Because of its delicious and spicy ingredient, ginger can be used to add unmistakable flavor to many different dishes. Not only that, as a herb with a long history, it also contains antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties, so it is good for human health. Ginger can be expensive to purchase, and that’s why growing your own is highly recommended. Fortunately, there are a few spices that grow well in containers right at home, and ginger happens to be one of them. Growing ginger in pots is a really cheap and interesting way to have an endless supply in your home all year round. So do you want to learn about how to grow ginger indoors and in pots? Keep reading!
Step 1: Choose the Right Ginger Roots
Look for ginger with shiny, taut skin, and they don’t need to be too big. It would be great if there are bumpy little buds at the tips of ginger roots. If your ginger is too big, you can cut a few parts from it and then use lime to disinfect cutting sections before planting. Buy organic ginger if you can, because regular grocery store ginger is treated with chemicals that prevent sprouting. But if you only have some regular grocery store ginger in hand, then you’d better soak them in water for several hours or overnight to get rid of those chemicals.
Step 2: Select a Pot or Container
Sometimes, the container ginger plant can be your indoor decoration, so choose your favorite pot or container to house the plant. You need to make sure the container is deep and wide and has good drainage, because the thumb-size chunk may grow into a 36-inch (91 cm.) plant at maturity.
Step 3: Prepare The Soil
Ginger grows well in sandy soil. It drains well, is easy to dig in and warms up faster in spring than clay soils. A good solution is to mix garden soil, or sandy soil with an equal amount of well-rotted compost should do the trick.
Step 4: Plant the Ginger
Plant each piece of ginger 2–4 inches (5–10 cm) below loose soil and make sure the buds are facing up into the soil. Then cover the root with 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm.) of soil. Water lightly and place in a warm location.
Step 5: Care for Ginger in Pots
The young plants will appear in about one month. Ginger prefers partial shade, so make sure the ginger root is exposed to indirect sunlight. Wind or direct sun is not suitable for growing. Water as needed to keep the potting mix moist but never soggy.
Step 6: Harvest Your Food
Usually, it will take about eight to 10 months to get mature ginger, but actually, you can harvest baby ginger about 3-5 months after sprouting, but just a little piece of rhizome at a time. At this point, you can separate the rhizomes by pulling off a section of the plant. Just make sure to use a sanitized knife to cut the plant.