East Branch Ginger
Mature Turmeric Rhizomes
That's not ginger... that's turmeric!

Greetings!

Recipe Correction! Remember those delicious chewy ginger cookies that I shared a couple of newsletters ago? There is a correction to be made! It should read 2 teaspoons of baking soda (2t), not 2 tablespoons (2T). My apologies for any cookies that came out totally disgusting. They really are delicious... when you use 2t of baking soda.  Also, apologies for any inconvenience it caused to your customers. Many a thank you to a wonderful ginger grower for sending an email to point this correction out to me. "I just made the fresh ginger cookies and they are way too soda-ish. It says 2 Tbs in the recipe but other recipes I found (after tasting them) have only 2 tsp. You may want to change this on the email send out because they are close to being inedible. We will just eat them with lots of ice cream!" Thanks for letting me know!

Turmeric
Turmeric should be ready to harvest. For those of you who have grown it this year, you may want to dig up a sample. If it looks like the picture below then it is not ready and will not grow much for the remainder of the fall season. If the leaves have started to die back (senesce) then there will be no more rhizome growth for the season. Curcumins (the medicinal compound in turmeric) will increase as the turmeric matures. Bottom line, if your turmeric is still immatrue, dig it up anyways. Sell it as immature and just let folks know that the curcumins in it are lower than mature turmeric.

If the turmeric looks more like the picture above (fat fingers of rhizome, well defined rhizome growth from the initial rhizome) then it is ready to harvest and market. Feeding and watering adequately through the season will help the turmeric mature on time, yield well and have ample levels of curcumin.
 
Turmeric has a long storage life. It should last many weeks at around 60F. Wash and thoroughly dry before storage.  Air drying for 24 hours, after harvest and washing, will help the fingers cure. These are best options for storage to hold before selling. Inform your customers that they can store turmeric in the refrigerator wrapped in a cloth (but be sure to tell them that this may dry out the turmeric fingers quickly, or, if too wet, may rot them). The other option for end users is to leave it on the kitchen counter if they're going to use it within a week or two.

Drying turmeric is also a great option for long-term storage and use. Turmeric can also be frozen for juicing or making purees at a later date.

Turmeric can be marketed to restaurants and chefs, folks who juice, farmers' markets, etc. If you are selling to a grocery type outlet, have them display/sell the turmeric in a location that is not refrigerated.
Immature TurmericImmature Turmeric This turmeric was harvested in September in Hawaii. Note the difference in rhizome growth habit compared to ginger. The rhizomes grow down and out from the initial rhizome growth.
 
Washington Post
Washinton Post Article
Washington Post Article
Check out the article about Casselmonte Farm and their Baby Ginger crop in the Food Section of the Washington Post, written by Tim Carman!. This article ran on Wednesday, October 19th. Click the picture above or the word article to read the entire piece. Don't forget to check out the gallery of photos taken at Bill and India's farm! East Branch Ginger got a nice mention in the article. Thanks Bill and India!



Growing For Market Nov/Dec 2011
Growing For Market, Nov/Dec, 2011

Growing For Market Article
Alison Wiediger wrote an article in the latest issue of Growing for Market about her, and her husband Paul's, ginger crop experience for 2011. They own and operate Au Naturel Farm in Kentucky and had great success with their ginger crop. To read the article, subscribe to Growing for Market online or paper subscription. This is a great publication for any market gardener, small farmer, medium farmer, large farmer, avid home gardener to peruse for great articles, ideas, and advertisements by and about folks who care about and want to be kept up-to-date about sustainable and organic agriculture.
 
Advertisement
And check out the ad below that we placed in Growing For Market! This ad will run in the Nov/Dec issue, as well as the Jan, Feb and March issues. That's Elvira in the ad, the best cook in Hawaii. And provider of great recipes to all of you guys trying to market and eat ginger!
Growing For Market Ad
Growing For Market Ad
The new website is still being modified. The order portion of the website will be open some time in the next week. In the meantime, if you want to check out the cultural suggestions, FAQ's, or need the OG cert., the website is still operational for all of that.

Take care everyone and thanks for growing ginger and turmeric for the 2011 season. Keep sending pics of your crop if you have them and let me know how your season went.

Look for the newsletter listing new seed pieces we will be offering for the 2012 season (galangal, turmeric (unlimited this season), and yellow Hawaiian ginger). That will be coming out in the next couple of weeks.

 
Sincerely,
 

Susan Anderson
East Branch GingerLine Drawing Ginger