Nothing to personally contribute regarding growing it but...
it SO awesome you grow turmeric! I love turmeric in cooking....practically add half a bottle when I make curry, lol.

How many years does it typically take before one can harvest it?

I've seen pics of their flowers before and they are glorious. Please do make sure to show us if yours bloom. ;-)
CMK

My husband has an incurable condition of gowths in his lymph nodes and Tumeric and Black Cummin are the only thing that keeps it from advancing. Our food turns orange when he gets a growth and it is remarkable. His doctor is now recommending it to his patients in a indirect way. He mentions that he has a patient who has found relief byâ¦.., it's worth a try. We found this out not through the doctor. There are so many health benefits to Tumeric, it is mind boggling. If BIG PHARMA could make Tumeric illegal, they would. They have tried but were rebuffed because of previous historical uses. SO they don't study it at all.

I think ALL meat gets a rub of Turmeric powder and black pepper. Fat and pepper corns increase the healing capacities of the Turmeric. I pull the skin off of chicken breast and the turmeric powder helps make a tasty visually appealing colored barrier. I won't say crust because people will think Fried crust. I also make a drink of warm coconut milk with Tumeric and black pepper before bed sometimes. It is our version of hot chocolate. Very comforting.

This was its first year in the ground. I was given my turmeric by a Malaysian woman in San Antonio Texas. It is not Far from here but the cold fronts are shorter and milder there. She is in Z9 and I am between Z8b and 8a. I think the boundary goes through my kitchen. I kept it in the big pot the first winter and planted it in one of the few spots that I have some deep soil and not far from where my grey water is dumped. She told me to harvest in October and replant some for the next year. I am thinking that I will start two clumps this year after harvest. One to be undisturbed so maybe I will get a flower and the other to eat on.

My mother is a huge proponent of natural medicine. She uses Turmeric in gel-capsules for her arthritis and swears by it...
CMK

Turmeric is a powerful anti inflammatory, and inflamation is the base cause of many illnesses--from heart disease to arthritis to colon cancer.