Turmeric Gold

I don’t usually welcome watching the leaves of my plants turning brown but turmeric is the exception.  These dying leaves tell me that before too long it will be ready to harvest once again.

Turmeric has so many health benefits and it has got to be one of the easiest plants I have ever grown. An allotment neighbour gave me a tiny rhizome, the size of my little finger. I popped it into the ground and had a huge harvest from it last season.  And this year it’s going gangbusters again.

Dwarfed by my turmeric plant this morning

I call it Turmeric Gold because as well as the wonderful rich golden colour of the rhizome, it saves me heaps  ($49 a kilo in the shops) by growing it myself.  And it’s guaranteed organic.  Even the colour when I grate the fresh turmeric makes me feel better!

For such little effort, this is well worth growing in your garden, and reap the health benefits.  I grate a little each day in soups, stews, over salads, stir fries, in smoothies. And you can check out this link to learn more seven ways to eat (and drink) turmeric.

Happy Gardening.

Exotic Herbs and Spices

I spent an interesting morning today at a workshop on “Exotic Herbs and Spices to Grow at Home” given by Annette McFarlane as New Farm Library.

This was something new for me.  Raised in England I know a lot about growing mint and parsley!

It was an opportunity to learn about the sort of herbs and spices that we can grow in South-East Queensland, except for saffron – you would need to move to Tasmania or New Zealand to be successful with that.  We covered garlic, tamarind, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, galangal, peppercorn, coriander, saffron, vanilla and horseradish.

I already have a bed of garlic and coriander at the allotment but I’m certainly going to be more adventurous after what I learned today. After morning tea we went outside into New Farm Park and potted up turmeric and ginger and were able to take them home. So that’s a good start.

If you want to know more about growing these exotic herbs and spices you can check out this link to Annette’s website  where she has posted a PDF of the workshop.