Ginger is a perennial plant that is cultivated as an annual crop in South Africa. It is the rhizome of the plant from the family Zingiberaceae. Other members of this plant family are cardamom and turmeric. After a growing period of 8 to 9 months, the above-ground growth dies off (June/July). If the underground creeping stems (rhizomes) are not harvested, they start growing again as soon as soil temperature increases (October/November).
Ginger is a warm climate plant. It can be grown indoors in cool/temperate areas. To grow well it needs lots of water and nutrients. Prepare the soil by adding compost which will retain some moisture but not get saturated. Add a small amount of sand to ensure drainage. Water regularly in summer to keep moist. In a pot, in addition to watering to keep moist, water ginger about once a fortnight with a seaweed or other liquid fertilizer. This perennial will die down in autumn. Remove the dead leaves. In spring lift the root clumps and break them up into smaller pieces to replant.
You can harvest ginger root after the plant dies down in winter, digging around the plant to cut off a piece of the older root. The young root with shoots is the actively growing plant and should be left to resprout.
You can also carefully dig down under the plant through the growing season to cut off bits of the older root for use, just be careful not to disturb the rest of the plant too much.
Let plants become well established before harvesting - it is often best to wait until the second growing season.
Make sure that you have edible ginger. Ginger plants sold in nurseries are usually decorative varieties and not suitable for eating. # Ginger can be grown in large pots indoors. Ambient temperature needs to be 25 - 30C (75-85F)
South African ginger is harvested from May until November. Some farmers keep the tubers in the soil for the end of the season (until before the start of summer rains) when prices rise. The main production area is around Hazyview and Kiepersol, Mpumalanga Province, where ginger is sometimes used as an intercrop in young macadamia orchards.
At the moment “beautiful, A-grade” local ginger obtain between R35 (2.26 euros) and R40 (2.58 euros) per kg, while offcuts are sold at around R15 (0.96 euros) to R20 (1.29 euros) per kg. The export market for South African ginger has long since dwindled in the face of the Chinese ginger industry, and in the off season of November to February, ginger imported from China supplements stock.
Opinions differ regarding how locally produced ginger compares to Chinese ginger. One market agent calls Chinese ginger “brilliant”. “The quality is much better, it’s unbelievable – like brown gold. It’s the best of the best.” According to him, Chinese ginger has more flesh and a thinner skin than local ginger. “Local ginger gives you 5kg flesh and 5kg skin from 10kg ginger, while with Chinese ginger you get 9kg flesh from 10kg ginger.”
The ginger we get from Hazyview is very clean. You find that ginger from elsewhere in the country can be dry and sandy, sometimes stained red by soil, but it seems like the soil type and climate of Hazyview is really good for ginger cultivation.”
