Growing Ginger

Zingiber Officinale : Zingiberaceae / the ginger family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec

Not recommended for growing in USA - Zone 5a regions

  • Plant pieces of fresh root showing signs of shoots. Best planted at soil temperatures between 68°F and 86°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 6 inches apart
  • Harvest in approximately 25 weeks. Reduce water as plant dies back to encourage rhizome growth.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Grow in separate bed

Your comments and tips

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21 May 19, Geoff (Australia - temperate climate)
Don't pull the plant out. Just dig a little and break off a piece of root as you need it.
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19 Apr 19, michael (Australia - temperate climate)
We live on the NSW Central Coast. I had a disastrous year growing ginger this year and most did not shoot. I also grew Galangal which struggled all summer and winter but is now powering on like there is no tomorrow. Does anybody grow Galanga? If so then when is the best time to dig up and divide rhizomes and/or use some for cooking?
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24 Apr 19, Peter (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi, yes we grow a small amount of Galangal all year round in Brisbane coastal, once established you can just dig an outer piece off anytime its required.
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07 Mar 19, Catherine Hogan (Australia - temperate climate)
I would love to grow fresh ginger but am concerned that my particular local climate might be against me. I live in northwest Sydney in Kellyville and we get stinker summers and really cold and sometimes, frosty winters. I'm thinking pot grown is probably the best so that I can move it around during extremes of weather. I've bought some ginger from the supermarket but now think I should have waited till Spring. Can I start it now? What is the best approach when growing from a chunk purchased at the supermarket? regards Catherine
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21 Apr 19, liz Burke (Australia - temperate climate)
hello catherine. i live in the yarra valley of victoria and, at the end of last year i planted a piece of supermarket ginger. i'm not a great gardener but have managed to produce some plants from it. so it can be done. what i'm planning on doing this year is waiting for the plants to turn yellow and then i'm going to tip it all out (it's in a polystyrene box at the moment) and repot the young rhizomes in one of those large, black pots. it was kept moist during the summer months in a very sunny spot outside but is going to be left now without a great deal of water. then, it's going into a north facing sunny room to over winter. give it a go - you might be pleasantly surprised! cheers!
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17 Apr 19, Kel (Australia - arid climate)
Ginger will grow well where you live in Sydney. I grew it for years in the well draining garden beds in the ground, whilst living both at Badgerys Creek and Kurrajong areas. I now successfully grow it in pots in Canberra. Check out you tube for tips on the right shade, moisture and harvest tips. . I recommend watching 2 videos: one from Mark from north Qld ‘self sufficient me,’ & other one: ginger in a cold climate from Curtis Stone, for some skills. Ginger from the supermarket is not likely to grow if it’s not australian, because it is fumigated for import. Best success will be Organic Australian to get you started Be patient with ginger and do not over water it in winter. I didn’t use sand to mix in Sydney because it held too much moisture, so look into that. Vermiculite and perlite are good options, depending on whether in pots or in beds. All references are mentioned in good faith and without sponsorship. Hopefully you’ll find the information more helpful than my few words. Good luck :)
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10 Mar 19, Ann (Australia - tropical climate)
Hi Catherine, Although I'm in tropical, I have found as long as they have shade as mine are under the edge of a large macadamia tree in a pot they are fine. That way we can measure how much water they are getting to regulate it. It gets afternoon sun for about an hour and it has never been happier. That goes for my tumeric too. I hope this helps.
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06 Mar 19, Gurmeet (Australia - temperate climate)
Can I grow giger now. I m living in Perth thanks
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15 Feb 19, Peter (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I grow ginger successfully in 'foam' boxes from the green grocers. I use a shallow style box with good drainage holes. Use a good potting mix and I mulch the top. I water regularly and liquid fertlize. Ginger doesn’t need full sun all day. Mine don't get the hot afternoon sun. I live north of Brisbane.
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18 Feb 19, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I do the same to grow some greens - lettuce beetroot spinach -(I'm doing this right now- germinated last week) . I had 3 boxes - heavy when full of soil, so I cut some of the top off. I place some shade cloth on the bottom, then mix up some good soil and compost. Top it off with 25 mm of fine potting mix, plant my seeds and more potting mix to cover the seeds. I place them under a shade cloth cover. I water by using a 6 liter sprayer - the spray doesn't dislodge the seeds. Seeds are planted very thick and when grown you just cut the top off and let it regrow. I use a worm castings fertiliser and when bigger a water fertiliser solution. Can do this also to germinate seeds for seedlings. Bundaberg - sub tropical
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Hi! I live in Newcastle too! I know u mentioned u wanted heirloom ginger (I’m not sure u will get “Heirloom” ginger as such-there are several different varieties of edible ginger though). I just bought mine from the supermarket (if u wanted, u could look for organic ginger in supermarket/farmers market etc.) with signs of tiny shoots (u want to make sure of this as sometimes they can be treated with chemicals that prevent shooting-although it seems producers are not using these chemicals as much these days). If u didn’t want to go the supermarket route, u could try Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery (Kyogle, NSW-they have a mail order service & lots of unusual/rare/interesting fruit/herb/spice plants-I find it near impossible not to buy something when I visit the site!). I’m fairly sure greenharvest.com.au has them. Diggers (Dromana, VIC) may also be another possibility. I just did a quick search “buy edible ginger NSW Australia” & got several hits. I left the rhizome out of the soil for a couple of weeks to let the shoots develop more, then planted it. I would buy your ginger a couple of weeks prior to the beginning of spring so it has time to shoot before planting in early spring, as ginger dies back a couple of weeks into winter in Newcastle. You could bring your plant inside for winter if it’s a possibility for you, as it would allow continuous growth-I would probably have a pretty impressive plant by now if I was able to bring mine inside, as Newcastle winters make the plant completely dormant & slows its growth significantly with it having to “come back” each year. Make sure u water minimally over winter, or your rhizome will rot & not reshoot. I wish I had known that ginger dies back in winter here early on, as my first planting died because I planted it in the middle of summer. It just didn’t get enough growth on to make it through the winter and reshoot! I also suggest you don’t harvest it for at least a couple of years, to get the plant really established (as it takes a LOT out of the plant to reshoot each year). I’ve had mine for about 3 years, & it’s successfully “come back” after 2 winters now. I haven’t harvested anything yet, and don’t plan to for another year or so, just to make sure. I grow mine in a big pot, & it’s quite happy in partial shade (I live in a block of flats). Recently, I saw a YouTube video describing a different method of growing ginger that results in better/quicker production-I think I’m going to give it a go! I think I would start this process around mid winter, so plants have spring/summer to get going before winter. 1. Place the rhizome in a container of moist soil, just barely covered (you still need to be able to see the tuber and what it’s doing) 2. Let it shoot. 3. When the shoots are at least a couple of centimetres long(the bigger the better), the base of the shoot should have a bulbous appearance (yellowish in colour) with little bumps on it that will become roots. 4. When there is a decent number of bumps/developing roots, break this off the rhizome (it should break off easily), and plant so the bulbous part of the shoot is well covered (at least 3cm deep-but depends on size of shoot). Don’t plant too deep, or the shoot could rot. You can always add more soil as the shoot grows to ensure the tuber is well covered. 5. Replant the rhizome and wait for the next shoot, repeating the process until the rhizome doesn’t produce anymore shoots. I would probably try planting the “mother” rhizome as well, as u have nothing to loose-it may grow as well! You could buy several rhizomes at the same time & follow this method-it would result in more plants, just in case some don’t make it through their first winter. Apparently this is a method that many commercial growers use for higher/faster production. Goodluck!!!

- Rachael

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