Growing Ginger

Zingiber Officinale : Zingiberaceae / the ginger family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
    P P P P P P P P P  

(Best months for growing Ginger in Australia - tropical regions)

  • P = Plant root
  • Plant pieces of fresh root showing signs of shoots. Best planted at soil temperatures between 20°C and 30°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 15 cm apart
  • Harvest in approximately 25 weeks. Reduce water as plant dies back to encourage rhizome growth.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Grow in separate bed
  • Ginger plant
  • Ginger ready to harvest
  • Ginger root
  • New shoots of ginger

Ginger is a warm climate plant. It can be grown indoors in pots in cool/temperate areas. To grow well it needs lots of water and nutrients. Prepare the soil by adding compost which will retain some moisture but not get saturated. Add a small amount of sand to ensure drainage. Water regularly in summer to keep moist. In a pot, in addition to watering to keep moist, water ginger about once a fortnight with a seaweed or other liquid fertilizer. This perennial will die down in autumn. Remove the dead leaves. In spring lift the root clumps and break them up into smaller pieces to replant.

Harvesting Ginger: You can harvest ginger root after the plant dies down in winter, digging around the plant to cut off a piece of the older root. The young root with shoots is the actively growing plant and should be left to resprout.

You can also carefully dig down under the plant through the growing season to cut off bits of the older root for use, just be careful not to disturb the rest of the plant too much.

Let plants become well established before harvesting - it is often best to wait until the second growing season.

Make sure that you have edible ginger. Ginger plants sold in nurseries are usually decorative varieties and not suitable for eating.

Ginger can be grown in pots. The best growing temperature is around 25 - 30 C (75 - 85 F)

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Ginger

Ginger root freezes well either whole or grated, and can be used direct from the freezer in most recipes requiring fresh ginger.

Your comments and tips

16 May 11, safraz (Australia - tropical climate)
Hello, I planted some ginger plants on May 2010 (last yr), i haven't harvest them to date (May 2011). The plants have die but the ginger is still in the ground. What i will like to know is if i left them there would they resprout? If yes, how long will it take to resprout? Thank you
20 May 11, leanne (Australia - temperate climate)
yes they will resprout and multiply and should resprout in a couple of weeks,if not then when warmer weather.
14 Nov 11, Altone (Australia - temperate climate)
Ginger in Temperate Australia. Although not truly suited to temperate areas ginger and Galangal can be grown. I've had a small bed of both for 3 years which produces a small crop for the kitchen each year. I grow in sandy well drained soil and the bed is surrounded on 3 sides (fence/shed) - northern aspect open. I suspect this and the deep mulching I give it over winter helps it survive the frosts. Go on , give it a go.
25 Oct 22, Anabelle (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Will i be able to grow ginger here in the ACT? If so when is the best time of the year to plant pls TIA?
08 Feb 12, Kerry (Australia - tropical climate)
Just wandering what i can plant on my balcony (in pots) herbs spices i already have 5 spice, basil, mint.... In the tropics
28 Feb 13, Jess (Australia - temperate climate)
Is 'old ginger'the bit of ginger left in the soil the longest or do i dig up some 'young ginger' and wait for it to mature?
21 Apr 13, jayn (Australia - temperate climate)
I grow edible ginger, two varieties, in Stanthorpe. I established them from sprouting ginger bought at the shops in two old concrete laundry troughs filled with compost and sand. The troughs are set close to the alls of the house which is built from granite with huge thermal mass and storing heat from the combustion stove inside and the sun during the day in winter. I also have a few plants out in the reed bed seepage along with bananas which occasionally set fruit. It's all about niche planting. I can grow almost anything tropical in a place that it's supposed to be impossible.
25 Apr 13, Steve (Australia - temperate climate)
Just wondering where your are, I'm in the Riverland SA and I have been growing ginger with a bit of success, however during summer 12-13 I had high temps and my ginger suffered, I lost all but one tuber, I'm wondering how you go through winter, I want to keep mine going through winter and leave it until this time next year, do I put it in a pot in as much sun as possible
22 Jun 13, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I've been growing what appears to be healthy Ginger for over 3 years now initially from rhizomes of ginger bought at the supermarket. But whenever I severe a piece for cooking it looks and smells nothing like ginger being a bleached white in colour. Is there something I'm missing in the process?
01 Aug 13, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
No, you're not missing anything. That's just new ginger which hasn't been out of the ground long enough for the skin to toughen. It looks good, smells great, and tastes even better. Has quite spice hit, too.
Showing 1 - 10 of 251 comments

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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