How to Grow Culinary Ginger

Have some ginger tea for nausea.

Culinary ginger is the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a plant that grows to 4 feet in height. It is used extensively to flavor Asian cuisine and also in tea and other beverages. Culinary ginger has medicinal uses as well. According to a study, published in "The Lancet" medical journal in 1982 and cited on the Floridata website, powdered ginger is more effective in treating motion sickness than certain over-the-counter remedies. Culinary ginger should be grown within zones 8 through 12 on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zone Map.

Things You'll Need

• Knife
• Sand
• Manure

Instructions

1. Cut the ginger rhizome into 1-inch pieces. Each piece should contain at least one "eye." Set the pieces aside until they form a callus. This generally takes about three days.

2. Choose an area of the garden in which to plant the ginger root. It should receive morning sun and afternoon shade. In particularly warm areas, grow the ginger in the shade.

3. Add a 3-inch layer of sand and a 3-inch layer of well-rotted manure to the soil and mix them into the top 12 inches.

4. Plant the culinary ginger rhizome 1 inch deep and 15 inches apart. Cover them with soil.

5. Keep the soil slightly moist at all times.

Tips & Warnings

• Ginger does not require additional fertilizer during the season.

• You can plant the ginger root you find at the grocery store.

References

• Floridata; Zingiber Officinale; Dave Skinner; November 2003
• University of Florida Extension; Ginger-Zingiber Officinale Roscoe; James M. Stephens

Resources

• United States National Arboretum: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map