Turning Up the Heat: Community Roots Experiments with Growing Ginger and Turmeric in Ohio

At Community Roots, we’re not exactly known for playing it safe in the garden. Sure, we love our heirloom tomatoes and rainbow chard like any good Ohio growers, but sometimes the soil calls for something… a little more tropical.

This season, we’re throwing the gardening rulebook into the compost bin and trying something wild: we’re growing ginger and turmeric right here in Ohio. Yep — in our humble patch of Midwest soil.

But of course, we’re not completely mad. We’re using our hoophouse to cheat the climate just enough to make our little experiment work. Think of it as a tropical vacation—minus the airfare and the SPF 50. With a little help from a warm, protected microclimate, we’ve created a steamy jungle oasis where ginger and turmeric are thriving like they’re back in Southeast Asia (or at least pretending really convincingly).

Meet the Stars of the Show:

🌱 Ginger – spicy, warming, and ready to zing up everything from tea to stir-fry.

🌱 Turmeric – but not just any turmeric. We’re talking two rare and stunning varieties:

• Green Turmeric, which has an earthy, bright flavor with a kick that says, “I’m medicine, but I’m fun about it.”

• Blue-White Turmeric, which looks like something out of a sci-fi garden but boasts anti-inflammatory powers and a subtly floral aroma.

These aren’t your average grocery store rhizomes. They’re bold, weird, beautiful — and very much our vibe.

Why Ginger and Turmeric?

For one, we love a challenge. But more importantly, both of these plants have deep roots (pun fully intended) in traditional healing practices and culinary traditions around the world. As a therapeutic horticulture nonprofit, we’re always looking for plants that connect us to cultural knowledge, health, and the simple joy of growing something unexpected.

And honestly? Watching ginger and turmeric unfurl their glossy leaves and stretch toward the sun in our hoophouse is just plain magical. It smells like the tropics in there. It feels like possibility.

There’s also a serious side to all this spice. In recent years, the global spice trade — especially turmeric — has faced contamination scandals involving heavy metals, dyes, and adulteration. And since so many folks turn to ginger and turmeric for their healing properties, it got us thinking: What if we could offer a clean, local option? Something grown right here, by people you know, in soil you can see — no mystery additives, no sketchy supply chain. Just real roots with real benefits.

What’s Next?

We are hardening off the plants off this weekend as we turn into summer and preparing beds in the hoophouse for them. We’ll be watching closely to see how these tropical beauties grow throughout the season — and we’re already dreaming up ways to use the harvest. Infused honeys? Fresh teas? Garden-to-table wellness workshops? Stay tuned. This is just the beginning.

Follow along online as we keep pushing the boundaries of what an Ohio garden can do. Because if we can grow turmeric in Ohio, honestly… what can’t we do?