How to Grow Ginger

  

Method 1 - In a Pot

1. Purchase fresh ginger root from a grocery store or market.
2. Soak your ginger overnight in warm water.
   
3. Prepare a 14 inch wide and 12 inch deep pot with potting soil, the loose kind that doesn't pack down when it's watered, and enrich it with plenty of compost. Make sure the pot drains very well. A pot this size can comfortably hold about three pieces of ginger.
4. Plant just below the surface of the soil, spacing the pieces evenly apart.
5. Put the pot in an area with light shade at a temperature of 75-85*F. Cooler temperatures will stunt the plants' growth, since ginger is from hot Asia.
6. Water lightly at first, then more heavily when shoots appear. Keep the plants dry in winter while they're dormant.
7. In 10-12 months the plant will be mature and 2-4 feet high.
8. Dig up new sprouts that appear in front of the main plants and either replant them somewhere else (they will form new rhizomes) or use them.

Method 2 - In the Ground

1. Follow Steps 1 and 2 above.
2. Find yourself an area of rich, moist, but well-drained soil that is protected from heavy winds and from temperatures below 75*F.
3. Plant your chunk of ginger with the buds facing up.
4. Follow Steps 5-7 above.