Ginger is a tropical plant that grows best in regions that are warm and humid but in
this video we will show how to grow ginger in cold North American climate.
We will go over the entire process from preparing the rhizomes,
to starting the plant, transplanting, taking care of the plant and harvesting. So let's get started.
Ginger is a tropical plant that will grow year long
if you are in a warm climate but it will not survive in cold weather.
Ginger plants take 8 to 10 months to reach full maturity so we have to plan accordingly.
We are trying to grow ginger in USDA Zone 6 or Zone 7 so we have to plant before spring
by starting the plant indoor and once the weather is warm enough we can transplant them outdoors.
To start you'll need to get some ginger rhizomes. These can be purchased from your
local grocery store or farmer's market. It's preferable to get organic version,
also try to find ginger that already has some eyes if possible. Select roots that are large and
healthy, 4 to 6 inches long with multiple fingers extending from it. Slice off the fingers make sure
each rhizome piece is at least 2 inches long with at least one bud. The larger the piece the better.
Next allow the pieces to dry for 2 to 3 days before planting. Set them aside at
a sunny windowsill. This step permits the cuts to form a thick callus over the cuts.
This thick callus will help prevent rot after planting.
We will be starting the ginger pieces in a small container. Fill the container
with good quality potting mix and bury the ginger roots about 2 inches below the soil,
do not bury them too deep. Make sure the buds are pointing upwards
and water the plants regularly and within 2 weeks shoots would start appearing.
As a tropical rhizome this Asian perennial can only stand temperatures about 50°F or higher,
anything lower simply will make this plant go into dormancy and at worst kill it off
completely. Since we are growing the plant in zone 6 we will have to keep the plant indoor
in a warm place where it can enjoy some sunlight until it is ready to go outside.
So once the temperature is above 50°F to 55°F it's time to transplant them in a
larger container outside. We will be growing it in this large pot.
Since we are growing our ginger in pot we need to use lightweight soil mix. Ginger needs a rich
well drained loamy soil. Potting mixes specifically made for containers will also work.
Ginger likes loose soil so that the roots can expand. Don't use regular garden soil
for growing in containers as it tends to compact too easily. For this particular
soil mix that we have we mixed equal parts of manure, coconut coir, perlite and garden soil.
These ginger saplings were grown indoors for 3 1/2 months.
We mostly kept them on the windowsill and look how healthy they look. All our ginger pieces
except for once sprouted to form plants, so you can see it's easy to start them.
We need to provide ample space for the plant to grow, so we will be only planting three of them
in this pot. Just make a small hole about 3 to 4 inches deep and plant them one by one.
Once planted the plant needs very little care. Make sure the plants receive at least 6 to 8
hours of sun a day. If the days are getting hotter and if the leaves are turning yellow then you can
move the pot to a partial shaded area, this will reduce leaf burn. Water the plants well,
remember that one of the keys of growing ginger is keeping the soil moist but not wet.
If you want a vibrant beautiful ginger plant to grow year long you have to make sure that
it hangs out in temperature between 55°F to 60°F at the coldest. If it gets any cooler,
then this indicates to the rhizomes that it's time for a long hibernation until spring.
Ginger requires soil that is rich in organic matter. We will be topping the
pots with well rotted manure. This additional nutrient will help the roots get bigger,
additionally you can also apply all-purpose fertilizer during the growing season,
Ginger plants need 8 to 10 months of growing time before
they can be harvested. When the ginger is ready the leaves start to become yellow.
So it has been approximately 9 months since we started our experiment and let's hope that we
can find some good ginger underneath that soil. The easiest way to get the ginger is to turn the
container over, dumping it into a wheelbarrow or onto a tarp. You can then dig through the soil.
Look at the root structure that was underneath the soil. The small roots
have filled up the entire pot below. Carefully dig out all the ginger.
This is a nice looking harvest. It's very satisfying to see how beautifully they grew into.
Now ginger is typically grown in the soil so we have planted some of the ginger saplings in
the garden bed. They too turned out very well but looks like the one in the pot did a little
better because of the extra care it might have gotten. We have to be careful using this tool
to dig out the roots. Make sure you are not too close to the roots and accidentally slicing them.
Ginger roots grow horizontally along the surface so it's easy to dig them up.
As you can see with just a few ginger pieces we were able to produce so many ginger. This is a
very easy crop to grow. In the beginning you spend some time in getting the plants started
but once it's planted there is very little effort and it's perfect plant to grow in a container.
The plant looks very beautiful and you get to harvest home grown ginger.
I hope you are inspired to try to grow some ginger
in your home garden too.. Thanks for watching and happy gardening !!