Is ginger easy to grow?

hawkypork starts with ...
Has anyone ever tried growing ginger in a Perth type climate? Do I just get a bit of root from the green grocer and put it in the ground?

Julie says...
I think you need to protect it over winter - maybe a greenhouse or similiar.

I have read several times that ginger needs 9 months of warm weather to form good roots. We only really get 6 months in Perth.

But it's worth trying with one root in a pot - no big deal if it doesn't work.

snottiegobble says...
This spring I bought ginger, galangal & turmuric rhizomes & planted them in pots with plenty of B&B,pelleted chook manure in the potting mix. they have remained in the shaded greenhouse.
The ginger did not sprout,the galangal has mediocre growth, but the turmeric is magnificent!
Someone on the forum once mentioned that commercial ginger is treated with a growth inhibitor & I now believe them so make sure you source yours from an organic supplier.

au0rey says...
I managed to use broken pieces of ginger which I bought from market/supermarket and planted it in the ground a while back. Only one out of four produced a shoot and now two shoots. I have since protected the shoots with stakes surrounded with strong translucent plastic and lots of sugarcane mulch. I think with Melbourne's weather, it may not survive unless I have greenhouse. Anyhow I will know when winter ends.

I also bought a pot of galangal from Melbourne flower & garden show and just planted into ground. Same treatment with plastic and I think it will survive. Galangal seems hardier than the normal edible ginger.

I tend to agree with Nick that if we water too much before any sprouts, the roots may rot before sprouting.

Gingers are so expensive...today I bought a piece at $29 per kg! It's worth trying to grow some since they are perenial. :)

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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Nick says...
Heres some pics of my plant. As you can see a couple of the leaves have a bit of sunburn or something.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1	Picture: 2	Picture: 3
Picture: 4

Brad says...
kalamunda markets has a stall flogging mainly ornamental but also edible ginger. I spoke to her the start of the month and she reckoned its easy both in ground and in pots. which surprised me

Diana says...
Hi Peter,

It's normal for ginger to die down in winter (when you can harvest it). It does that in Queensland too. Galangal does not die down in winter.

Peter says...
Hi Diana,
what I meant was 'completly killed' - never saw it coming up with new shoots again!

Nick says...
You could either pull the plant up fully then plant it afresh or just brush back some soil and harvest as necessary.

Julie says...
Rakeesh, I don't know anything about drying ginger, as I like it fresh - completely different flavour. If you prefer it dried, maybe do a Google search for 'drying ginger'.

I peel mine and whiz it up in the food processor, then freeze in ice cube trays. One cube is usually perfect for a stir fry, and no need to fiddle with chopping at dinner time!

alinperth says...
Can anyone suggest where I can buy good quality ginger and galangal rhyzomes to plant out?

radial says...
we bought china garlic planted left it in the ground for three years never touched it we now have so much all our fruit trees have at least six plants around each,and it is very very strong

MaryT says...
Ginger is quite delicious for stir fry when it's young––that is when it appears pink and the skin is thin and slips off easily. The older you keep it the stronger (hotter) it gets.