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Growing Shop bought Ginger

LucyLLucyL Posts: 163

Hi, I hope i'm doing this right, i am new to this forum, so forgive me if im in the wrong place

I had bought some ginger from the shop about a month ago and had been using it in various recipies, I had noticed it had an "eye" but ended up forgetting about it so bought other ginger for rest of my recipies and when i saw it yesterday it has started to grow.

I have had the idea of growing my own ginger quite recently but thought about doing this next year, as i had other things to sort out to getting my garden and house ready for next year of my new years plan to be more eco friendly and a bit more self sufficient.

Anyways, not that it has sarted to grow, i think i should make the most of it wanting to grow and plant it, what is the best method? do i need to soak for 24 hours or over night since it has already started to grow? what size of pot will it need? (as i am in scotland i doubt it would ever get warm enough for it to grow outside) I have seen a few articals online about starting from ginger root etc but none say what to do if it has already started to grow.

At the moment it is still wrapped in its cling film (has been in this since i had bought it over a month ago) I also want to take advantage of it growing as i need as much help from it as possible as indoor plants (apart from a spider plant and a peace Lilly) all have ended up dying...sad but true... seems to be the more i want something to live the more it dies, the more i dont care about them the better they are...sometimes... but this year (2015) is going to be very productive. So any help on how to grow Ginger would be a great help!

Thanks for your time

Lucy

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Posts

  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114
    Yes, it's very tempting to try and grow it on, but frankly it isn't worth the effort. It is a tropical plant and needs it hot and damp. If you want to then use it you have to dig it up and you will find it is little bigger than when you planted it.



    Best to buy it for recipes; it's cheap enough. Store it in the freezer and use it from frozen. Where a recipe says slice, grate it instead; you don't need to thaw it.



    If you want to grow ornamental ginger look for hedechyium (I've grown it but not sure of the spelling!). It has a pretty flower but not the perfume I was expecting.
  • Mel MMel M Posts: 347

    I have grown ginger from the supermarket in a pot when I lived in a mobile home. They get really hot in the summer and it thrived although the pot was too small.

    I have been looking for some to grow in my poly tunnel (just for fun) but all the ones I have seen have had the buds removed. I will start looking again next spring.

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,032

    I have tried growing it in my greenhouse here in SW France, but although it grew it was only some spikey leaves and when I dug it up it was about the same size root as the one I planted. Ginger needs a long hot summer and plenty of moisture. Somewhere like Thailand!

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • LucyLLucyL Posts: 163

    Thanks everyone, think al give it ago, im not expecting to get enough to use in kitchen all the time, but like philippa Smith2 said i quite like the idea of trying to get a shop bought exotic things to grow (and i suppose its a way for me to practice) If it does grow would it ever have a flower on it? or is it the other varieties that flower?

     

    Thanks again

  • I am with Welshonion, it is just not worth it as you need very hot and humid conditions. Eddoes (Alocasia), Passion fruit, Sharon fruit and Lemon grass are easier and more rewarding to edible exotics to buy.

  • ClaringtonClarington Posts: 4,949

    Hi! Like you I stuck some ginger in the ground earlier this year - its a lovely little plant and grew about half an inch this season (South Yorkshire - in greenhouse) you can imagine how long you'd need before you could use it regularly and as people have said the conditions are hard to achieve.

    To me its a plant for amusement rather than one that will keep my kitchen full,

  • @panseyface - never tried them, just grew them tbh!

    philippa smith2 - I agree but the effort/reward return of investment with cooking ginger is not worth it!

  • I bought a piece of sprouted ginger in B&Q early last summer.  I potted it up in a wide shallow dish, kept it watered in the greenhouse all summer and now have a lovely large chunk of ginger.  There are lots of 'baby' pieces left so I will keep them in the house (probably on top of my gas fired boiler) until next Spring.  I am not too hopeful but, you never know I might be lucky.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the man said.

  • babsagain - sounds like Hedychium, which is called hardy Ginger. B+Q does not sell edible ginger. Leaving them in a warm place without light is not a good idea. Hardy Ginger will die back and throw up new shoots naturally.

     

  • I have some root ginger that has done exactly the same.....it's still sitting in the fruit bowl we thought we might plant it in the greenhouse one of these fine days ......... 

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