Ginger Cultivation: In-Ground & In Containers
Ginger plants can be cultivated in containers as well as in the ground. If you like to garden and you have an interest in growing ginger in containers, then here is an easy way for you to plant & grow ginger.
Planting Ginger
First & foremost, soak 2-3 fat ginger tubers in warm water ( 98-103s Fraenheit) for 8-12 hours. Fill an empty container with a mixture of soil & compost. Your container needs to be about 15" around & about 12" in depth. Plant your ginger tubers into the soil with the buds facing uppwards the surface.
Make sure that all the buds are evenly spaced from each other by about 3"-4".
Water daily in for the first 2 weeks then adjust your irrigation schedule once your plants start growing. Once your ginger plants have grown some and they seem to be healthy, you can begin to carry out the next phase of growing ginger.
You can move them outside and let them soak in the sun light.
When signs of cold weather such as cold winds & cooler temperatures begin, simply relocate your ginger plants indoors.
It is important to note that ginger plants need to be kept dry during winter.
It will taker approximately 9 months to 1 year for a ginger plant will grow and reach about 4' in height. New sprouts will develop beside the main plant and may be harvested to plant new ginger plants.
In the ground ginger plants do best in a partially shaded area with a rich composted soil that is moist. Ginger plants can and do make excellent house plants as long as they can get some sun.
Storing Ginger
Now that you have grown your ginger what do 
you do with it? Fresh ginger roots are easily stored in plastic bags & then refrigerated for up to 4 weeks. Dried ginger is stored in airtight containers for up to 90 days, if it is stored in a dry but cool place. You may decide to make crystallized ginger as a means of preserving it. This is an easy process that is simply a sugaring process. you can look it up on Google.
Sources:
http://www.wildgingerfarm.com/about.htm
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV067
http://www.centralfloridafarms.com/exotics.htm
http://www.browardpalmtrees.com/home.htm
The Ginger Book: The Ultimate Home Remedy
Stephen Fulder, 1996
ISBN #: 9780895297259
Hardy Gingers: Including Hedychium, Roscoea, And Zingiber
T. M. E. Branney & Tony Schilling, 2005
ISBN #: 9780881926774
Ginger: The Genus Zingiber
P. N. Ravindran, K. Nirmal Babu & K. Nirmal Babu, 2004
ISBN #: 9780415324687
Copyright © 2009 Donald R Houston, PhD. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the author's consent.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 6
1- There are many types of ginger and only a couple are edible. Edible ginger should never be planted twice running in the same area after harvesting and never near ornamental gingers. Need to wait at least a couple of years due to the "wilt" -
Bacterial wilt caused by the ginger strain of Ralstonia (=Pseudomonas) solanacearum systemically infects edible ginger (Zingiber officinale) and ornamental gingers (Hedychium spp.), causing wilt in infected plants.
2- The blooms showing on the article above are none from the edible ginger (Zingiber officinale) - the first photo of blooms is actually a type of Turmeric and not the ginger.
3- In Hawaii edible gingers are planted in fields in full sun. There are a couple of ginger farmers testing growing in individual bags under shade houses (screen houses) or under roof.
I was commissioned to write an article on growing ginger (for the upcoming Winter edition of Edible Hawaiian Islands) and have learned a lot more from the farmers than any of the Internet sources have shown me....