IAS Aroid Quasi Forum

About Aroid-L

From: "Dr. Guanghua Zhu" <gzhu at lehmann.mobot.org> on 1997.04.07 at 10:48:09(581)
Dear all,

I know we have some ginger experts on th list. Would you please
help? Thank you very much.


From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at msn.com> on 1997.04.07 at 18:48:03(584)
Sent: Monday, April 07, 1997 1:48 PM
To: Julius Boos
From: nancy swell <swell at erols.com> on 1997.04.08 at 06:52:39(587)
Sorry guys, I've always meant to grow it, but just haven't. I do use it a
lot in cooking. The VERY best is stem ginger, which is harvested I guess,
just as it gets growing so that you use the tender shoots.

From: "Robert Wagner" <robwagner at robwagner.seanet.com> on 1997.04.09 at 08:26:21(592)

Yes, you can harvest Ginger roots. For fully ripened Ginger, you let it
grow to the end of the growing season--maybe even let the first winter
frost knock down the tops. Let it dry off just a bit, and store it in a
cool spot. For young Ginger, you harvest it after it has grown some new
rhizomes but before it is fully ripe and while the tops are still green.

You probably have Zingiber officionalis--common culinary Ginger. It should
have no trouble overwintering as long as the soil doesn't freeze--try
giving it a bit of a mulch if that's a problem. Even hardier is Z. myoga,
Japanese Ginger, which will probably overwinter in the Mid-Atlantic states.
Like most Gingers, they like hot summers, rich, moist soil, and cool dry
winters. Given these conditions you should easily be able to get them to
harvestable size.

Culinary Ginger is a shy bloomer, but the blossoms are cute. Most of its
relations are more generous with their exotically beautiful flowers. You'll
notice that the foliage is rather handsome, too.

