Hilling edible ginger?

9 years ago

Thats what these guys say to do.

Of course they are talking about what to do in a large commercial greenhouse setting.

So I have a piece of ginger that has just INSISTED on putting out a shoot. Just a little thing, a little swelling where it was coming out. I noticed this happening 2 months ago, and set it aside meaning to break off a chunk and try planting it.

Well today I found it under something else - and that shoot is now a nice, thick, dark green shoot coming out of a large pink and white swelling coming up from the original rhizome, with some more little bumps on it.

Go figure. In virtually total darkness and absolutely total neglect. This poor little thing DESERVES to live!

OK so I got off my keister and made up a 1:1:1 mix of peat, pine bark mostly-fines, and pumice, put it in a 12" OD 10" ID pot that is about 14" deep, to about within 3" of the top of the pot.

Because I had read that thing about hilling over your ginger. But hilling it up a whole 12" is pretty much out of the question.

Do I need to worry about this at all? I JUST put the ginger in the pot, I could still pull it back out, no harm no foul, and add more mix.

Is leaving 3" or so to "hill up" my edible ginger helpful? Or silly and useless?

EDITED to replace all the places where I said "garlic" but meant "ginger". Why I keep getting those words mixed up is anybody's guess ...

This post was edited by zensojourner on Thu, Oct 9, 14 at 2:41

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Comments (3)

steiconi
9 years ago
the page you posted gives directions at the bottom for growing in pots, and they say to hill in the pot. You'd need a pretty big pot, I think.

The page says "Yields will be diminished if you choose not to hill or fertilize." Sounds like you don't have to if you don't wanna.
Pyewacket
Original Author
9 years ago
I've just never heard of anybody doing it this way in a pot. So I was wondering if it was just a step that was getting left out, or just not done because heck, you're going to get a ton of ginger out of a 12" pot anyway, eventually.

I guess next time I plant a sprout I'll start it lower in the pot and see what happens.

The one I have hasn't died yet at least, LOL! Its still warm enough to put it out during the day but after that it'll have to go under the lights.
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Pyewacket
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I have since seen other guides that also suggest hilling in containers. There are still bunches out there that just tell you to plant at the surface of the pot. But at least now I know better, LOL!

It has been a bit over 8 months since planting and the shoots are starting to die back right on schedule. I plan to repot in a larger, deeper pot, with about 6" of medium in the bottom, then put in the buds, cover that up, and add medium as the shoots grow up.

Now that I've actually grown the stuff myself, I can see how it forms rhizomes up the stem - so I know I won't get much in the way of new rhizomes this time since there was no hilling going on (eg no buried shoot along which to form new rhizomes). Next time!

BTW, it did fine in a south facing window all winter with no additional lighting. Actually not a window - but in front of the patio doors. I did go to the extent of moving the screen back and forth so it didn't block the sun as the day progressed. We get a LOT of sun and that patio door is totally unobstructed, and it seemed fine.