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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01 Jan 21, Deborah (Australia - temperate climate)
Yes you can grow ginger. Best in a ceramic pot with rich composted soil. Early morning sun then full/dappled shade. Likes water, mist the leaves on very hot days. Plant rhizomes in Nov/Dec. When the leaves start to die off around June stop watering. You can harvest in Spring.
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07 Dec 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It suggests here that you can't. You could try a small area/few as a trial. Planting time would be the guess work, maybe plant spring to have a crop autumn winter.
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17 Sep 20, Partap singh (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
i would like to know that is Griffith NSW is good area to Grow ginger please.
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10 Oct 20, Paul (Australia - temperate climate)
You might find this article useful https://planyourpatch.com/how-cold-hardy-is-ginger/
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18 Sep 20, (Australia - temperate climate)
No you need warm temps for it.
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10 Jun 20, Yggy (Australia - temperate climate)
If you cut a piece off the root in the soil, isn't the part left exposed where you cut susceptible to rotting? I heard somewhere to leave the plant to harden the area a bit before planting, but i don't know how that is meant to work in the soil..
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11 Jun 20, Anonymous (Australia - temperate climate)
You say you are temperate and by this guide they don't suggest growing in temperate. Best grown in tropic and sub-tropic. Plants are pretty tough sometimes. 2 options, break some off and leave the piece in the ground exposed to the air to dry. Or don't water it for a few days/week or so.
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14 Sep 20, Sandy (Australia - tropical climate)
I grew ginger in an aquaponics set up in Perth. So it depends on where your temperate zone is. Full sun planted about now will give you results. Maybe not as good as tropical areas, but pretty good anyway.
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17 May 20, Sally (Australia - temperate climate)
May I plant ginger now — mid-May?
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23 May 20, Teresa (Australia - temperate climate)
Depending on where you live? It’s too cold for Melbourne now. Ginger should be planted in October.
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Showing 51 - 60 of 254 comments
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Hi Sara, You can! I grew it for a couple of years in a pot when I lived in Panania (low-on-space-rental) and also the last few years in the Hawkesbury. It grows well in Sydney, we got a bumper crop from just 3 store bought pieces, harvested a year later. We would have gotten even more kgs if I have know it doesn't like direct sun, ours was a little sunburnt. We ended up making about 100 bottles of ginger beer and sharing them around :-) I'm going to plant again this weekend, close to a nice warm fence but out of direct sun. I'm also going to experiment with water loving herbs as a ground cover. I hope this will increase humidity and allow me a second crop for the space. Since ginger is upright, I can plant a companion ground-cover. Maybe strawberries or tarragon? Something that can handle lots of water. Cheers and happy gardening, Michelle

- Michelle

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