How to Cultivate Ginger

The ginger rhizome is edible.

Ginger is a perennial flowering plant, reaching 4 feet tall, that is grown for its edible rhizome and highly scented flowers. Although the United States produces ginger in Hawaii, the plant also is imported from India and Jamaica. Most varieties of ginger are hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture zone 7, but some are not cold-hardy. If you want to grow ginger, it's important to choose a variety adapted to your region's climate.

Things You'll Need

• Compost or manure
• Sand
• Pitchfork
• Slow-release 10-10-10 fertilizer
• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Add 4 inches of compost or rotted manure and 3 inches of sand to the soil of your planting site. Mix the amendments into the top 8 inches of the soil with a pitchfork.

2. Plant the ginger rhizome 1 inch deep. Cover it with soil.

3. Water the rhizome daily if there is no rain, to keep the soil moist as it the plant grows.

4. Fertilize the ginger in the spring when it has new growth, using a slow-release 10-10-10 fertilizer. Fertilize again in midsummer. Water the soil before applying fertilizer, and follow the label directions for application rates.

5. Remove spent ginger flowers periodically during the growing season. Snip them off with pruning shears, just below the flower head.

6. Cut back on watering in the winter, while the plant is dormant. If you are growing the ginger in a container, bring it indoors so that you can regulate the amount of water it receives. The rhizome is subject to rot if it remains wet when the weather is cold.

References

• University of Florida Nassau County Extension: Herbs and Vegetables
• Floridata: Zingiber Officinale
• National Tropical Botanical Garden: Meet the Plants
• "Tropical Gardening"; David Bar-Zvi; 1996