The easy way to grow Ginger at home

Cuttings from the lush, bamboo-like

foliage lend fresh flavor to tea or soup

stock, and simply rustling the leaves as

you pass by releases a heavenly scent.

While most American grocers sell only

cured ginger — harvested from steamy

parts of the globe like China, India, and

Nepal — a growing number of specialty

growers throughout the Northeast (I’m one

of them) harvest baby rhizomes in late

autumn.

Here's how you can grow your own ginger

outside of the tropics, too:

Find a Root

Buy a piece of ginger the size of your

thumb with several bumpy nodules at the

tips — these are the buds. Opt for plump

chunks, not those withering in their own

skin. Skin on the delicate buds should be

thinner and lighter colored; forego pieces

with darkened buds.

Like potatoes, conventional ginger is

irradiated and treated to stop it from

sprouting at the supermarket. That means

it won’t sprout in your home, either.

Choose organic.

Encourage Sprouting

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This is the hardest part. Ginger takes its

time getting started. To speed it along,

create a terrarium using a takeout

container with a clear lid. Choose one just

a few inches larger than your seed and

punch drainage holes in the bottom.

Put an inch or two of potting soil below

the seed and sprinkle just a half inch

above. Water well. Replace the lid, but

don’t seal it. Maintain the soil at 70

degrees and moist to the touch, watering

only when the soil dries. A sprout will

emerge in six to eight weeks.

Plant in a Large Container

Ginger is a heavy feeder and an even

heavier drinker that needs a lot of room to

grow. Given the space, a chunk the size of

your thumb will easily grow to fill a 2-

gallon pot over the course of about six

months. Choose a pretty container with

good drainage holes and a deep saucer.

Use well-draining, fertile soil with plenty

of coir. Gently place your pre-sprouted

rhizome on top of 4 inches of soil and

bury all but the sprout tip. Place it in a

warm, sunny window or in a sunny,

sheltered spot outdoors where

temperatures range 60 to 90 degrees.

Hill the Soil

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Like Irish potatoes, ginger rhizomes will

burst through the soil and turn green in

the sun. Commercial growers boost yields

by watering regularly and hilling the

rhizomes once a month. To achieve the

same result at home, water weekly with

organic plant food and once a month

sprinkle several inches of rich compost

into your pot, protecting the rhizome itself

from solar exposure.

Harvest

Hold the greens at their base, where they

emerge from the soil and lift the entire

rhizome. (This is a good project to do

outdoors over an old newspaper or drop

cloth.) Snap off a chunk of the rhizome,

then place the rest of the plant back in its

pot, sprinkle on more potting soil or

compost, water heavily, and treat it gently

for a few days. Like any fragile transplant,

protect it from glaring sunlight and wild

temperature swings for a few days while it

recovers.

Enjoy

8 Surprising Health Benefits of

Ginger

Baby ginger has a mild flavor and unlike

its cured counterpart, it’s juicy with more

snap and less string. Best of all, the skin is

so thin and pretty, there’s no need to peel.

Sauté it with veggies, steep slices in hot

water with lemon and honey for a

soothing tea,or toss chunks in the juicer

with apples, carrots, or kale. Feeling

adventuresome? Create an infusion with

your favorite libation, steep in simple

syrup, or candy it by simmering in sugar

syrup.