Growing Ginger

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

When I planted it, it looked like it was getting ready to sprout but no sign. Has anyone grown it successully? My lemon grass is looking good and it needs similar conditions.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Am trying at the moment - Madhur Jaffrey says in one of her books that it can be grown in free draining (so I suppose slightly sandy) soil. As it's a tropical plant, I've got it on my warmest and brightest window sill and I have a few shoots about half an inch long just under the surface. I suppose even the warmest kitchen is still colder than where ginger comes from naturally, so I'm just going to hope for the best and pop an empty lemonade bottle over the top if it gets chilly. If I had the luxury, I'd pop it in a conservatory, but there aren't many of those on 3rd floor council flats....!

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

Mine is in the sunniest window as well. How long ago did you plant it? I didn't think to cover it (Duh!) but I will go and do that now. Thanks!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

No probs! I only found it languishing down the back of the coffee machine a couple of weeks ago and it was just starting to show a greenish tint. Afraid other than that, I haven't really got much of a clue - I tend to subscribe to the zen gardening school - I look on the plants with a degree of loving kindness (lol) and if it grows, it will grow (and some of my plants really grow).

Let me know how it's getting on!

mgardner

hi

yes have successfully grown ginger. My friend and I bought reduced price root
ginger with little bulbs sprouting, potted these up and have had quite a lot of root. hope this helps

Davesnave

I grow Hedychium gardnerianum, a relative of the ginger plants you get in supermarkets, and probably hardier. It doesn't flower until late in the season and resents disturbance, which is a pain if, like me, you want to sell them.

I'd imagine that any roots you plant now will need to grow until next year before flowering. You could put it outside in the summer if you have a sunny, sheltered space.

neilS

Yes - planted some about 6 weeks ago. Its in a large pot by my balcony doors with some tumeric. Theyre all about 18" tall except the tumeric which now has 2 leaves and is a bit bigger. I have a large pot growing outside at my place in India that dies back every year when it gets too hot and dry, but grows back towards the end of the monsoon - loads of rhisomes and I use this for cooking. This is the first time I had success here tho - maybe it was down to the hot humid weather we've had, or maybe the fact I got some ginger from a shop that wasn't too fresh - they wouldn't have sold it in Tescos, however, it was more shrivled and the 'buds' had grown longer and pointy - before I've planted the ones with greeny buds but they've just rotted. The tumeric took months to start off, but its a nice looking plant.

Larumbelle

I grow ginger in my greenhouse and move it to the conservatory when it flowers. The flowers really are beautiful - a pink cone of buds that then become little lemon coloured flowers. It needs quite a big pot but it doesn't grow very tall.

I've never cropped from the plant itself, but it has 'babies' and I use them. If you want to grow it to save money it's probably not worth the hassle, but it is very pretty and people always seem interested to have a look at it.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Oooh - my ginger's now about 18" high with a poker straight stem - very interesting!

FoodLover_2

Lemongrass can be frozen, so I tend to stock up from my supplier when I can. A lot easier than growing it

I tend to get my lemongrass from an online supplier.