As an Asian, I use ginger frequently for cooking. However, store-bought ones are often shriveled or moldy, and very fibrous. I have been growing ginger for the last two years, and they are so much better than store bought!! Growing them is fairly easy once they successfully sprout. Let’s go over what you need and how you set up for a fresh ginger harvest in the fall!
Gingers like warm soil. If you live in an area which has long summer, there will be plenty of time for ginger roots grow for a big harvest. The thing is that it often takes more than a month to sprout, so it is better to start it indoors. When soil warms up, they have already sprouted with some roots, and they are ready to grow right away!
I have tried a couple different methods over the years. One is to directly plant ginger roots in the soil. That takes a long time. Some rotted and some were eaten. Second method is to wrap them in a moist paper towel and keep them in a Ziploc bag. That worked better than directly planting in the soil, but it required frequent attention as they tend to get moldy. Perhaps, it builds up too much humidity in the Ziploc bag.
The third method I am trying this year is to grow them on a seedling heat mat, covered with a humidity dome. It took only 10 days to sprout! That was much quicker than expected, and it has been successful so far.
This is what you need to get started.
- Seedling heat mat
- Digital thermostat
- Potting mix
- Seedling tray with humidity dome. Make sure there are no holes in the seedling tray.
- Ginger roots!
You can find a combo kit which includes both a seedling heat mat and digital thermostat rather than buying them separately. Make sure to get potting mix, not potting soil. After trying multiple different potting mix, my choice is PRO-MIX. I use them for all potted plants now. You can also find a seedling tray and humidity dome on Amazon. A 10″x20″ works, but a smaller one is fine as long as you can put enough ginger roots for your need. Make sure the tray has enough depth. This could be anything as long as it can hold enough dirt and humidity. Once you have them, let’s set it see how you can set it up.
- Buy ginger roots from a store near you. Organically grown ginger may be better, but I did not have an option. So, I bought regular ginger roots. Pick ones that are firm and not damaged. It would be best if you could find ones that has multiple ‘eyes’.
- Soak them for 24 hours to wash off any chemicals such as sprout inhibitors.
- If ginger roots are too big, break them into smaller pieces. Dry them for 12 hours so that they won’t rot in the potting mix.
- Moisten potting mix if it is dry.
- Add 1 inch of potting mix to the tray. Place ginger roots and cover them with another 1 inch of potting mix.
- Add water to the tray. 0.25 to 0.5 inch is good. It doesn’t have to be precise. We just need to make sure that there is enough moisture in the potting mix.
- Set a thermostat at 75 degrees Fahrenheit or 24 degrees Celsius.
- Place a thermostat in the potting mix.
- Put a dome and place it on the heat mat.
- Check every few days. Open the dome and inspect. If potting mix is dry, add water.
Below is my current setup.
It took 10 days for me to see the first small sprout. Once soil warms up in April, I’ll plant them in my raised bed. They can be grown in a big pot, too. I’ll post an update when it’s time to plant my ginger roots in my raised bed next month.
Update 1 on March 16, 2025: More new sprouts from ginger roots! Check out this post!
Happy gardening!