It is no secret that the ginger is one of the healthiest spices. It gives a very special taste to our foods, but it also prevents many diseases, or even cures them. Most of the time we use store-bought ginger, but it’s good to know that you can actually grow ginger at home, and the process is not as difficult as you would think.
Being a tropical plant, ginger likes shade, warmth and high moisture. It also prefers the soil to be constantly wet, but it can’t live in stagnant water. Also, it can’t survive in the cold.
If you decide to grow ginger, the best solution is to get the rhizomes from someone who already grows ginger. Rhizomes, bulbs that already have small roots on them, are the most perfect for planting.
If you buy ginger from the store, make sure that you buy ripe, full, fresh bulbs. You should soak them in water for a night to get rid of pesticides the ginger might have been treated with. You should plant the bulb into a wide pot, as ginger grows horizontally. The soil has to have good drainage, and it should be rich in nutrients.
It is recommended to plant the ginger late in the winter or early in the spring. It likes sunny spots, but it shouldn’t be kept in glaring sun. Instead, you should keep it in a warm, draft-free corner. When you water your ginger, you should use a spray bottle to water the soil directly, and later threat the plant the same way, in order to provide conditions similar to the natural habitat of the plant in the tropics. In a few weeks after planting, the first sprouts will appear.
Four months after planting, you can harvest the first fresh ginger roots. Cut these off and then cover the rest of the roots again with soil. If you care for your ginger properly, it will grow new bulbs permanently.