How to Grow Ginger

Enjoy this ornamental houseplant for its beautiful foliage, then savor its tasty roots.

Excerpted from How to Grow Practically Everything
Filed under: Plants, How To

Ginger plants grow up to 3 ft tall and make stunning houseplants, as well as providing tasty edible roots that you can use fresh or freeze. It's not hardy except in very mild climates, so grow it indoors, taking it outside only for the summer.

Materials Needed:

ginger roots
3-in. plastic pots
soil-based potting mix

large pot
liquid fertilizer

Prepare the Pot

Choose a ginger root with pale knobby eyes, which will grow into shoots. Fill a pot with potting mix and plant the ginger, just covering the eyes. Water well, and keep in a well-lit spot.

Plant On

When shoots appear, move it out of direct sunlight, and repot the plant as it rows. In summer, take it outside and feed weekly with liquid fertilizer. In autumn, allow it to dry out and the foliage to die back. Harvest the roots but keep a piece to grow again next spring.