Closely related to ginger and grown the same way, turmeric hides a vivid orange interior prized as a spice and dye.
Turmeric is a close relative of ginger and is cultivated almost identically, but its rhizome is smaller, firmer and a startling deep orange inside. Ground and dried, it is the base of countless curry blends and a traditional dye.
Start it exactly as you would ginger: a piece of fresh rhizome with a visible bud, laid just under warm, rich, moist compost. It is, if anything, even more heat-hungry, so a consistently warm spot indoors gives the best results in a cool climate. The plant makes broad, pleated leaves and, in ideal conditions, an unusual pale flower spike.
The rhizomes take the best part of a growing year to mature, ready when the foliage dies down. Fresh turmeric stains everything it touches a stubborn yellow, skin and chopping boards included, so it is worth handling with gloves.
A succulent that stores its own water and asks for almost nothing in return — the classic starter plant for anyone who has killed everything else.
A clump-forming grass with a sharp citrus scent, grown for the tender stems at the heart of Southeast Asian cooking.
The knobbly rhizome behind so much cooking will sprout on a warm windowsill from a piece bought to eat.