Is ginger easy to grow?

Jim says...
Can't speak for normal ginger but Galangal which is from the ginger family grows well.

jules says...
I grew some in the hills once. It grew until it was a foot high, then bandicoots took a dislike to it and kept pulling it out. Didn't eat it, just pulled it out and left it on the ground. Having a laugh at me probably!

Nick says...
Thats not necessarily true snottiegobble, I bought a ginger rhizome from Coles (plump with some visible "eyes") and planted it in a pot of garden soil in my greenhouse. I watered it occasionally and eventually it sent up a shoot which is now about 1 and a half feet high! After one failed attempt, I found out that they need not too much water before rooting but more when it grows leaves. I saw some rhizomes which looked good for rooting not long ago, I you like I can root it for you.

au0rey says...
Here's the picture of the ginger shoot before I protect it with plastic.

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snottiegobble says...
Thanks folks! you may well be right about the watering before sprouting although the ginger rhyzomes were still solid when I threw them out. Maybe they were inports & not grown locally!
Thanks for your offer Nick, but WA quarantine is very strict on imports from Eastern states.
I will source some ginger locally & try again next spring.
I have heard that garlic from China wont sprout either!

Peter says...
I tried supermarket ginger twice: Sprouted in ground, grew fine but died even already in autumn. Someone I know grows it in pots, seems to work fine, but I missed out to ask , if the pots are overwintering inside...

au0rey says...
My garlic bulbs from China (see the single bulb on the left of window sill) sprouted...many of them...and when i grew them they do grow fine.

The ones i bought from supermarket which are from Mexico?? if Iam not wrong also sprouted...and since they are the more expensive garlic ($16/kg), i decided to plant them and hope to harvest next season. :)

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KTV says...
How do you harvest ginger? Do I have to dig it all up or dig down and break a bit off?

Rakeesh says...
Could i please be told how to store ginger
After the harvest? I wish to dry and leave the skin on. Thankyou. Rakeesh

au0rey says...
Rakeesh, you can store fresh ginger wrapped up with newspapar and place it in an unzipped ziglog bag in the vege compartment. Do not store it wrapped with in other sort of paper. Make sure you dry the ginger piece of excess moisture before storing or it will go mouldy and rot. I can store this way up to weeks...

Alternatively they can be frozen but once thawed, they are all soggy and soft which is not so nice to use.

Charles cant spell says...
Now is not really the time as they are tropicals, I suggest you look in organic markets/stores, asian or really any small fruit n veg store. Perhaps wait until September then scout around for some fresh looking stuff, basically if is brown and dry it not as good, rhyzomes should be plump and shiny and colorful.

phlyn says...
I keep my ginger, with its skin on, in a jar of wine. Lasts for months. I leave the skin on when using it.

Cerveza Chasa says...
I live in Perth and thought I'd give it a go. I can't quite rememeber when I planted my ginger (ginger root bought from a market), might have been start of last summer. The first lot died because I watered it too much. But this one survived. I only had it in a small pot to see if it would grow and I must say, I'm very pleased with the result. :) I'll definately be growing more. (picked today, 070713)
BTW, does anyone know where to get turmeric?

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Cerveza Chasa says...
Thanks Julie. I really didnt give it too much loving lol. I had it in the backyard and was only in the sun for half the day. Complete shade in scorching hot days throughout summer (that hot spell we had). I think I used blood n bone, compost and used seasol fortnightly.
:)

juanita says...
I bought my ginger plant from bunnings on march this yr, it was thriving well in pot..@ the moment no sign of life, i hope it'll grow back when the weather warms up in oct

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Brain says...
I second MaryT, once the leaves and stalk have browned off, you should be able to seperate the plant from the root (rhizome). That's probably when you know when they are 100% ready. I'd dig them up, cut off the roots and store in a airly place out of direct sunlight. Of course, go eat some but save a few decent sized pieces with the 'eye' for replanting comes next spring.

I too started off with a bunnings speciment some 3 years ago but have since supplemented growing ginger from the supermarket, simply because demand outstrip supply. I've had great success this year, with over 5 kg harvest from 4 large pots.

I think once you've tasted your own grown ginger and discover how easy it really is, there's no turning back. :)

BJ says...
I have to give it a good try this season. Birdwood, who usually supply Bunnings, grow theirs in 30cm pots so they can control the watering scedule and so its easily accessible for propagating. I have turneric, native ginger and galangal growing wild and need to get the ginger going to complete my dishes!

Anyone know how to use turneric? I'm swamped with it and need to learn how to use it properly.

juanita says...
Tnx! for the helpful hints Mary T & Brain..I'll check my ginger 1st thing in the morning, i hope it's still alive coz i just gave some h2o few days ago

Nannyapples says...
You are right snottiegobble, Chinese garlic won't grow as they have to be sprayed when they arrive in Australiaand it kills them. ABC gardening show on Saturday morning said if you put a Chinese bulb and an Australian bulb in a glass of water, only the Australian one will shoot as the Chinese one is dead. More reasons to grow your own vegies.

Brain says...
Garlic - you can still grow, may be a bit late but can be done.

Ginger - wait till early spring. You harvest around early to mid winter. june to aug, so work about 9 months back. Ie plant in sep to nov. These dates works for me in bris. And i am on my 3rd season.

Lastly, keep an eye out for fresh harvested ginger at super/markets between now and spring for growing. I have a high request for my own grown ones and have to buy supermarket ones for growing next season. Look for young ones so you can store them until spring and free from mould. Have fun! It is very rewarding but takes a year of planning in advance.

Brain says...
I have found moisture, humidity is your worst enemy. So not in plastic and any enclosed spaces. I even had some in an open container and it went mouldy.

Sunlight is both good and bad. In general, no direct sun but in a semi bright spot.

Air flow and dryness is key.

I would try to source gingers in late winter - that will save you the headache of storage for a few months. But sometimes you see something at a good price and just cant resist. I would buy a big long piece with good skin - looks like its been cured - but not wrinkly cured! avoid breaking it up and i normally just placed it on a table on top of some old newspaper.

also with supermarket gingers, they might have been treated, so maybe a quick wash and then dry skin throughly,

In about spring, as the temp warms up, you will see the nodes begin to swell and turn green, that is when i cut them in good size pieces, about 2 50 cents coin side by side as a minimum size. With Roughly 2 or 3 growing nodes. Not too small, otherwise they dry up. Then i would further rest it for 2 weeks for the wound to heal and sealed up. Then it is ready for planting in around mid spring.

I do take a bit of care to ensure any ginger collected from current season gets to a state of planting for next season. However, that is not to say that anyone cant simply buy some pieces and plant them straight and still get results, as it is fairly easy to grow. :)

Julie says...
Brain, now would be the tricky time for ginger in WA, if it still has two months to go before harvest.

The nights are already pretty cool here, especially in the hills, so if I got ginger to that stage I'd have to move it into a greenhouse situation I'm sure.

I have a Hills hoist I have always planned to cover in plastic and turn into a greenhouse. The right sort of plastic is pretty pricey, but I'm going to investigate it.

Julie says...
Thanks Brain. Useful pic - good to know what it looks like at that stage.

MaryT1 says...
Looks good Brain but yes, I think you have too many plants in that pot.

VF says...
Nice haul from one pot. JohnMc, have you finished your polyhouse now?

Brain says...
i am envious. There was a story on Garden Aus and this Asian guy down in Vic had one built himself. He achieved like 50 deg C with just plastic sheets. I would love one just to keep the fruit flies away!

MaryT1 says...
Wow John Mc - sounds like a winter palace for your plants. It's bigger than my entire garden. Please invite me to the opening :)

MaryT1 says...
Can't wait John Mc1; please hurry up and finish the thing or I might be too decrepit to come! How many years has it been? :)

JohnMc1 says...
It's 6 metres by 12 metres by 3.5 metres high, with room to double it. That's and oldish pic, I have progressed with some bracing but still a little way off before the plastic covering goes on. I have been told it's best to install the plastic on a hot day so it stretches, so it might not go on till mid summer.

Brendan says...
Here's some pics of what we done. We drove in star pickets, then slipped poly pipe over them. Might be a bit easier then bending gal pipe :-)

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MaryT says...
Very pretty, Brendan - hope it's cow proof :)

Brendan says...
Can't remember how much it cost, but wasn't too bad.
I 'think' it was 50mm (2") poly John Mc?
Note the garden beds are dead level :-)

sternus1 says...
John how the hell did you bend that galv. Pipe? Did it come that way?

Julie says...
JohnMc, I posted this in 2007!

Julie says...
Scott, your 'mossie net' will last longer if you erect a frame made of 2" black polypipe, so the branches don't snag. Just take the net down when you have finished picking, and it should last quite a while. Two lengths in a sort of cross shape at the top (may have to tie with wire)should do the trick. Sorry I can't do a drawing - hope this is clear.

Slicko says...
Hi Brain,
That planting should be almost ready for harvest.
Pic of mine from a couple of weeks ago
Mike

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Brain says...
For the ginger growers, the late and plentyful rain in se qld is rotting quiet a bit of my gingers and lost some already. So am forced to harvest at signs of leave dieback. But some others are still growing.

As can be seen in pic, the brown bit is signs of rot, and if leave as is, it will spread throughout the entire rhizone. So the solution is to cut and away the bad parts.

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi nicg

Tried planting ginger too when I was still living in Tamworth, NSW with great success. Here in Melbourne, It's too cold and the growing season is too short for ginger except maybe in a hothouse 😎