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Growing and Storing Ginger


snowangel

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I have long had a problem storing ginger, which has not been a big deal, because it is a permnanent item on my grocery list.

But, the other night, Peter was helping me get dinner ready, and he stuck this little hunk of ginger behind the coffee maker (which is on top of the dishwasher, the counter there gets really warm when the dishwasher does its daily run) and when I discovered it today:

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So, I'm thinking that since the main hunk is pretty darned shriveled, the new little nubbin is going to run out of food soon. Having had fresh, young ginger a couple of times (wow, what a revalation), I'm trying to think of a way to encourage more ginger to grow, so I have a ready supply.

Any suggestions?

And, for everyone, how do you store your ginger?

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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I always store ginger in the freezer; just toss it in a plastic bag. I take it out and grate or cut a piece for however much is needed. At one time I kept it in the fridge but it shriveled up or molded before I got around to using it. I haven't had that problem since keeping it in the freezer.

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I think you just fill a pot with good, rich soil and plant it. Keep it well watered. I have not tried it, but have been told it's easy to grow.

I keep my ginger in small 1 tsp. cubes, frozen in the container I buy it in. :wink: OR I buy a piece each time I want to use it.

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I think you just fill a pot with good, rich soil and plant it. Keep it well watered. I have not tried it, but have been told it's easy to grow.

I lighten-up potting soil with peat moss and a little perlite, plant the roots so that they are just below the soil's surface, and put in a sunny window. Do NOT over-water! :shock:

Eventually, the tops will start to dry out -- dig the roots up and use them.

If they begin to sprout again, you can re-plant them.

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I love this question because I just stick it in a pot and grow it ..making sure I use soil that is ok for veggies ..not indoor plant soil....

that is it put it by a sunny window ..mine goes outside on the deck during the spring summer and early fall

I have grown it for a few years in the garden even ..when it sprouts like you show I can not risist just sticking it in dirt and watching it grow ..it is a pretty plant and makes for easy ginger

I also freeze mine ...the texture is watery but it grinds up nicely and perfect for most uses

why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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I have grown a lot of ginger both in pots and in the garden, and we do get a few hard freezes up here in the high desert but we prep the ginger patch for overwintering by covering it with hay bales, which insulates it. In the years when we have heavy rains, we cover the hay bales with a tarp if it gets to be too soggy. One good thing is that the soil drains rapidly because this is an ancient seabed and there are hundreds of feet of sand beneath the surface.

For growing in pots, you should have a pot that is at least 8 inches deep and wide enough to allow lateral growth of the underground rhizomes. As mentioned above, get a planting mix suitable for vegetables and it should be loose and sandy, it has to be well drained. If you have it indoors, with the pot in a "saucer" put a layer of gravel under the pot and make sure you don't have the bottom of the pot standing in water. If you water it a bit too much, use paper towels to soak up the excess water and discard.

To encourage sprouting, prior to planting in the pot, break the ginger into sections and place in a plastic bag, leave the bag open on the counter or on top of the fridge - don't put it in a sunny spot, it will get too warm.

If you see a little condensation inside the bag, blot it with a paper towel. It should sprout in a few days.

In temperate zones, it takes at least 5 months for a small rhizome to develop. Higher temps give more rapid growth.

I know a couple of people who grow ginger hydroponically in a sterile growth medium that is made from coconut shells. They get very rapid growth but have not let me in on the secret of their nutrients.

I have a pot in a kitchen window that in winter contains nothing but coarse sand and I use a liquid fertilizer I order from Worm's Way. When I need a chunk of ginger, I yank the entire plant out of the pot, break off what I need and re-plant it.

I've also grown galangal and tumeric the same way.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I take the remains of a bought "hand" of Ginger and put in a 1 qt. zip bag and throw it in the veggie drawer in the reefer where it keeps without apparent damage for 6 - 8 weeks.

hummingbirdkiss, thanks for the NW gardening report on Ginger, now I'll have to try it.

Robert

Seattle

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I have some ginger that started out similar to yours rooted and producing some nice leaves, in a little pot. So, yes, it is easy to grow ginger.

My wife recently brought home a huge bag of ginger from our local farmer's market, several pounds for a cost of about $1. I went to Joy of Cooking and found the recipe for making crystallized ginger and did so successfully.

The hard part was peeling the ginger. Normally I use a spoon to scrape the skin off, but this time, since it was so cheap, I just sliced off the peel and didn't worry about the waste, that ended up in the compost pile.

Jay

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I like to have frozen chopped ginger on hand. I peel and chop it a little then put it in the food processor to chop into tiny pieces. Then I put them in a sandwich size ziplock and flatten the bag contents to the size/shape of the bag. Seal the ziplock and freeze on a flat surface. (This makes it easier to break off a piece since it will freeze into a sheet.)

Kind of a shortcut and I'm sure that someone will tell me that flavor or texture gets lost but I used to always run out of ginger or discover that my ginger was shriveled up and moldy. So this basically works in a pinch.

jayne

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I recall storing ginger in the fridge in an empty Spice Islands jar, peeled, sliced, and covered with sherry.

I also recall a cashier holding a large piece up (gingerly, of course :laugh: ), and asking if I knew how much the deer antler was!! :shock:

Carpe Carp: Seize that fish!

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I take the remains of a bought "hand" of Ginger and put in a 1 qt. zip bag and throw it in the veggie drawer in the reefer where it keeps without apparent damage for 6 - 8 weeks.

hummingbirdkiss, thanks for the NW gardening report on Ginger, now I'll have to try it.

you are welcome I had a ginger patch (is that a good word?) for three years in a row and this is the first year it did not come back I think that is pretty good for here actually!!! I harvested it and had decent "hands" ...I think it just was too cold or something this year..maybe it rotted ..I will do it again next year I am sure I kept waiting for it to come up and missed planting time ..but the pots are doing well!!

I hope anyone who has not tried growing it does! to me it is a very pretty plant! ! and fun to dig up ...and have on hand when you need it!

OFF TOPIC ...You can grow lemon grass the same way ..well sort of ..I take fresh lemon grass I buy in the store and just either stick it in some Root Tone (spelling?) then in a pot of dirt ..or you can root it in a glass of water first...

it makes a very lovely indoor plant (the grass grows high and spreads so use a good sized pot.). ..deck plant or you can stick it in the garden ..I have not gotten it to come back here where I live (in the garden that is) but if you live in warmer climates you could ..also you can dig both the ginger and the lemon grass up and put them in pots in the fall then wean them into the house over the winter ..then you can put them back in the garden so they can spread and produce well in the spring

I can go on about growing things that is for sure :raz:

fresh lemon grass and fresh ginger ... curry time!!!! :biggrin:

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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