Ginger: yes, you can grow it indoors!

Quite some time ago I wrote about the possibility of growing a Ginger plant, starting with a leftover piece of ordinary bought-from-the-supermarket-for-cooking ginger, or Zingiber officinale.

If you've read that article, you'll know that one of my clients proudly showed me a pot with a small pointed green sprout, asking me what I thought it was. And I had no idea.

Well, I have never quite forgotten this incident, so a few weeks ago I decided to have a go myself, as I had a bit of ginger root left over from cooking.

Zingiber officinale

And here it is!

I now understand why my client was so gleeful at having successfully germinated the root, and why they were so certain that I would not be able to identify it.

It's a strange-looking thing, starting with a very stout, sharply pointed green tip, then very quickly flinging itself skywards, making slender but very firm stems, with long narrow leaves.

As you can see, it's already a foot and a half tall, despite being in a tiny pot, and despite my irregular watering regime (ie "oh! Little plant! I forgot about you - would you like some water?").

Will it make a usable crop?

I doubt it - it's a small pot, and I am not sure if my living room is going to be warm enough for it to thrive over the winter.

But if it gets through the winter, then I plan to pot it on, into a rather larger pot, to see if I can get a good clump of foliage, as it is rather bamboo-like in appearance, and grows 3-5' tall, which should be quite impressive.

Wish me luck!