Where and how does ginger grow and what is the care at home

Features of ginger

Ginger is a perennial tuberous plant native to 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. Cultivated plants have small roots (5-7 cm in length), cylindrical, slightly flattened.

The root that we are used to buying in the supermarket, white or brown in color with a smooth outer surface, is a root vegetable washed and cleaned from the dense surface layer. In its original form, the unprocessed root has a black color and a more intense spicy smell. When the rhizome is cut, the flesh of a brown or light yellow color is visible, and the older the root crop, the more yellow its interior. Ginger has a pungent, spicy taste with a lemon tinge. The taste of the root is due to the presence of gingerol, an active compound that gives pungency to plants. In addition, the root contains an essential oil (3%), the main component of which is tsingiberen - a substance that gives the root vegetable a strong spicy aroma, several organic compounds of the terpene group, many amino acids, trace elements, vitamins C and B.

Ginger has useful medicinal properties and is widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of stomach, heart, liver, immune, and 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 throat, and depression.

In cooking, the root is added to improve taste in almost any dish: baked goods, 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 it can also be filled with oil for preservation.

Video "Detailed instructions"

Video instruction on growing a plant at home.

Where it grows in Russia

For industrial purposes, the plant is cultivated by all countries of Southeast Asia, as well as India, Australia, China, Ceylon, West Africa, Central America. These countries grow ginger in the fields, plantations, and are world producers and exporters of exotic spices. On a smaller scale, root crops are grown in countries with mild tropical climates.

To the question: where does ginger grow in Russia? - many vegetable growers claim that nowhere, since the weather conditions are harsh enough to grow a plant, and the earth simply cannot get so warm.In tropical countries, ginger has all the conditions for a year-round growing season, but in our latitudes this is impossible to achieve.

However, in the subtropics of Russia - a narrow strip of the Black Sea coast, some agricultural lovers still manage to get a harvest of ginger in natural conditions. But such plants are distinguished by their short stature, extremely rare flowering and an insignificant size of root crops. The most successful is the cultivation of crops in Russia in greenhouses and at home.

How ginger grows at home

Ginger propagates by dividing the rhizome. The root sold in the supermarket is fine for planting. It needs to be soaked in water for several hours, germinated, then divided into fragments, so that each has at least one living bud, or shoot.

When growing ginger root at home, you need to responsibly choose the place and soil. Regardless of where the ginger grows: on the windowsill, or in the greenhouse - the plant needs to create conditions close to its natural environment. The growing area should be warm, humid, and free of 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 with a layer of 3-5 cm, then pour a soil mixture consisting of equal parts of turf, sand and leaf humus. The soil should be homogeneous, loose, without lumps.

Ginger is planted in late winter - early spring. Part of the root with a shoot 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 after 2 weeks the first shoots will sprout.

How to arrange proper care

Taking care of ginger at home is easy enough. The most important thing is to try to create a humid and warm climate for it. In summer, the potted plant can be taken out to the balcony. Despite the fact that ginger is a thermophilic plant, direct rays of the sun are 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. Watering young shoots is necessary often, but little by little. Care must be taken to ensure that the soil does not dry out. Excessive soil moisture is also harmful to the root - from this it can rot. After each watering, the soil 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 feeding with mineral or organic fertilizers: potassium for growth, phosphorus for flowering. In the fall, 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 quickly enough (6-8 months). The most active growth of the 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, it is necessary to reduce watering, and gradually stop completely by October. When the leaves are dry, you can start digging out the roots. The dug out ginger should be rinsed well and dried in the sun.

The inner flesh of the fresh root has a brown, sometimes yellowish color. When tasting ginger from a new crop, you need to be careful - often tubers grown at home taste much "meaner" than those sold in supermarkets. Store roots are pre-dried and processed to improve taste. In order not to get burned, you need to taste homemade ginger a little, and if the crop is still too "high quality", you need to drink it well with water.

Video "How ginger blooms and grows"

Demonstration video about the flowering of the plant.