Yes, You Really Can Grow Turmeric Indoors – and It’s Much Easier Than You Think

Stop buying store-bought turmeric when you can grow your own on a windowsill

Drew Swainston's avatar
By
published
in Advice
Whole and sliced turmeric root and turmeric powder with a wooden spoon on a green plate
(Image credit: Getty Images/ iStockphoto)
Jump to category:

Turmeric is a superfood with many health benefits, including reducing inflammation, supporting digestion, boosting joint health, improving brain function, and more. But why always spend money on store-bought spice when you can grow turmeric indoors at home?

A turmeric plant is grown for attractive tropical flowers and deep-orange rhizomes, which can be used fresh or dried to add flavor, color, nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants to dishes. As a tropical plant, it can only grow outdoors year-round in US hardiness zones 8 and above. Yet gardeners in cooler climates can grow turmeric indoors for homegrown nutritional harvests.

Can You Grow Turmeric Indoors?

Turmeric growing in pots

(Image credit: Alamy/Fir Mamat)

You can grow turmeric indoors, where it can double up as a beautiful indoor plant and a harvestable spice. It takes many months to go from planting to harvest, but throughout the season, you can enjoy the beautiful, vibrant foliage.

In a milder climate, you can grow turmeric indoors during the colder months and bring it outside during the summer. Or, you can grow it as an indoor plant year-round in a warm, bright spot in your house.

Turmeric has a long growing season, which impacts when to plant turmeric indoors. Julia Omelchenko, resident botany expert at Plantum, says that turmeric needs eight to 10 months to mature.

It means you need to plant in late winter or early spring if you intend to move the plant outdoors and overwinter plants indoors, but the window isn’t always as tight. ‘If it’s warm in your home year-round and you can provide the turmeric with bright, diffused light, you can start growing it at any time,’ adds Julia.

How to Grow Turmeric Indoors – a Planting Guide

Growing turmeric indoors can be rewarding, but it is not without potential pitfalls. Here we look at four key factors to get right for the best results:

1. Rhizomes

A collection of deep-orange turmeric rhizomes is laid out on a grey surface

(Image credit: Getty Images/NurPhoto )

To grow turmeric indoors, use high-quality tubers with visible ‘eyes’ or buds on the rhizomes, as these are where any new shoots will emerge.

Anna Hackman, a herb farmer and owner at The Naked Botanical, says: ‘The best way is to get organic turmeric, because it wouldn't be sprayed to stop growth.’

You can get organic rhizomes at specialist stores or farmers' markets, where you should keep your eyes peeled for certified organic ones. You can cut large ones into smaller pieces to sprout, provided each section has two or three buds.

It is advisable to soak the rhizomes in water for up to 24 hours before planting, to rehydrate them and hopefully speed up the sprouting process.

You can get a live turmeric plant at Burpee to grow indoors or outdoors.

Anna Hackman headshot
Anna Hackman

Anna Hackman has been an avid gardener for over 18 years and has penned the garden blog, Green Talk. She is a retired Rutgers Master Gardener and runs a farm called The Naked Botanical, which grows and makes herbal products, including a reimagined ginger and turmeric blend and apple ginger turmeric shots.

2. Container

To sprout the rhizomes, Anna recommends getting a ‘flat container with holes’ and filling it with a quality potting mix. As turmeric rhizomes grow horizontally, close to the soil surface, a wide container is better than a tall one.

‘A perfect choice would be a pot about 12 in (30 cm) wide and 10 to 12 in (25–30 cm) deep,’ advises Julia. ‘Just make sure it has plenty of drainage holes.’

‘If you want to grow turmeric indoors, I would repot it in a very large pot after it sprouts, because it can get very tall,’ adds Anna.

3. Planting

A gardener holds a sprouted turmeric rhizome with a young stem growing in a black pot

(Image credit: Getty Images/Toni Jardon)

After the turmeric rhizome has been soaked, it is time to plant it. Any potting mix must be well-draining, as the rhizomes are susceptible to rotting if they sit in waterlogged soil.

‘Add a layer of potting soil, place the turmeric so they are not overlapping, and then add another layer, about two inches, of soil,’ recommends Anna.

‘Moisten the soil and put the container on a heat mat. I also create a humidity tent for them with a plastic top (or humidity dome) and make sure they don't dry out. It can take a couple of weeks or more for them to sprout.’

You can get a heat mat with a digital thermostat at Amazon to provide valuable extra warmth to speed up the process.

4. Location

Turmeric rhizomes need temperatures of 70-80ºF to sprout, and should be removed from the heat mat once the sprouts start to show.

‘Once the shoots appear, move the plant to the brightest spot in your home,’ says Julia. ‘It prefers temperatures above 68ºF (20ºC) and doesn't tolerate drops below 50ºF (10ºC).’

‘Turmeric grows best in bright light, but make sure to shield it from direct sunlight in summer,’ she adds. ‘This plant thrives in high humidity. If you have dry air, mist the turmeric regularly or place a humidifier nearby.’

It is always best to grow turmeric indoors in the warmest room in your home. If you have a greenhouse, this makes an ideal environment, but you can happily maintain plants on a sunny south or west-facing windowsill that gets lots of bright, indirect sunlight. Plants want at least six hours of indirect sunlight, but too much full sun can cause leaf scorch.

Keep it away from cold drafts or air conditioners, and consider using grow lights on plants if you don’t have a suitable spot where it can get at least 6-8 hours of light per day.

headshot of Julia Omelchenko from Plantum
Julia Omelchenko

Julia Omelchenko has four years of experience consulting on botany-related topics for Plantum, an app that helps users identify plant species, diagnose their conditions, and get specific care advice.

Care Tips for Growing Turmeric Indoors

Young turmeric plant growing

(Image credit: Alamy/Picture Partners)

Turmeric will need regular watering when growing indoors. Keep a close eye on watering plants in containers to ensure the soil remains consistently damp throughout the season.

But avoid overwatering plants as turmeric dislikes sitting in sodden soil for long periods, and waterlogging is likely to cause rot.

The plants will benefit from regular feeding with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer at least once a month once the plants are potted up into their final container. Suitable products include this 10-10-10 all-purpose plant food at Amazon, or fish and seaweed fertilizer.

Harvesting Turmeric Indoors

Turmeric roots on harvested plants

(Image credit: Getty Images/Malcolm P Chapman)

Turmeric is ready to harvest 7-10 months after planting the rhizomes, when the leaves turn brown and dry. Take care not to damage the rhizomes by turning the pot onto its side and shaking the plant out of the container.

Brush the soil off the rhizomes with your hands, then cut the stems off about an inch above where they meet the tuber. Rinse the rhizome and allow it to dry before storing.

You can save pieces of the rhizome to plant again next year and grow turmeric indoors again. This method of lighting and replanting is very sustainable and a great way to ensure a constant supply of homegrown turmeric.

If you want to save money on expensive spices, did you know you can grow saffron at home?

Renowned as one of the most expensive spices in the world, you can grow these pretty plants in containers in a bright spot in the garden or on a sunny windowsill.

You won’t get a huge harvest when you grow saffron in pots, but the spice is only used sparingly, and you get enough to add flavor to your favorite dishes.

Drew Swainston
Drew Swainston
Content Editor

Drew has worked as a writer since 2008 and was also a professional gardener for many years. As a trained horticulturist, he worked in prestigious historic gardens, including Hanbury Hall and the world-famous Hidcote Manor Garden. He also spent time as a specialist kitchen gardener at Soho Farmhouse and Netherby Hall, where he grew vegetables, fruit, herbs, and cut flowers for restaurants. Drew has written for numerous print and online publications and is an allotment holder and garden blogger. He is shortlisted for the Digital Gardening Writer of the Year at the 2025 Garden Media Guild Awards.