Growing ginger is easy and rewarding. Once planted, it needs nothing but water and patience to become the spicy and delicious root used in cooking. This guide is mostly about the edible variety, but there are many other ornamental ginger plants that can be grown similarly.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Planting Ginger
Step 1. Start cultivation in the first phase of spring
Ginger is a tropical plant that does not survive frost. Plant it when the winter frosts are over or at the beginning of the wet season if you live in a tropical climate. If you live in a region with a rather short growing season, then you can grow the plant indoors.
Step 2. Choose the ginger plant
There are several varieties; if you want to grow the most common and edible one, Zingiber officinale, all you have to do is go to a grocery store and buy a ginger root. If you want an ornamental ginger plant with bright flowers, go to a nursery, but remember that this is often inedible.
- Choose the roots (technically called rhizomes) with a full and smooth appearance, with "eyes" (visible dots) at the end of the "fingers". The ideal is that these dots are green, even if it is not an indispensable detail.
- If you can, buy organic ginger. What is normally sold in supermarkets has been subjected to chemical growth inhibiting treatments during cultivation. In some cases, gardeners have found that soaking the root in hot water overnight can stimulate a plant whose growth process has been blocked.
- This tutorial deals with the Zingiber officinale. Most other varieties of Zingiber have the same growing methods, but for best results you should follow the directions of the nurseryman.
Step 3. Cut the rhizomes into pieces (optional)
If you want to grow more than one plant, cut your ginger with a sterilized knife or shears. Any piece of about 2.5 - 3, 8 cm in size that has one or more "eyes" can grow into a single plant. Once you have cut the various pieces, leave them in a dry environment for a few days so that the incisions heal. They must form a kind of protective "callus" on the cut surface, which reduces the risk of infection and disease.
- Each single piece of ginger takes about 20cm of space, so cut your rhizome into large pieces if you can't guarantee each segment the necessary space.
- If the piece you choose has 3 or more dots on the ends, it is more likely to sprout.
Step 4. Prepare the ground
Ginger grows well in well-draining, high-quality soil. The best solution is to mix some garden soil with an equal amount of well-decomposed compost. If the soil you have available is of poor quality or heavy clay, you should purchase richer potting soil.
- If you want to have more control over growing, you can start it by filling a planting tray with sphagnum or coir. These materials drain water very well and prevent young plants from rotting. When the leaves and roots begin to form, you will need to transplant the ginger into the ground, but be aware that this is quite a traumatic operation for the plant.
- Like most garden plants, ginger also prefers slightly acidic soil. If the soil is fairly alkaline in your area, try to get it to a pH of 6, 1-6, 5, using a pH kit you can find in garden centers.
Step 5. Choose the location
Ginger prefers a partially shaded environment or an area exposed to the sun only in the morning, away from large roots of other plants. The place you choose must be protected from wind and humidity, but it must not be swampy. If the plant has not yet sprouted, the soil temperature must be mild, ideally between 22 and 25 ° C.
- If you are growing ginger in the pot, choose one that is at least 30 cm deep, even better if it is made of plastic rather than terracotta, so you can make holes in the base to allow adequate water drainage.
- In tropical environments, ginger also grows in full shade, but at other latitudes this environment may be too cold for the plant.
Step 6. Plant the ginger
Bury each piece 5-10 cm deep, check that the soil is loose and that the sprouts are facing up. If you decide to plant several pieces in line, space them about 20 cm from each other. If you want to plant them in a pot, place 2 or 3 pieces in a container with a diameter of about 35 cm.
Part 2 of 2: Caring for Ginger
Step 1. Keep the soil moist
Immediately after planting the ginger, lightly wet the soil. Check it every day and water it again just before it is completely dry. If the soil is soggy, the plant will rot, so you need to cut back on the water or improve the drainage if you see it doesn't drain quickly.
Step 2. Check for germination
Ginger grows slowly, especially in non-tropical environments. If you're lucky you may see a bud pop up within a few days, but you need to keep watering the plant for at least a couple of weeks before giving up and thinking the plant won't grow.
Once the buds are popped, keep watering the ginger following the same method
Step 3. Fertilize the plant monthly (optional)
This procedure is not necessary if the ginger is found in rich soil, especially if compost has been added to it. If the soil is poor or you still want to improve its quality, fertilize it by adding a small amount of complete liquid fertilizer every month.
Step 4. Mulch if you planted ginger outside (optional)
When the plant has started to sprout, you can surround it with mulch to keep it warm and get rid of weeds, which tend to compete with ginger and slow its growth. However, if the soil temperature reaches 10 ° C during the cold season, a thick layer of mulch is no longer optional.
Step 5. Allow the soil to dry out when the stems of the plant die
In late summer or early fall, when temperatures drop, the ginger stems turn yellow. During this time you need to reduce watering and stop it completely when the stems die.
During the first or second year, or if the growing season is short, the plant may not even flower at all
Step 6. Wait for the plant to reach maturity before harvest
Ginger takes on a much stronger flavor if you let it grow in the soil. Once the stems have died and at least 8 months have passed after planting it, you can take out the rhizome. If you cut pieces to use the root in cooking, know that you don't kill the plant as long as you leave a few "eyes" on the rhizomes you don't use.
- Younger ginger can be harvested 3-4 months after planting, typically for the purpose of making pickles. You need to be very careful when harvesting young ginger, as it has a thin skin that bruises easily.
- Use a disinfected knife when cutting the plant.
Step 7. Prepare the ginger for the cold season
Unless you live in a tropical area, it is recommended that you bring it indoors during the winter. Put it in a warm and dry environment. If you leave it outside, cover it with a thick layer of mulch as soon as the temperatures drop to 10 ° C. Ginger is a perennial plant in hot climates, but it can hardly survive frost.
Advice
- Zingiber officinale grows to 60-90cm in height, but ornamental varieties also grow much more.
- Ginger is susceptible to disease and pests, especially if it gets too much water. For good advice on treating parasites in your area, you should contact the nursery in your area or the agricultural faculty of the nearest university.
