Ginger is a delightful spice that comes with a pretty hefty pricetag at the store, but did you know that you can grow endless amounts of it at home for free? Or practically free at least. There are many foods you can regrow from scraps, and ginger is one of them.

If you’re planting ginger though, bear in mind that you’re in it for the long haul. If you live in a cold climate, ginger can take up to 10 months to mature after planting! Of course, your ginger needs to stay indoors in the winter months.

Ginger likes wide, sheltered pots, warm weather, humidity and moist soil. Ginger would grow fantastically well in a small greenhouse in a sunny window.

When growing ginger, you can use pieces of ginger root picked up at a grocery store, but I highly encourage you to pick up seeds or roots from a local garden center. You’re more likely to see success.

Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1. Soak your ginger roots overnight in warm water to get it ready for planting.

Step 2. Fill a pot with rich, well draining soil.

Step 3. Stick the ginger root into the soil with the eye bud sticking up out of the soil. Cover it with 1-2 inches of soil and water well.

Step 4. Place the pot in an area of the house that gets bright light but not direct sunlight and stays warm.

Step 5. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. You can achieve this with a daily misting from a spray bottle.

Step 6. After a few weeks, you’ll notice some shoots popping out of the soil. Continue the watering regimen and keep it warm.

Harvesting:

Like I mentioned before, ginger root takes a while to harvest. 8-10 months typically. One thing you can do is simply cut off a piece of the root now and again as you need it and it’ll continually regenerate. That or you can simply harvest the whole root after about 10 months.

Enjoy!

Image credit: andresmh, Flickr

