Edible Ginger

Edible Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is the culinary ginger from the supermarket shelf, grown for the fat aromatic rhizome under the soil. The upright reed like stems reach about 1.2m tall in a clump 80cm across, a tidy plant for a warm shaded bed or a large pot by the kitchen door. Plant it in spring and you can be digging your own ginger the following autumn.

Why you'll love it

• A harvest you actually use. One clump supplies a household through the year, and home grown rhizomes are more aromatic than stored ones.
• It suits shade. Ginger prefers dappled light and shelter, so it fills the warm shaded spots where most edible plants sulk.
• Neat and upright. At 1.2m tall and 80cm wide the glossy strappy foliage is ornamental in its own right.
• Made for pots. A wide shallow pot suits the spreading rhizome, and harvesting is a matter of tipping it out.
• Safe around pets. Not toxic to cats or dogs.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. The easiest way to grow it, especially outside the tropics. Use a pot at least 400mm wide and no deeper than it needs to be, since the rhizome runs sideways, and move it under cover for winter in cool districts.

Small gardens, borders and kitchen beds. A clump or two beside the back door, in the dappled shade of a larger shrub, gives a steady supply and a soft green edge to a path. The foliage dies down over winter, so the space sits empty until spring.

Growing edible ginger in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade, with protection from hot afternoon sun and wind. This is a tropical, subtropical and warm temperate plant, and it is frost tender, so in cool temperate gardens grow it in a pot and move it somewhere sheltered before the first frost.

Soil. Rich, friable and free draining, with generous compost dug through. Ginger is a heavy feeder that hates sitting wet, so a raised bed or a pot beats heavy clay. Mulch well to keep the soil warm.

Water and feed. Water regularly from spring to autumn, keeping the soil damp but never soggy. Then stop: once the leaves yellow, cut the water right back or the dormant rhizomes rot. Feed monthly with a liquid fertiliser while it is growing.

Harvest and dividing. Dig eight to ten months after shooting. Take what you need from the edge of the clump and leave the rest to reshoot, or lift the clump and replant the best pieces with visible growth buds.

What to expect when it arrives

Edible ginger is supplied as tube stock, a small young plant with a developing rhizome rather than a mature clump. It needs a full growing season before there is anything worth harvesting, so plant in spring.

If your plant arrives in the cooler months it may be dormant, with little top growth showing. That is normal. Pot it up, keep it barely moist and warm, and wait for the spring shoots. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full range of edible plants for the kitchen garden.
• Find companions in our tropical plants collection.
• See what else suits the shade in plants for partial shade.

Common questions

When do I harvest it?

Around eight to ten months after the shoots appear, once the leaves yellow in autumn. Young ginger dug at six months is milder and thinner skinned, while a full season gives the hotter, more fibrous rhizome.

Can I grow it in Melbourne or Adelaide?

Yes, in a pot. It is frost tender, so grow it in a container through the warm months and move it into a shed or under eaves once the foliage dies down.

Why has my ginger lost all its leaves?

That is almost certainly normal winter dormancy. The foliage dies back each autumn and the rhizome reshoots in spring. Keep the soil barely moist, because watering a dormant rhizome is the fastest way to rot it.