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You can grow healthy, juicy fat edible ginger (Zingiber officinale) in containers in your own backyard, that you can use in ginger shots, smoothies, awesome curries, ginger chews, fermented pickles or for your very own dehydrated ginger powder. Ginger shoots are ornamental and render very well to a front yard food scape!? Growing ginger in home garden is easy if you follow a few simple steps.
Ginger loves a tropical climate – hot, humid with plenty of rainfall. However, ginger can thrive in the temperate regions if you can provide the right environment. Below are helpful tips for gardeners in the hot, dry climates such as the inland Bay Area.
Growing ginger in containers at home, in a dry summer is a bit challenging as the leaves and rhizomes tend to dry out in the summer heat and the harvest is sub par. However, after experimenting with various techniques and locations, I am happy with the process that I have followed for the past couple of years.
This method is particularly useful for those of us in hot and dry climates. We do not get any rainfall after April and have to rely on alternate techniques for moisture retention for those big fat juicy gingers.
Growing ginger in the home garden – tips for success.
Growing ginger – Timing, when to start, growing duration.
Ginger needs a long season to mature. In ideal conditions it takes about 4 months to get fresh young ginger and ginger leaves for immediate consumption, and around 10 months for nice and mature rhizomes that store well.
I typically start my ginger indoors in Feb/Mar/early April and transplant it in the ground by mid-April. I harvest these late Nov – Feb depending on the rains, frost etc. Moving the container grown ginger into the garage / home during the colder months helps them continue to grow larger rhizomes.
While ginger is a perennial in zones 9 and above, the persistent winter rains tend to rot the rhizomes. If you can shelter the rhizomes from water logging, the rhizomes should send out new shoots when the ground warms up. This is typically around May for the east Bay Area. I move the container grown ginger in a sheltered spot, while I completely dig out the ginger grown in the raised beds.
Growing ginger in the home garden – Site location, container choice, soil preparation
Container: The containers can be as wide and deep as a 12″ pot or as large as an in ground raised bed. I prefer growing them in clay pots for a healthy root system. Shallow and wide containers work best as the growth is horizontal.
Site choice: Ginger likes to grow in hot, humid weather with plenty of rainfall. To simulate that in hot and dry climates, find a spot in your garden that has filtered light and natural humidity from the canopy of larger plants such as fruit trees. I like to plant them near my banana plant as the watering conditions are similar, and the ginger thrives under the canopy of the banana plant.
Watering: Consistent watering with drip irrigation is beneficial. Increase the frequency to twice a day during the peak summer months of July and August if your area does not get rainfall.
Soil: Ginger loves to grow in compost that is rich in organic matter. I add plenty of home made compost, leaf mold for good water retention. Addition of sand improves drainage and for proper development of the rhizomes. A good ratio is to use equal parts of well rotted compost, sand and garden soil. Mulch with leaves, straw or compost to lock in the moisture in the soil.
Growing ginger – Selection of the mother rhizome and Pre-sprouting
How to choose ginger for planting
Look for chunky pieces of organic ginger with a smooth plump flesh and at least a few “eyes” with pale greenish tips. Costco, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and local farmers market are good options to find ginger that’s organic. Non-organic ginger has a sprout inhibitor to extend its shelf life.
For large rhizomes at harvest time, choose large plump rhizomes to start with.
Pre-soak the ginger overnight. I like to add a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide to kill off any fungus and mold spores.
If the ginger is a bit too dry and old, pre-soaking for 2 -3 days will help rehydrate the ginger. Rinse the ginger and change the water daily.
Growing ginger – tips for planting and care
In a 12*24 seed starting tray or any shallow container, add a mixture of perlite and peat moss. Lay out the pre-soaked ginger flat on the tray. Adding bottom heat with a germination mat is helpful as it speeds up the rooting process. Add a humidity dome to lock in the moisture. In a couple of weeks, healthy roots start to form, and soon enough shoots will start to appear. At this stage, transplant the ginger in the garden.
Ginger likes to be planted with the rhizomes visible at soil level. Do not plant them too deep. Cover with mulch such as dry leaves or straw to lock in the moisture. There is no additional care or fertilizer needed. I occassionally super charge the soil with a bit of home grown compost mid-season.
Ginger Harvesting
After about 4 months of growth, you can start to harvest young ginger and ginger leaves. Simply break off a small portion of ginger and leave the rest to grow. In about 8-9 months, mature ginger is ready for harvest. Save a few large and healthy rhizomes for future planting and consume the rest.
How much ginger to plant is a question that often comes up. To give you an idea, I planted 7 fat rhizomes in an 8′ bed spaced about 8″ from each other. I harvested about 2 lbs of healthy large gingers, which is a pretty neat harvest.
Growing ginger in the home garden – common pests and diseases
Ginger is an easy plant to grow, with barely any diseases or pest issues. I have had issues with the leaves drying off at the tips due to inadequate water. Increasing the frequency of water and providing the plant a natural humid area helps ginger thrive. Another issue you can encounter is the rhizomes rotting, due to excess water. This could be a problem when the winter rains begin. Protecting the ginger rhizomes from excess rains will help prevent rot.
Growing ginger – In the edible foodscape
Ginger is easy to incorporate in the front yard designs and foodscapes. They are pretty and add vertical height and interest in the front yard garden. Tuck in ginger rhizomes along with other floral, herbs and edibles in your front yard garden and it will go unnoticed as an edible. In the kitchen garden, I like to tuck them under cucumber plants, pole beans, fruit trees, and banana plants. In the front yard, I grow them in containers with edible flowers such as hibiscus, nasturtiums, peppers or by themselves.
I hope my experience with growing ginger inspires you to try it in your own garden. Please share your experience with growing ginger in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
