Growing Ginger in the PNW??

Has anyone tried to grow ginger?

From what i have read it likes warm temps....can be grown in pots and if left un-harvested will grow a very pretty flower its second year

we thought about starting them indoors and then move them into our green house in the spring....and then out side during our warmer days of summer then moving them back into the green house as it cools off in the fall.....then when it starts to get to cold...harvest :drunken: some of the roots and keep the others for next year.....

wanna give it a try?

happy gardening
rose

I will try it! I've been thinking about it anyway. Like you, here in the North East I'd have to bring it in for winter.

Can we plant a root from the grocery store? Or how is it done?

Merry Christmas, all you ginger fans!



CC

Merry Christmas Rose! You are such fun how you are always trying to grow new things! I haven't tried growing it, but I sure do enjoy it in some of my stir-fry recipes.

i am VERY intrigued!!! i want to learn more about growing ginger. i'm zone 5 so definitely would have to grow inside in winter in my greenhouse area (a fancy name for my shelving unit and plastic sheeting set up with timers and lights and heaters in the basement)

Yes you can plant some ginger root from the store...make sure its healthy looking and not all dry out....you want to pick a root that has some knobs on it (bumps).... thats where a stalk will grow from)

link to where i found some of the info below

http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-ginger.html

What ginger plants like and dislike:

Ginger loves a sheltered spot, filtered sunlight, warm weather, humidity, and rich, moist soil.

What ginger can't stand is frost, direct sun, strong winds, and soggy, waterlogged soil.

A few notes:
for people in cool climates:<----think thats us PNW-ners

Don't expect to be harvesting much of your ginger plants
( i have read you can get a better harvest if grown in pots in cooler area's like the PNW) You'll be growing ginger mostly as an ornamental plant. It is a really pretty plant with its glossy strap leaves, and it smells beautifully when you brush against it.

Start your ginger indoors, it will be too cold outside in spring. Don't worry about the dappled sunlight. In your parts of the world the sun isn't as intense. Your ginger should be able to handle it and it needs all the warmth it can get.

You may or may not be able to keep it alive over winter, depending on where you are. Definitely move it inside at the first signs of cold weather. Once the leaves die back keep it reasonably dry and cool or the tubers will rot, and with a bit of luck your ginger may grow back next year.

The best planting time is late winter/early spring (late dry season/early wet season, in the true tropics).

You can cut or break up the ginger rhizomes in little pieces with a couple of growing buds each. Or just plant the whole thing. Plant your ginger root five to ten centimetres deep, with the growing buds facing up.

The best time to harvest ginger is any time after the leaves have died down. Usually it takes eight to ten months to get to that point.

If you are growing ginger root in the garden you can start stealing little bits of it once it is about four months old. Just dig carefully at the side of a clump. (This "green ginger" does have a lot less flavour than the mature stuff, though.)

info from a couple growing ginger in the PNW

http://nwfarmsandfood.com/index.php/growing-ginger-in-the-pacific-northwest

nice short video on growing ginger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJCnfjIrBRo

happy gardening
rose

Wow nice job Rose! This could be a Rookie Topic!

Thanks for this info, Rose. I'm in. I guess it should be planted in Feb. Do you think MM would work or would it hold too much moisture?

CC

This is in Vermont, some friends grew some ginger on their farm last summer. New rhizomes didn't get very big.

gwennifer wrote:Wow nice job Rose! This could be a Rookie Topic!

+ 1

Very timely topic for this new member! I go through many pounds of organic ginger at a time. Expensive! I have about 30 sq ft of greenhouse space near the Hood Canal available for a ginger experiment. I see from the photo of the Bellingham growers that large rhizomes are possible here in the PS area (I'm not interested in ornamental ginger). Does anyone know what varieties would stand the best chance of success here? 

Thank you, Tim

camp, what a cute photo! Mom and daughter I assume.

I actually grew some ginger in my SFG last summer.  Just plain one supermarket ginger, so I have no idea of the variety.  

I found that even though I pre-sprouted the roots indoors, they still took a very long time before they poked out of the ground.  

Mind you, we had a very cold, wet summer last year and yet the harvest was much better than I'd have imagined.  I'm guessing that I got at least 1.5 to 2 times the amount I planted in maybe 3 months of growing.  

This year I've got a little stub of root sprouting in a little bit of water as we speak on the kitchen window.  I'll need to pot her up this weekend.  I want to see what starting early might do.  

HTH

Oh, and welcome to the forum, prototim!

prototim wrote:Very timely topic for this new member! I go through many pounds of organic ginger at a time. Expensive!

I'm curious -- what does a person do to go through many pounds of ginger at a time? Everything I can think of uses so little ginger!

Marc Iverson wrote:

prototim wrote:Very timely topic for this new member! I go through many pounds of organic ginger at a time. Expensive!

I'm curious -- what does a person do to go through many pounds of ginger at a time?  Everything I can think of uses so little ginger!

Asian cooking uses a lot.  My DIL buys it by the pound.

Kay

walshevak wrote:

Marc Iverson wrote:

prototim wrote:Very timely topic for this new member! I go through many pounds of organic ginger at a time. Expensive!

I'm curious -- what does a person do to go through many pounds of ginger at a time?  Everything I can think of uses so little ginger!

Asian cooking uses a lot.  My DIL buys it by the pound.

Kay

We used to own three Japanese restaurants. I grew up on Guam and Hawaii and ate Asian food all the time. My favorite food is Chinese. We adopted a Vietnamese boy and a Thai girl. After we grew up, the Vietnamese boy took me to Vietnamese restaurants several times a week for a few years. Other days I'd come to his house and eat the Vietnamese food his wife cooked up fresh. I love ginger, but in all these years, I have not gone through a lot of ginger. I'm still curious, because it's not something you go and take a bite out of like a carrot or pickled daikon, or shovel in like water chestnuts or bamboo shoots. Or at least I've never seen it!

My DIL puts a lot in the food while cooking but removes for serving.  Also she make a killer ginger and honey tea for colds, sore throats,  and just drinking.  Says it is "good for the digeston"

Kay

Ah, putting it in but taking it right back out again would explain a lot of it!

Marc Iverson wrote:
(snip)

...I love ginger, but in all these years, I have not gone through a lot of ginger.  I'm still curious, because it's not something you go and take a bite out of like a carrot or pickled daikon, or shovel in like water chestnuts or bamboo shoots.  Or at least I've never seen it!

LOL!  That's exactly what DH does, which is why I tried to grow some for him.   He buys a big chunk o' root each week and literally cuts a bite sized piece off and pops it in his mouth multiple times a day.  He says he likes the taste.  I have no idea how much we use pound-wise a year, but I'm betting it's alot.

Ginger Beer! My partner and I use mostly organic ingredients and let me tell you, organic ginger is expensive! We buy 20 or 30 lbs at a time. Hence the desire to grow our own. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

mollyhespra wrote:
LOL!  That's exactly what DH does, which is why I tried to grow some for him.   He buys a big chunk o' root each week and literally cuts a bite sized piece off and pops it in his mouth multiple times a day.  He says he likes the taste.  I have no idea how much we use pound-wise a year, but I'm betting it's alot.

Wow that's odd! I grew up around Asians and none of them did that. I guess your hubby found a taste he really loves.

When I was a kid, it was beef jerky. And Sweet Tarts!

prototim wrote:Ginger Beer! My partner and I use mostly organic ingredients and let me tell you, organic ginger is expensive! We buy 20 or 30 lbs at a time. Hence the desire to grow our own. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've never had ginger beer. Sounds interesting!

I bought some candied ginger for a pumpkin scone recipe. My 3 y.o. spotted it in the pantry and mistook it for the dried pineapple I sometimes buy from the bulk bins for him. He insisted on having some. He handled the first couple of bites I handed over, all the while holding his hand out and beckoning for more. By the third bite the taste caught up with him. Some people have to learn things the hard way.

Ginger is supposed to be wonderful for nausea during pregnancy.

I grew Ginger this last year. I planted it in a pot in January inside and then as it got warm outside, I put it outside. It grew into a beautiful plant, and then I harvested all the ginger in December, and then found bunch of ginger on sale at the grocery store, because it was SPROUTING... and so have started again.

I use it in cooking all the time, any stir fry, or squash soup etc.
When I was doing chemo several years ago a study came out suggesting that taking ginger starting several days prior to each chemo, and then daily through chemo was supposed to be  AS effective as the nausea meds usually used with chemo.
Also my DH uses it for any sort of stomach upset he gets as well.

One of my favorite uses is adding fresh ginger to marinara sauce - we also add it to my husband's chicken wing sauce - super delicious!  LOVE fresh ginger!

What the ... in marinara sauce??? I never would have thought of that and still have trouble picturing the flavor combo. But ... now I have to try it. At least ... a little cup full maybe. That is too odd to just let slide without experimenting on it myself. I'm just not sure if I'm looking forward to it!