Picking Turmeric Leaves

This post was accidentally deleted when I was testing the android apps blog away pro.

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Turmeric Planting

Turmeric leaves give nice fragrant for Asian dishes, sowing few roots today. Bought few roots last Monday and planting it today before it dry up.

Plenty of roots for a few buck and they do well in aquaponics provided the water level is not set too high. Turmeric requires thicker dry zones so that the root does not get water soak and turn bad.

Decided to use pots within growbed, this way it is easier to manage, especially for turmeric where it needs thicker dry zones. Filled pots with LECA then lay those roots before covering it fully. These pots can be raised to adjust water level relative to the pot individually. This way it will not affect other plants that may not requires such condition.

Four pots in all and they will be in the growbed to grow.

Turmeric will takes some time to grow new shoots, it's very slow. I can easily move these pot around if needed to suit planting requirement of just to clean the tub.

Herbs Plants To Test Out

That's Rosemary  and Basil to get herb part of the setup , few other seeds will be sow and hopefully by the time this setup stabilized I can start transplanting them.

Turmeric rhizome in that basket and will plant it in the other growbed, these takes a long time to grow.

Planted the herb with its sowing cup, this growbed not ready they won't survive if I just directly planted them in the rocky media. 

Let it take root and get use to the place, once okay I'll remove the sowing cup.  First time I'm doing Rosemary, Basil is not much of a problem.

Over the next few week, slowly plants will be added to my setup and lets do it carefully and I'll document it here.

Update : 21st April 2013

Below are the Rosemary from cuttings directly into growbed.

Kunyit Leaves

Turmeric leaves are use locally as flavouring in Malay dishes, these leaves can make good cash crop to provide sustainability for the Aquaponics setup. Normally 3 leaves average size of 1 feet long sell for RM 1.00 that's US 0.30 so roughly US 0.10 per leaf.

Its rain very heavy today and strong wind makes matter worst, I had to harvest a lot of Turmeric leaves as shown above due wind damaged.  Roughly about 50 pieces harvested today, estimated retail value of USD 5.00, these about half  of what still available on the growbed.


I am taking this to the office tomorrow and gives it to my colleague, the ladies will loves these small "gift"

Kunyit

Turmeric or Kunyit in Malay is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family. This plant is use as herb in Malay medicine and cooking, leaves and rhizome are use to add flavour to dishes and cure sickness.

I am trying out this plants, normally it doesn't grow in water logged soil. Maybe due to my pump OFF condition at night make this herb grow able.

These Turmeric are on my home kit, in my main set up I dedicate I growbed for it. So far the result of this backyard test is encouraging.

Close up above showing young shots emerging from the bed, with this its an indication that its multiplying and the rhizome survive the growbed condition.

More shoots emerging from growbed.

Above Turmeric in my main setup growbed, these about 1 months after replanting. Bunch of damaged leaves below.

There are few problem I am experiencing, heat damage to the leaves and Bugs. On Heat damage I need to put up better shades for my grow bed.

Above leaves show sign of heat damage. If the leaves are pick early then its not a problem. On the average, we use about 3 or 4 leaves per week for our cooking, what I have is more then what's needed.

This leaf show partially eaten by bugs, mostly caterpillars. No other choice for me but to hand pick them. I just throw them in the tank for the Tilapias.

More photos of damage leaves, it still can be use for cooking, just remove the bad part and clean it up. Not a problem for flavouring.

Some of the leaves were rolled by the bugs, I normally cut off and get rid of these bad leaves.

I need to find a remedy for these rolled leaves and sign of heat damage. If Turmeric is successfully grown in Aquaponics, they can be use as cash crop if done in larger scale.

We'll see whether these Turmeric will colonise the entire growbed. I grown them about 6 ~ 8 inches apart. If they can multiply and take up the entire growbed, then it will be great plant to try out by enthusiast.

Turmeric root forming below.