Ginger

Our former QLD Territory Manager, Andrew Woodford is a bit of a ginger (Zingiber officinale) expert after years of growing them commercially and now for his personal use. Here’s his simple growing guide to organic ginger:

Choose plump healthy looking pieces of ginger (called rhizomes) from an organic grocer. Don’t use non-organic pieces as they may be treated with chemicals to prevent growth.  Or you can order rhizomes from places like Green Harvest and The Diggers Club.

Ideally plant in September as this gives the plants time to produce enough leaves to form a protective canopy before the severe summer heat arrives. Otherwise stems can burn and the yield suffers. In hot dry climates plant in bright shade. In humid subtropical and tropical regions ginger can handle more sunlight but need protection from the strong afternoon sun.

Plant into well prepared soil which has been enriched with plenty of compost and organic matter. Each piece should have 2-3 “eyes” or growing points and be planted 3-5cm deep. Mulch well to reducing drying out and soil temperature fluctuations. Expect to see shoots in about 3 weeks.

Ginger growing

Water early in the day to avoid damp, wet soils overnight. Regularly apply OCP eco-seaweed and OCP eco-aminogro to encourage strong healthy growth. This keeps the plants growing longer and protects against cool weather at the end of the season.

As winter approaches reduce watering to let the plant die down before harvesting. In frost prone areas harvesting is usually done before the end of May. Harvesting can be left later in warmer regions.

Ginger will also grow well in pots but be sure to choose a large pot so there’s room for rhizomes to develop. Pots will need plenty of water during hot summer periods and a monthly application of OCP eco-hydrate is very beneficial.

Note that nematodes can invade plant roots and result in yellowing foliage with brown edges and stunted growth. The roots become bumpy and distorted whilst the rhizome itself may have spots which are brown and look water soaked. Smaller side sections can also be shriveled up. Rhizomes like this will not store for very long once out of the soil. Prevention is the best approach by treating soils with OCP eco-nemguard at the time of planting and reapplying every 4-6 weeks through the growing season.   

Andrew's ginger crop getting close to harvest time

Andrew with freshly harvested ginger