Ginger is pretty freaking amazing!! Instead of constantly buying more and more ginger at the supermarket, you should grow it at home so you can have it on hand anytime you wanted to use it. You may be surprised to learn just how easy it can be to grow ginger at home.
In this article, we’ll cover how to grow ginger in a temperate climate, as well as cover some suggestions for growing ginger in a tropical or subtropical garden. So, wherever you live, you should be able to give it a go.
What is Ginger?
Ginger is a plant known by the Latin name Zingiber officinale. It is a perennial herb that is generally grown for its swollen underground stems or rhizome.
This plant can be grown in a wide range of different areas, even in containers, which can make it ideal for small-scale home growing.
Why Grow Ginger?
Growing your own ginger is a great way to reduce the food miles (and carbon footprint) of the food you eat. It is also an ideal crop to grow if you want to expand the range of flavors in your home-grown diet.
Ginger is also a great plant to grow if you are interested in natural medicine and plants that promote good health. It is widely used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine and is rich in volatile oils, gingerols, and (when dried) schools.
One well-known use for ginger is in the control of nausea. But ginger can also be beneficial in pain relief, stimulating circulation, treating coughs and colds, and in a number of other areas. It is used both internally and topically.
How to grow ginger at home
Choosing Where To Grow Ginger
Before you plant your ginger, of course, you will have to decide where to grow it. In large part, the best location will depend on your climate zone and the conditions where you live.
Naturally, a plant found in moist to wet tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,900m, ginger is best grown where daytime temperatures can be maintained at between 65 and 85 degrees F. However, it can cope with temperatures between 55 and 95 degrees F. Try to grow ginger at temperatures lower than this, though, and dormancy can be induced.
Planting Ginger
A good time to begin planting ginger in temperate climates is the end of winter. However, if you intend to keep your ginger indoors all year round then you can give this process a go any time.
Simply choose a suitable growing medium (moist and humus-rich yet free-draining) and plant your ginger into this mix. It may be beneficial to allow the budding root sections to dry out before planting, to heal their wounds.
Plant root sections with green growth buds just protruding above the surface of the soil. You can plant into a seed tray and pot up when it begins to grow, or simply plant the ginger into the container you intend to keep it in.
Bottom heat may be beneficial and so you could consider placing your tray or container on a heat mat or in a heated propagator. However, providing it is warm enough, the ginger will usually take on a sunny windowsill.
When choosing containers for ginger, remember that this is a crop that you are growing primarily for the root. Tall, narrow pots are best as these will allow the fat roots to grow and delve deep as the buds start to grow.
Planting Ginger in a Warmer Climate
If you are in a warmer, subtropical, or tropical climate, you can simply place your rhizomes into the soil where they are to grow. Ginger can be an excellent choice for inclusion in a forest garden scheme, tree circle, or other tropical polyculture.
In a subtropical or tropical forest garden, or a fruit or nut tree circle, ginger can thrive in the dappled shade beneath your trees. If you are using the permaculture concept of a tree circle (such as a banana circle, for example) ginger and taro can be excellent plant choices for the inner, wetter edge of the ring mound on which the trees are planted.
Related turmeric, cardamom and galangal can all be good companions for your ginger plants. Ginger will thrive amid natural, native companions in moist, tropical settings. Natural companions include hibiscus, teak, palms, and orchids.
Caring For Your Ginger
Ginger plants require relatively high humidity. (Bear in mind that these plants naturally grow in a tropical rainforest.) This can be one of the major challenges when growing ginger indoors in a temperate climate.
Indoor heating, especially central heating, can really dry out the air. So it will usually be necessary, in addition to watering your ginger, to spray the plant’s leaves regularly to increase humidity levels around your plant or plants. Be sure to water well but do not overwater and make sure the containers and growing medium you use are free-draining.
If possible, it would be ideal to grow your ginger in a higher humidity environment. For example, in your kitchen close to a kitchen sink, or in a light, bright bathroom.
As your ginger plant grows, pot it up regularly. By mid-summer, if your plant is thriving, it should be in a rather large container – perhaps even something like a 5-gallon bucket.
Caring For Ginger in a Warmer Climate
Outdoors, in a tropical or subtropical setting, ginger should be low maintenance in the right environment. You can largely simply leave it to its own devices and let nature take its course.
Growing ginger in a tree circle is ideal because all the elements of the polyculture will work together to create a resilient ecosystem. In such a scheme, organic matter and water are added to a pit at the center of the ring. So the system is fed with a consistent supply of nutrients and moisture.
Harvesting Ginger
Ginger, when provided with the right ingredients for good growth, should be fully mature and ready to harvest in approximately ten months.
If you wish, you can start to harvest ginger around four months after planting. You can carefully cut away a small portion of your plant and root, leaving the rest to grow. However, it is important to note that this green ginger does not have the same taste as ginger that is fully mature.
By autumn, in temperate climate areas, you should also have the option of harvesting small quantities of stem ginger. One of the advantages of growing your own ginger is that you will be able to get your hands on stem ginger. That is often more difficult to find in such climate zones than the root ginger you will be more familiar with.
Stem bases can swell to around golf ball size. These can be cut off and candied to make sweets. They can also be used in a number of other ways.
The main harvest time, however, will come when the plant is fully mature. After eight to ten months, the foliage will begin to die down. After leaf drop is the perfect time to harvest. Unearth the roots and you should discover that a new ‘hand’ of root ginger has grown.