PlantSowGrow
How to grow Turmeric
Curcuma longa
Bright orange rhizomes for curries and golden milk, and tall, tropical leaves (sometimes with pink flowers) on a warm windowsill.
At a glance: Sow mid February to early April, harvest from mid October.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Turmeric: what it needs
- Light
- Part shade · 4+ hours a day
- Watering
- Keep just moist; never waterlogged. Mist leaves in dry rooms
- Soil
- Free-draining multipurpose compost
- Spacing
- One rhizome per 30 cm pot
- Height
- 60–90 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- Liquid feed every two weeks while in leaf
- Harvest
- About 240 days from sowing
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 9–11
Step by step
- Mid February – early April · 9 weeks before the last spring frost
Plant the Rhizome
Soak a plump, shop-bought organic rhizome overnight, then lay it 3–5 cm deep in a wide pot of multipurpose compost, buds facing up. Keep warm (20–25°C) and only just moist.
- 28–70 days after “Plant the Rhizome” · Mid March – late April
Look for Shoots
Shoots can take a month or more to appear. Once they do, move the pot to bright light (not scorching sun) and water more often.
- 240–300 days after “Plant the Rhizome” · Mid October – mid December
Harvest
Once the leaves die back in late autumn, tip out the pot and harvest the orange rhizomes (wear gloves — it stains).
- 0–14 days after “Harvest” · Mid October – late October
Store and Replant
Keep a few fingers dry and warm (above 15°C) over winter to replant in spring.
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