take them out of the sun, wash them off/don't wash them off etc? I am in zone 9b so temps never drop below 40F. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (6)

steve_in_los_osos
11 years ago
I can address the yacon a little. I've never tried turmeric and my success with ginger is not good. I have a plant started, but growth is VERY slow. I may not have enough heat here. You might do better. I've had better luck with galangal (a Thai ginger with similar habits), but I have to admit not having dug up any yet.

For the yacon, you can plant whenever the crowns become available but if heavy rain is expected and the soil drains poorly, you might want to wait until Spring. Yacon likes sun and water (proportionately less of the latter if you don't have full sun. Basically, grow it like a dahlia (to which it is related). Reasonably fertile soil is all it requires. When the stalks have bloomed (generally in late Summer or early Fall), you can begin harvesting.

If you have planted in an area where you can dig around with your hands, the best method of harvest might be to "take as needed" since the tubers do not store easily. My neighbor and I tried several experiments with them last year to try to find a method that would work. We finally decided that the second best method was to harvest them and store them in a box of sand (like the "play sand" you can get at HD, etc.) in a cool place. Like dahlias! They actually keep pretty well this way, but only if they are undamaged. Damaged tubers need to be used fairly quickly. They will keep in the refrigerator for a bit, but they do deteriorate.

If you're harvesting from the ground you can probably leave the crowns in place and add a little fertilizer to get them going for the next year, but I would probably dig them and divide, cleaning them up, etc., and redig the bed with some organic material before setting them back in.
digdirt2
11 years ago
GW's Ginger Forum

Growing Herbs forum

Those are the best sources of help.

Dave
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I grow both of them and a few other edible gingers in zone 7b (Raleigh NC). 2 by 2 is not much space. Neither of these plants gets very big above ground but you want lots of space under ground for the roots to spread out. I plant one root cluster every 2 feet in my garden. Turmeric can handle any amount of sun (as long as its watered) but root ginger does better in the shade for me. It takes about 265 days to get optimum flavor in the roots, so I plant the roots in March (indoors for my zone) and get them to sprout and then raise them as houseplants until the daytime highs are mostly in the 80's, then plant them in the garden. I harvest whenever the night time lows are predicted to get around freezing but anytime after Halloween will work. I can get most store bought roots to sprout but Turmeric can be tricky. I have had Turmeric roots take more than year before sprouting but most of the time they sprout in about a month. You can just lay them on top of the soil and watch for green tips to form, or plant them underground. If your yard never freezes you may be able to harvest root ginger throughout the year by just breaking off bits of root and leaving the plant in the ground. Root ginger grows right at the surface (Turmeric is underground).
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Hi Christine, using fresh turmeric is like using fresh ginger, it is only used a little bit in cooking like annato gives color in cooking, turmeric is also used for medicinal purposes. I have not dehydrate and made it into powder, the bulbs that I harvested probably will give them away, I already have a small patch growing for me and last time I bought dried turmeric in bulk from the oriental store, I also use in pickles. I will probably make zucchini and cucumber pickles today with the harvest... Silvia
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jonfrum
11 years ago
I know ginger needs heat and shade.
dicot
11 years ago
PunkRotten, where did you find the yacon tubers for sale?
PunkRotten
Original Author
11 years ago
I don't have them yet. But I did some google searching and found one place but I was too dumb to bookmark the site. It is possible I could get plants from other gardeners. I have searched a few sites for tubers to eat but all I found is powder and syrup.
steve_in_los_osos
11 years ago
Raintree Nursery in Washington State sells yacon.

Tips for growing Ginger, Turmeric, and Yacon?

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steve_in_los_osos

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Tips for growing Ginger, Turmeric, and Yacon?

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