Ginger plants are suitable in areas with a short dry season and relatively high air temperatures during the period when the ginger roots mature. Therefore, the climate in many southern localities of our country is suitable for growing ginger. Ginger is a moisture-loving plant but cannot tolerate waterlogging. If you want to achieve high yields, you must grow ginger on good soil; if grown on bad soil, you must fertilize it.

In addition to the commonly used methods of growing ginger under the canopy of fruit trees such as apricots + ginger, plums + ginger…

Prepare seeds

Cut underground stem segments (tubers) 2.5 – 5cm long, each stem segment has at least 1 seed node (dormant bud) to make planting seeds.

Ginger varieties can be taken immediately after harvest for planting or stored for a short time in storage and then planted.

How to preserve: Keep ginger roots in a dry, airy, cool place like storing potatoes or place the roots in boxes, pots or spread them evenly on the floor, covering each layer with a layer of smooth, dry soil 1 – 2cm thick. Finally, cover the surface with a fine layer of soil. To ensure germination, planting should be done as early as possible. Before planting, you can spray the ginger root with a concentration of 0.7 parts per thousand to kill the fungus. Depending on density, intercropping ginger under the forest canopy requires 400 to 800 kg/ha of ginger seeds.

Planting season

In the South, the ginger planting season is at the beginning of the rainy season (April), in the North it is spring, with drizzle and high air humidity. The beds are cleared of shrubs and fresh carpet under the forest canopy with shallowly distributed root systems in the topsoil. If there are many dead plants, shrubs, and fresh carpets, after clearing, they must be arranged into small strips running parallel to the contour lines. After clearing the vegetation, dig the soil to plant ginger 15cm deep. Crush the soil and form the soil into beds. The bed surface is 40 – 50cm wide, 10cm high, each bed is 40 – 50cm away from the other bed.

Cultivation techniques

On each bed, plant 2 rows of 20 x 20cm plants staggered in a comb-like pattern. Place the ginger root in the prepared soil to a depth of 7cm. The bud is on top, then cover the ginger root with fine soil, pressing firmly until the soil has good contact with the ginger root. Then, cover with a thin layer of fine soil to level the bed surface. If you plant ginger in good soil and add fertilizer, plant it at a lower density, with plants 30cm apart. The bed surface is 50cm wide, the bed is 50cm apart. Do not plant ginger close to the base of forest trees, leave 1m space around the base. Thus, if the planting density is 1,800 – 2,500 trees/ha, the remaining area is 1,800 – 2,500m2/ha (accounting for 18% – 25% of the area). After planting, cover the bed surface with a thin layer of leaves or rotten carpet from the wool forest to retain moisture.

Care after planting

10 – 20 days after planting, the sprouts begin to sprout young buds and leaves. During this time, take care: Clean the grass around the ginger base by hand, gently dig and mound the soil into the base of the ginger plant. In the following months, when you see weeds and other plants overwhelming the ginger plant, weed around the ginger base. Do not leave the ginger root exposed from the ground to ensure the quality of the ginger. If you grow ginger intensively under the forest canopy, you must apply manure and NPK fertilizer.

Harvest

After 9 months of planting, the ginger root is harvested. During this period, the leaves begin to turn yellow, curl, and some leaves begin to wither. Use a hoe to dig lightly so as not to break the tuber, then pull up the plant and shake off the soil. If you continue to grow ginger after harvest, you can leave the ginger seeds for next year in the bed, without having to replant them, saving you the trouble of transporting the seeds. After harvesting, leave the stems and leaves in the forest, covering them evenly on the ground.