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In the East, ginger is considered a real panacea for numerous ailments and the most useful ingredient in dishes. We are used to using an exotic root as a spice, buying it in a supermarket, and without thinking at all how ginger grows and whether it can be grown in our latitudes. It turns out that the plant is not so demanding to care for. All he needs is regular watering and a warm climate that is easy to create at home. Therefore, ginger root is increasingly being grown in a pot on the windowsill.
Features of ginger
Ginger is a perennial tuberous plant that grows in tropical countries. Real ginger has horizontally branched massive roots and tall stems up to one and a half meters high with long leaves resembling sedge. In cultivated plants, the roots are small (5-7 cm long), cylindrical, slightly flattened.
The root that we used to buy in the supermarket, white or brown in color with a smooth outer surface, is a root crop washed and peeled from the surface dense layer. In its original form, the untreated root is black in color and has a more intense spicy smell. When the rhizome is cut, the flesh is brown or light yellow in color, and the older the root, the yellower its inside. The taste of ginger is burning, spicy with a hint of lemon. The taste of the root is due to the presence of gingerol, an active compound that gives plants a sharpness. In addition, the root contains an essential oil (3%), the main component of which is zingiberene, a substance that gives the root crop a strong spicy aroma, several organic compounds of the terpene group, many amino acids, trace elements, vitamins C and group B.
Ginger has beneficial medicinal properties and is widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of stomach, heart, liver, immune, nervous diseases. It improves memory, cerebral circulation, normalizes blood counts, enhances potency, improves metabolic processes, is used to treat eyes, and to get rid of parasites. The plant has strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger tea is an excellent remedy for colds, sore throats, and depression.
In cooking, the root is added to improve the taste in almost any dish: pastries, drinks, desserts, snacks and main courses. It is pickled, dried, and even frozen. Fresh ginger root is stored for a long time in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, and for safety it can be poured with oil filling.
Video “Detailed instructions”
Video instruction for growing a plant at home.
Where it grows in Our Country
For industrial purposes, the plant is cultivated by all countries of Southeast Asia, as well as India, Australia, China, Ceylon, West Africa, and Central America. These countries grow ginger in fields, plantations, and are world producers and exporters of exotic spices. On a smaller scale, root crops are grown in countries with a mild tropical climate.
To the question: where does ginger grow in Our Country? – many vegetable growers claim that nowhere, since the weather conditions are harsh enough to grow a plant, and the earth simply cannot warm up that much. In tropical countries, ginger has all the conditions for a year-round vegetation, but this is impossible to achieve in our latitudes.
However, in the subtropics of Our Country – a narrow strip of the Black Sea coast, some agricultural enthusiasts still manage to get a ginger crop in natural conditions. But such plants are characterized by short stature, extremely rare flowering and a small size of root crops. The crop is most successfully grown in Our Country in greenhouses and at home.
How does ginger grow at home
Ginger reproduces by dividing the rhizome. The root sold in the supermarket is quite suitable for planting. It must be soaked in water for several hours, germinated, then divided into fragments, so that each has at least one live bud, or process.
When growing ginger root at home, you need to responsibly approach the choice of location and soil. Regardless of where ginger grows: on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, the plant needs to create conditions that are close to its natural environment. The place for growing should be warm, humid, without drafts. At home, a window sill that does not face the sunny side is suitable. Next, you need to choose a pot with a wide bottom, lay the drainage in a layer of 3-5 cm, then pour the soil mixture, consisting of equal parts of soddy soil, sand and leaf humus. The soil should be homogeneous, loose, without lumps.
Planting ginger is carried out in late winter – early spring. Part of the root with the process is buried in the ground with eyes up to a depth of 2-4 cm. The pot is placed in a dry, cool place, if everything is done correctly, then in 2 weeks the first shoots will sprout.
How to arrange proper care
Caring for ginger at home is quite simple. The most important thing is to try to create a humid and warm climate for it. In summer, a potted plant can be taken out to the balcony. Despite the fact that ginger is a heat-loving plant, direct sunlight is harmful to it. Therefore, it is better to place a young plant in partial shade.
For normal growth at home, the root crop requires high humidity. Young shoots need to be watered often, but little by little. It is necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out. Also, excessive soil moisture is harmful to the root – this can cause it to rot. The earth after each watering must be slightly loosened. To create a moist environment around the plant, you need to spray the foliage several times daily.
Like any growing crop, ginger requires periodic top dressing with mineral or organic fertilizers: potassium for growth, phosphorus for flowering. In autumn, the plant should be moved indoors and placed in a warm, bright place. Watering in the fall should be reduced, and the soil should be allowed to dry out.
Features of the new ginger
At home, ginger grows quite quickly (6-8 months). The most active build-up of tuber mass occurs in March-August. With the onset of autumn, growth slows down, the greens begin to turn yellow and fall off. During this period, you need to reduce watering, and gradually stop completely by October. When the leaves dry up, you can start digging up the roots. Dug out ginger should be washed well and dried in the sun.
The inner flesh of a fresh root has a brown, sometimes yellowish color. When tasting ginger from a new crop, you need to be careful – often home-grown tubers taste much “angrier” than those sold in supermarkets. Shop roots are pre-dried and processed to improve the taste. In order not to get burned, you need to try homemade ginger a little, and if, nevertheless, the crop turned out to be too “high-quality”, you need to drink it well with water.
Video “How ginger blooms and grows”
Demonstrative video about the flowering of the plant.
