How to Grow an Edible Ginger Root Plant
While many tropical plants are called gingers, the edible ginger spice comes from the species Zingiber officinale, with origins in tropical southern Asia. Sometimes called Chinese ginger, this herbaceous perennial grows from a knobby, tan-colored stem called a rhizome. In the warmth of summer and with fertile, moist soil, it sprouts stems 2 to 4 feet tall in a clump about 3 to 6 feet wide. The leaves make food and cause the underground rhizomes to branch and multiply, so by the end of summer lots of juicy, spicy roots exist, ready for harvest. Grow edible ginger plants outdoors year-round in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 8b and warmer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Organic matter (compost or well-rotted manure)
- Fresh ginger rhizomes
- Organic mulch
- Fertilizer
Instructions
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Walk through your garden and find the ideal planting and growing locale for the edible ginger plants over the summer. Choose a spot where the soil is fertile, moist but well-drained. Avoid a soil that remains soggy after rain. Also, ginger foliage doesn't tolerate direct sunlight well, so a spot in bright shade under a tree is ideal. Dappled sunlight or two to four hours of direct summer sunlight at dawn or dusk is fine, too.
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Dig the garden soil with a shovel to a depth of 6 to 12 inches when there is no threat of frost in spring. Overturn the soil and break up soil clumps, pulverizing the soil so that it becomes crumbly and fine-textured.
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Place a 5- to 10-inch layer of compost or well-rotted manure over the planting area and incorporate it into the soil with the shovel. Mix the soil well so the organic matter settles as deeply as 10 to 12 inches down. Allow the soil to settle naturally for three to seven days before planting.
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Dig a planting hole large enough to accommodate the ginger rhizome. Dig the hole deep enough to lay the rhizome horizontally and cover the top of the rhizome with under 1 inch of topsoil.
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Water the newly planted rhizome to wet the soil to a depth of 5 to 6 inches.
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Place a 3-inch layer of organic mulch atop the planting area to deter weeds and conserve soil moisture.
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Supplement natural rainfall as the ginger sprouts and grows with irrigation to keep the soil moist, but never soggy. When temperatures in summer get above 85 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity is high, the ginger plant grows with vigor.
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Apply a balanced formula of slow-release granular fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) to the soil according to product directions once the rhizome sprouts from the soil. Alternatively, in the heat of summer, mix water-soluble fertilizer into a sprinkling can and apply to the soil at the base of the ginger plant. Follow product label directions for dosages and timing of the next application.
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Dig up and harvest ginger rhizomes in late summer or fall for use in the kitchen. Once fall frost or the drier weather associated with the subtropical/tropical dry season starts, ginger plants naturally yellow their leaves and stems die back to the ground. The rhizomes remain alive and safe in the soil even down to winter temperatures reaching 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit for short durations.
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Tips & Warnings
Select firm but plump rhizomes, looking for small light tan "eyes" or growing tips on the fresh rhizomes. These are ideal for immediate planting; any firm rhizome will sprout if not dehydrated or rotten.
Ginger plants appreciate warm soil at planting time. For a good guideline, plant rhizomes at the same time you transplant tomato or pepper seedlings outdoors in spring after the threat of frost passes.
Plant ginger rhizomes in large containers and grow as a large houseplant if your growing season outdoors is short or summer temperatures rarely get above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Plant multiple ginger rhizomes about 15 inches apart from each other in the garden.
If you do overwinter the ginger rhizomes outdoors in the ground, do not overwater once the plants naturally die back from the chilly temperatures.The worst condition for a ginger plant is a cold, wet soil. If possible, keep the soil drier when the plant is dormant in winter.
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