by Rajeev Sahadevan
Published Mon, Dec 7th 2015, 13:24 | Gardening
Ginger is commonly used for cooking, preparing herbal remedies and brewing tea and for making various cocktails and other drinks. Ginger can be grown indoors and it does not require much maintenance and direct sunlight. Another benefit of growing ginger indoors is the smell and looks. Ginger leaves are very shiny and beautiful to look at. They resemble bamboo leaves and also have beautiful flowers (if they bloom). The smell of ginger too is very good. Taking into consideration the health benefits of ginger, it makes ginger a perfect indoor plant to grow.
Suitable conditions to grow ginger
Ginger grows well indoors. It requires only partial or filtered sunlight, warm weather, humidity and rich moist soil. It does not grow well in places where there is direct sunlight, strong winds and soggy or waterlogged soil. So in cold and freezing temperatures, ginger can only be grown indoors.
Steps to grow ginger indoors
Ginger can be grown in pots or tubs.
The first step to grow ginger is to choose fresh and plump rhizomes (ginger roots). The skin should be tight and not old and shriveled. The rhizomes to grow should contain eye buds on it. The 'eyes' or growth buds look like potato eyes .If these eyes are green, it is better as they will grow well. These rhizomes are available in shops. You can also get it from friends who grow ginger at home. If the rhizomes have more than one eye bud, each eye bud can be cut and placed in different pots to grow more ginger plants. There are also seed gingers available that can be planted.
The rhizomes should be soaked overnight in warm water. This is mainly done to remove any chemicals or growth retardants which might have been used to treat ginger to prevent it from sprouting. These ginger rhizomes may not grow when planted. Some ginger that is bought from stores will contain pesticides or fungicides. Soaking them overnight will remove some of these chemicals.
The pots or tubs which are used to grow ginger have to be wide and shallow because the ginger roots grow horizontally.
The pots should be filled with rich and well draining potting soil. Alternatively, a mix of soil and sand can be used.
The ginger root or rhizome is then planted in soil with the eye pointing upwards. Again cover the root with 1-2 inches of soil and water it well.
The pots can be placed in warm places without direct sunlight. East or South facing windows are the best.
The soil should be sprayed with water occasionally to keep it moist. A spray bottle can be used.
The sprouts start appearing after some weeks, but it takes about 10 months to mature. When it is mature, the leaves dry out.
Ginger does not need extra fertilizers if the soil is good. Adding some compost once a year is enough.
The best time to plant ginger is late winter or early spring when the temperature is warmer.
Start Growing Ginger!
The best part of growing ginger is that after it starts growing, little bits of ginger can be removed and used for our daily cooking needs. The remaining ginger will continue to grow underground and hence you will have an inexhaustible supply of ginger at all times. If you are harvesting large quantities of ginger, the root with foliage can be replanted to continue growing ginger!
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