Ginger grows so easily in our hinterland gardens & it’s fun!

Hinterland Homesteading with Racheal Pascoe from Rosemount

Now is the time to be harvesting your ginger and enjoying it fresh! Don’t pay $40 a kg in the shops when ginger loves to grow so easily in our climate. 

Did you know we have one of the largest ginger farms in Australia based at Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast? Templeton Ginger is a big operation, but you can do things on a small scale at your place and enjoy your own very locally grown bounty. 

Harvesting ginger is lots of fun. It has been growing for 8 to 10 months and is mature. You might ask how do we know when to begin harvesting? The plants have died back, yellowed and are looking sad. That is the key indicator that underground you have beautiful ginger waiting to be harvested! 

How to Harvest 

You can actually ‘bandicoot’ around earlier in the season and snap off juicy ‘nuggets’ to use. The ginger will have all the flavour but will be softer and not store for as long. Sneakily breaking off some to enjoy does not harm the main plant. 

For a full harvest in Winter, lift the entire clump out of the ground with a fork, brush off excess dirt and trim the stems to 2cm above the rhizome. (The rhizome is the bulbous looking part you eat).

You will be able to smell the fresh ginger as soon as you disturb it in the dirt. It is divine. 

Storing your Ginger 

Store pieces of ginger with the skin on in the fridge or pantry. It keeps well or you can freeze, pickle or dry it for long-term use. Last year I dried a whole lot in the dehydrator, and we now have lots of organic ginger powder on hand. Probably enough to last me until I am 100 years old.

Replanting in Spring 

Each year I keep some of the pieces to replant in a different garden bed. It is important to choose healthy rhizome knobs with visible buds to replant when spring arrives. 

You might be asking how I came to have a ginger to plant in the first place? I simply bought a nice healthy looking piece from the fruit ang veggie shop and I grew it in a pot. Now I have a full bed of ginger growing each year. It really is that easy. 

Plant your ginger in the full sun to part shade. Mine at home here is in the morning shade and afternoon sun. Ginger rhizomes will send shoots up from ‘eyes’. Ginger needs to be watered regularly, do not let it dry out. In the same instance, don’t let your ginger sit water-logged. That is when disease will set it. Ginger will thrive in a well drained soil enriched with plenty of organic matter. I use lots of aged horse poo for a great harvest each year. 

Free Ginger at the markets and a BBQ

I have grown a lot of ginger this year, more than my family needs, so I would like to share with you. If you would like a piece of ginger to eat or to take home and grow, please come down to the Thursday morning BBQ at the Nambour Town Square Markets. No catch, just sharing what I have in abundance. We are there 9-12noon. While stocks last. 

 Happy homesteading everyone!