Growing Ginger

Zingiber Officinale : Zingiberaceae / the ginger family

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

(Best months for growing Ginger in Australia - sub-tropical regions)

  • P = Plant root
  • Plant pieces of fresh root showing signs of shoots. Best planted at soil temperatures between 20°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 15 cm 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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11 Jan 17, Marion (Australia - temperate climate)
I'm trying to grow ginger for the first time in a greenhouse. The first shoot appeared about two weeks before Christmas. I have now realised the pot may be too shallow as it simplanted in about 25 cm of soil. Is it possible to transplant it to a deeper pot? How deep should the pot be?
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12 Jan 17, Anna (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I found growing ginger to be most successful in a polystyrene box. It worked very well. I kept the box on the back porch and gave it plenty of water.
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03 Jan 17, Trudy (Australia - tropical climate)
I have inherited a ginger crop from the previous owner of our house and have no idea how to harvest and replant. We bought the house in February 2016 and the ginger plant was about half a meter in height. I have not done anything until now and they have grown to about a meter in size but the leaves have been a bit damaged by grass hoppers. I dug up the crop to rebuild the vege garden and then replanted the crop in fresh good quality soil. Since then the plants have fallen over and don't look too healthy. Not sure if I should have planted them deeper or cut the whole leaf off and replanted the roots as described above. I am not sure how long they have been there but would really like to save them if possible. Any advice would be appreciated.
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04 Jan 17, Chris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You didn't say when you did this, but disturbing the ginger before it died off in winter was your problem. At the moment all its energy is going into maintaining the leaves. I would chop them off or at least by half if some are still good and it will then try to save it's roots and ,maintain the ginger corm. It should then send up new leaves when ready. Keep it moist but not wet so,it doesn't rot. If by winter nothing has happened, dig it up and check the corms are healthy, split if big and replant. Edible ginger is better every two years as bigger corms form, which is when I divide. It freezes in alfoil also. Fresh ginger can be harvested carefully anytime from side.Hope this helps.
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01 Jan 17, Sherrill (Australia - tropical climate)
Just wanted to say. My ginger crop originated from fruit shop bought ginger. A couple of pieces started to shoot. I cut them into pieces like you do with a sprouting potato and shallow planted them in a mix of soil and potting mix with a little sugarcane mulch over the top. The first crop was a bit ordinary when I harvested. I had missed some pieces and they have come up by themselves. This second crop is much bigger and better. The plants are much stronger too. I will now be growing ginger in my other garden beds as a rotational crop because ginger leaves the soil friable and ready to plant.
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01 Jan 17, Scott (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks for your tips Sherril. I'm going to have a go at growing it myself but I think I'll be growing ginger in pots as I'm in Victoria and don't think it would survive our cooler months.
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15 Dec 16, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
is December to late to plant ginger on the Gold Coast.
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20 Dec 16, John (Australia - temperate climate)
December should still be OK in your area. Don't plant it too deep and make sure that drainage is good to avoid the rhyzome from rotting. Trust this helps.
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08 Dec 16, (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted tumeric rhizomes about 6 weeks ago and still no sign of them developing. I wonder if anyone has advice about them. Many thanks.
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09 Dec 16, John (Australia - temperate climate)
Ginger/turmeric can take a while to sprout particularly in cooler weather which we have had a lot of in southern Australia this year. Last year I had almost given up on mine before it sprouted. It was s also susceptible to rot in cold damp soil. Carefully scrape some soil away and feel the rhizome to see if it is still firm or has rotted. The rhizomes need warm, moist, well drained soil as they are really a semi tropical/tropical plant. Maybe you could grow it in a large tub in a sunny spot. Trust this helps.
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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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