Ginger is the perfect herb to grow indoors. It has a long
history of use for relieving digestive problems such as nausea, loss of
appetite, motion sickness and pain.
Ginger is very suitable for growing at home because it does
not require a large amount of sunlight, and it allows some parts to be left
growing while others are used.
For ginger to become ripe enough for usage takes 10 months. It
doesn’t stand chilly weather so better to keep it indoors until it’s warm
outside.
Planting ginger
The best places to purchase ginger from would be garden
centers or seed catalogs, while you can rarely find any at the local garden
suppliers. Ginger obtained from a grocery store could be used for planting but
the results would be much lesser, due to the inhibitor usually used on ginger
to prevent it from sprouting, which unfortunately lasts even after you plant
it. If you do buy it from there, be sure to soak it in water overnight to get
rid of any pesticides it may have.
Useful advices for growing ginger at home:
The root for planting has to be plump with tight skin, not
old and withered. It’s better if it already has several sprouts, the greener
the better. Each of them can be cut off and planted in a separate pot for
growing. Ginger grows horizontally, so be sure to pick wide, shallow pots.
Step-by-step guide for growing ginger indoors:
1. Soak the ginger in warm water overnight to remove any
toxic chemicals.
2. Fill the pot with rich drainable soil.
3. Put the root in the soil with its eye bud pointed up;
cover it with 1-2 inches of soil and water it well.
4. Put the ginger pot in a place that is warm and not too
sunny.
5. Maintain soil moisture with a spray bottle or by light
watering.
6. After a few weeks you should be able to see some sprouts
out of the soil. Continue with the regular watering and moisturizing.
Collecting ginger:
You can harvest the first pieces in 3-4 months after
planting. Pull some of the soil at the edges aside so you could find some
rhizomes underneath. Cut the wanted amount off a sprout at the edges of the pot
and return the soil afterwards. As long as you are taking good care for the
plant it will never stop producing roots and you could harvest it like this
continuously. In case you need a bigger harvest you could uproot the whole
plant and plant several rhizomes to start over.
Source : dailynutritionnews
