Ginger is native to the hot tropics. This plant has long been known for its healing properties. It is widely used in medicine and cooking. It is not easy to believe that ginger can be grown at home. But if you want, everything is possible. Growing ginger at home does not cause much trouble. A novice florist will also cope with this task.
Growing ginger at home
Culture grows well and feels great in an apartment. Before you start planting a plant, you need to decide exactly for yourself for what purposes the plant is grown. The time of its landing and conditions depend on this.
Ginger is often cultivated for its medicinal properties. Ginger root is widely known as an anti-cold remedy, ginger root tea perfectly warms in winter and gives strength and vigor. Lovers of decorative, unusual plants will appreciate the appearance of the ginger stem, outwardly it is very similar to sedge and reaches a meter in height. The plant has long smooth leaves, their length is up to twenty centimeters. They are located quite densely throughout the stem of the plant. The flowering of ginger is very unusual and therefore attractive to many lovers of home flowers.
Outdoor is also suitable for growing a plant, but if you grow ginger at home, then a flower pot is suitable for this. It is important to remember that the root acquires healing properties after eight to ten months. Flowering of the plant is not allowed. In order to grow a plant for aesthetic purposes and get beautiful, amazing flowers, you need to wait about three years. It is at this age that it blooms. Let's take a look at how to grow ginger at home in a pot.
Growing ginger on the windowsill
Having decided to grow ginger at home, you can safely move on to planting a plant. Considering that the homeland of ginger is the tropics, its planting should be calculated so that the period of its active growth falls in the summer. The plant is very thermophilic and needs constant sunlight. With a deficiency of at least one of the factors, the plant will die.
The development of the plant takes up to ten months. The ideal time to plant ginger is late winter. So the root of the plant will get stronger, and by the beginning of summer the ginger will gain strength for active growth.
Those who decide to grow this plant in their summer cottage should also remember that the root system sinks into the ground in November.
Before growing ginger at home in a pot or on a plot,it is necessary to prepare planting material.
Preparation of planting material
Fitting material should be purchased immediately before the procedure itself. Florist professionals make recommendations:
- Ginger root should have a smooth surface with as many eyes as possible. It is from them that sprouts are obtained. It is important that the tuber is he althy and juicy. In no case should you take a sluggish or dried spine.
- Given that ginger is delivered from foreign countries, its root is treated with chemicals. Before planting, it is necessary to clean the root system of all kinds of impurities. To do this, you need to immerse it in water for a couple of days. It is also important to disinfect the root, manganese is suitable. You can also use soda: for one glass of liquid - a teaspoon, in addition, a phytosporin solution can be used as a disinfectant.
- The ideal soil for growing ginger is moss or moist soil. Before you grow ginger at home on the windowsill, you need to provide it with all the conditions close to natural. Sphagnum moss is perfect for this. But if the plant in the spring will be transplanted into the open ground on the street, then it is better to use the land. A plant that has grown on wet moss may not take root on the ground. Outdoors, the plant will grow well in soil that is used for planting vegetables. This is a mixture of peat soil and clay in a ratio of 1/3.
- The plant has a roota system that is close to the surface of the earth and grows to the sides. Therefore, a wide flower pot is suitable for a plant, its depth should not be too large. If you decide that ginger is grown at home for decorative purposes, then it is better to limit the area for the rhizome. So all the forces of ginger will be directed to the development of leaves and stems.
Growing from the root
Can I grow ginger at home from the root? Yes. But after planting the root in the soil, a fairly long period of time can pass. The buds will be inactive for a very long time, the rhizome will adapt to the soil and will not rush to shoot. In fact, in order to speed up the process of developing the rhizome, you need to awaken the ginger cobs before planting. This will take from a few days to a month.
Florist recommendations
Professional florists give some tips on how to grow ginger from the root at home:
- It is necessary to take a container, put wet moss on the bottom of it. Ginger rhizomes are laid on top so that the buds look up and cover with another layer of sphagnum. Moss, both lower and upper, should always be wet. So, in a warm place, the root will sprout faster. A window sill above the batteries is ideal.
- You can grow sprouts in water. To do this, string the root on a thin skewer to the middle of the root. Water is poured into the container and the ginger root is hung on a skewer so that half of the rhizome is constantly in the water. It is important tothe root did not dry out. You need to constantly monitor the water level and replenish it if necessary.
After the sprouts begin to break through at the root, it is dried and separated. When dividing the root into several parts, it must be taken into account that each of them must contain at least 3 sprouts. Slices need to be treated with charcoal. Divide the ginger root like a normal potato for planting. There are no tricks for this.
Ground landing
The rules are as follows:
- Pick up drainage. Expanded clay or foam at the bottom of the pot will do, this will provide the necessary moisture for the plant to grow.
- Sphagnum is placed on top of the drainage or soil is covered. The pot is filled to 75% of its volume with soil. The contents of the pot should be moistened well, but not flooded with water. It is convenient to moisten the soil with a spray bottle, so the moisture is distributed evenly.
- On the ground you need to lay the prepared rhizome with the buds up.
- After the top of the root, spread moss or cover the soil. The thickness of the top layer should not exceed five centimeters. Backfilling should be done very carefully so as not to damage the shoots.
Plant care
Ginger will please shoots in a couple of weeks after planting, although this period can be delayed up to two months. In order to grow a he althy and strong plant, care is needed. Ginger is a tropical plant, so it needs close conditions to grow.
The plant grows most actively in summer, when the air temperature reaches +30°C. In the spring, during planting in a flower pot, the air temperature should not fall below 18 ° C. Temperature fluctuations are fraught with the fact that the plant may fall into a dormant state and not develop.
The best place for the stem to grow is the window sill. The east or west side will do just fine. This way the leaves will not be exposed to direct sunlight and the plant will not suffer from burns, but at the same time there will be enough light for the growth of ginger.
From the moment of planting until the leaves fall in autumn, the flower needs constant moisture. The tropics are known for high humidity, so ginger should always be provided.
Irrigation
Ginger should be watered regularly, with each watering you need to loosen the soil a little. Always maintain sufficient soil moisture. At the same time, the root should not be constantly in wet soil, otherwise it will begin to rot, and the leaves will turn yellow and fall off. If the soil is dry, then the leaves of the plant will wrinkle and also fall off the stem.
Feeding
It is necessary to feed the plant at intervals of ten days. This applies to flowers that have received new shoots. Fertilizers are mineral solutions or mullein. From August to November, the soil is fed with potash fertilizers and organic mixtures.
Cutting
Pruning a plant depends on the grower's expectations of the plant. If you are interested in obtaining tubers, then pruning is required. So all the forces of ginger will be directed to the development of its root system. To receivea beautiful and strong stem should not be cut off sprouts.
When can ginger root be used?
In the middle of autumn or closer to its end, ginger leaves will begin to turn yellow and fall off. This is a signal for the ripening of tubers. It is necessary to stop watering the plant, pull the root out of the soil, clean it of lumps of soil and dry it in the sun. Ginger root is ready to eat.
If the purpose of planting was to get the flowering of the plant, then in the autumn-winter period, ginger is watered sparingly. It goes into a sleep phase and does not require careful watering and spraying. Until spring, the tubers will not need high temperatures, 10 ° C is enough to preserve them.
Pro Tips for Care
Can I grow ginger at home? Yes, you can. But it's better to stick to some rules.
So, the plant can not be flooded, it will affect it even worse than a slight drying of the soil. Ginger is better hidden in the shade than exposed to the scorching sun.
Drafts adversely affect the stem. Ginger can only grow in warm conditions.
So, we have considered the question of how to grow ginger at home. This work is not difficult, but you should follow the recommendations in the article.
