• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Gardening Basics
    • Healthy Soil
    • Composting Basics
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Growing Fruit
    • Growing Herbs
    • Seed Starting
  • Gardening Terms
  • Recipes
    • Canning and Food Preservation
    • Vegetarian Meals
    • Salad Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
  • Books & Classes
    • Herbalism Classes
    • Indoor Herb Gardening
    • Books for Christian Herbalists
  • About
    • Awards and Accolades
    • Privacy Policy

New Addition to the Farm: Growing Ginger

May 29, 2019 by Jeanne

I’m growing ginger this year thanks to inspiration from a lecture I attended.

Herbal Faire this year at Evergreen Lavender Farm was great fun. First of all, the event was packed. I think this was the best turnout for the event, ever, and that makes me happy because Bonnie and her family work so hard to make sure the event is great for vendors and the public alike.

 

Growing Ginger

This year, a guest speaker from Nisani Farms, Ann Codrington, lectured on growing ginger and turmeric. Her farm is in Maryland, but I discovered that both plants can be grown in Virginia and Maryland. The trick is to treat them like the tropical plants that they are and to take the tubers inside in the fall.

Ann’s lecture was fascinating! I screwed up my courage and bought a new ginger plant. Here it is on my porch, a ginger plant with one of our gingers (cats) in front of it:

 

 

Ann recommended growing ginger in 100% compost, which was great, because we were emptying our compost bin this weekend, too. Ginger needs lots of moisture and partial shade to shade. I think of it like a tropical understory plant, growing under the big palms and other jungle plants in Hawaii and other exotic places.

The tubers are planted very similarly to iris. Like iris, you can’t plant them too deeply or they will sulk, rot, and refuse to grow. I bought an already started plant from Ann’s booth at the fair, and the tuber itself sort of sloughed off once we planted it. She mentioned this might happen so I was prepared for it.

At first, the plant looked like corn, but now I’m starting to see the large leaves, like the old snake plant we used to have as a houseplant in the 1970s, start to unfurl from the central stem. Growing ginger may be an interesting diversion this summer.

So far, the ginger seems to like my front porch, and after a cursory inspection, the cats are leaving it alone. Fingers crossed, by the fall, I’ll have my own supply of fresh, organic ginger to enjoy in wintertime treats.

Pin
Share5
Tweet
5 Shares

Filed Under: Growing Herbs

Previous Post: « What Causes Deformed Strawberries?
Next Post: St. John’s Wort Plant – An Herb with Many Health Benefits »

Primary Sidebar

note about hgj

Featured

logo of the american horticulture society

Home Garden Joy was featured by the American Horticultural Society on #plantchat.

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Gardening Articles

Quick and Easy Vegetable Gardening Tips and Tricks Anyone Can Do

17 year cicada

Do the 17 Year Cicadas Hurt Gardens?

strawberries are great for vertical gardening

Vertical Gardening Hacks to Expand Your Space

rosemary growing in containers for space saving gardens

5 EASY Space Saving Vegetable Garden Ideas

The Herbal Academy (Affiliate)

Herbal Academy Online Courses

Footer

a blue wheelbarrow filled with compost

Does Garden Fertilizer Expire? Get the Facts

Does garden fertilizer expire? Garden fertilizers can expire or lose effectiveness over time, especially if not stored properly. The shelf life of a fertilizer largely depends on its composition and how it is stored. Inorganic or Chemical Fertilizers Chemical fertilizers typically have a longer shelf life compared to organic fertilizers. However, they can still degrade…

Read More

chervil plant

Chervil Plant Profile: What Is Chervil?

What is chervil? My favorite herb writer, Bertha Rappaport, likens chervil to parsley, but this French herb differs from parsley. I grew chervil plants this year for the first time in the garden. Here, a chervil plant profile, including medicinal uses, chervil vs. parsley, and more. Chervil Plant Profile Chervil is a delicate, lacy-leaved herb…

Read More

blue jay at bird feeder

Feeding Birds in Winter – Best Tips to Help Wild Birds

Depending on where you live, feeding birds in winter may make a big difference in the lives of the local wild bird populations. Common sense tells us that of course, birds have survived for centuries without any human help during cold weather. In times past, people had a hard enough time surviving in the wilderness…

Read More

a person in wellies standing on a lawn with a pitchfork

What Is Aeration? Important Gardening Terms To Know

What Is Aeration? Aeration plays a crucial role in maintaining the healthy lawns and garden beds. To aerate a garden means using an implement to make small holes in the soil surface. Aeration improves the flow of air, water, and nutrients to your plants’ root systems. A well-aerated garden can lead to lush, vibrant, and…

Read More

Copyright © 2023 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme