- To talk about ginger root when talking about the edible part of the ginger plant is actually incorrect. You eat the rhizomes. Ginger loves a sheltered spot, filtered sunlight, warm weather, humidity, and rich, moist soil. (What else did you expect from a tropical plant?)
- Start your ginger indoors, it will be too cold outside in spring and it needs all the warmth it can get. What ginger can’t stand is frost, direct sun, strong winds, and soggy, waterlogged soil.
- Whether you grow your ginger root in a pot or in the ground, you do need really good soil to start with. It needs to be rich enough to feed your ginger; you can always add some fertilizer. It needs to hold enough moisture so it doesn’t dry out, but needs to be free draining to avoid the ginger roots becoming water logged.
- You cut or break up the ginger rhizomes into little pieces with a couple of growing buds each. Plant your ginger root approximately five centimetres deep, with the growing buds facing up.
- The rhizomes don’t mind if they become a bit crowded. Ginger only grows to about two to three feet in height. A 14 inch pot easily holds three average rhizomes divided.
- Ginger needs a lot of moisture while actively growing. The soil should never dry out.
- Towards the end of summer, as the weather starts cooling down, your ginger will start to die back. Reduce the water, even let the ground dry out. This encourages the ginger to form rhizomes. Once all the leaves have died down your ginger is ready for harvest.
