Picking Fresh Ginger

Adding a distinct zing to Asian and Indian dishes, desserts, cakes, cookies and teas, ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a perennial plant in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 12. Ginger dies down over winter and resprouts in spring. It stores up energy for next year in its delicious root, which gardeners harvest in fall for eating or for replanting in spring. Growing ginger for eight to 10 months and reducing watering toward the end of the growing season provides the largest roots with toughened skin, as commonly seen in supermarkets, but baby roots harvested earlier in the year are also edible.

Things You'll Need

• Garden fork

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Stop watering ginger in late fall to encourage it to go dormant and store energy in its roots.

   • 2

     Harvest ginger after two weeks of dry conditions or wait until its leaves yellow and wither to harvest the largest roots.

   • 3

     Tip ginger out of its container and separate its root from the soil or dig carefully around plants growing in the ground with a garden fork, about 6 inches from the base of the plant. Lift the entire plant and shake the root free of soil.

   • 4

     Brush soil from ginger root and wash it carefully to avoid damaging its skin. Leave it in a dry, airy place to dry and toughen its skin for five days before storing it.

   • 5

     Store ginger root for eating in a refrigerator and ginger for replanting in a cool, dry place.