It is very convenient when your favorite seasonings are always at hand. Those who like to add ginger to food should get acquainted with growing it at home.
There are two ways to grow ginger yourself: seed and vegetative. If you are not a fan of germination of seeds, it is better to use the second option, using the root of ginger for this.
How to choose the root of ginger for growing a house?
You can buy the planting material at the grocery store or at the bazaar, in the department where spices are sold. For planting, only the young root should be taken. It should be smooth, dense, shiny, not having many fibers and signs of disease on the surface. You can take as fresh, so dried ginger, which will be enough to soak for several hours in water at room temperature, to awaken his sleeping kidneys.
You can plant not only the whole root, it is enough to take its piece, cutting along the line of the lintel. The main thing is that it had several full-fledged kidneys. The division of whole ginger into parts for cultivation is used for the purpose of its reproduction.
Ginger - cultivation and care
The prepared root or its part should be planted in early spring, sending the sprouts upwards and sprinkling a layer of soil in 2 cm. As a container for it, it is necessary to take a shallow but wide pot, on the bottom of which it is necessary to put a good layer of drainage. It will need to be filled with a common mixture for growing vegetables at home with the addition of fertilizer with phosphorus (for example, superphosphate ).
Also, you should immediately think about the location. Ginger grows quite high (about 100 cm), so put it in a bright and warm place where it can grow up calmly and will not interfere. Ginger will not fit the windowsill, where the direct rays of the sun will fall on him.
Germs will appear only after 1,5 - 2 months, before that time, the future ginger is very rarely watered. In the future, it will require quite simple maintenance:
- Moderate watering. It is very important to keep the soil permanently moistened, therefore it is recommended to check its condition on a daily basis and, if necessary, to water it. Depending on the temperature regime, the amount of pouring water under the ginger must be adjusted: hot - more, cooler - less.
- Feeding. Until the end of the summer, fertilizer is needed every 2-3 weeks.
- Maintain optimal conditions. Ginger loves heat and high humidity. You can ensure this by taking out a pot in the summer with him on the balcony and regularly spraying.
To bring into the room pot with ginger follows in the beginning of autumn, and from the middle to reduce watering. This will provoke the growth of the rhizome. Gyro is ready for digging about 8-9 months after planting, that is closer in winter. By this time, the upper part of the plant will begin to dry up. When the stalks of ginger are completely wilted, the rhizome must be excavated. Then it will have to be washed and dried in a well-ventilated room.
Keep the resulting ginger harvest better in a dried and marinated form, hiding it in a dark closet or refrigerator. If you want to continue growing it at home, it is better to immediately put the best root for planting, and the rest to eat. Stems of ginger are similar to bamboo, so some grow it as a houseplant. To do this, before the winter it will not have to be excavated, but it is necessary to put the pot in a damp and cool place. With the onset of spring heat, it will have to be rearranged to a bright warm place and begin to water heavily, and will also require fertilizing potassium fertilizer . In summer this plant will please you with its flowering.