 | |
Presprouting Ginger
|
Greetings!
A quick note about transplanting and hilling. Do not overwater just after transplanting. Your ginger will not grow and may even turn yellow at the margins if overwatered (being underfed by leaching of nutrients). It is important to water only every 5-7 days until the canopy (lots of shoots) has become well established. If your hoophouse is very hot and the soil/media dries out below 2" then water before the 5 days has come. Your ginger will tell you when it needs more water. Every couple of days, stick your finger in the soil or media where the ginger is growing. If it is dry down about 1 1/2 to 2 inches then give your
 | |
Ginger Being Transplanted to Bag of Coir
|
ginger a deep watering. Mimic tropical rainfall when you do water... a long deep drink. Here are some more details for ginger success! TRANSPLANTING FOOD Feeding is critical for high yields. Apply fertilizer at time of transplant and thereafter at every hilling. You will end up feeding the ginger at least three to four times through the season. If it is looking burnt or yellow at the margins, feed it a readily available fertilizer to give it a boost. Most organic granular ferts are slow release so a shot of fish emulsion will help if ginger is showing signs of deficiency. CALCIUM Don't forget calcium! This element is important for plants to take up soil-held nutrients. For this reason, ginger is especially fond of calcium. Gypsum is a good calcium supplement that will not alter soil pH. Be sure to check with your Organic Certification Agency before adding any new, non OMRI labeled amendments to your crops if you are a certified organic grower. WATERING Ginger is relatively forgiving so if you feel you are overwatering, back off for about 7 days and let the root zone drain a bit. Then feed it an avaialble fert like fish emulsion, water it every 5-7 days with a deep drink until you feel the soil getting drier sooner, and then increase watering frequency as needed. No two soils or medias are alike. You are the best judge! But, please email or call if you are in doubt or have questions. This is a very different crop than we're used to growing so the learning curve may be high.  | |
Turmeric Seed Piece Ready For Transplant
|
 | |
Presprouted Galangal Ready For Transplant
|
TURMERIC AND GALANGAL Turmeric and Galangal should not be overwatered either. They are a bit less susceptible to overwatering than ginger but manage water and food the same as ginger and these crops will perform well for you. HILLING Hill ginger for the first time when the original few stems show a distinct color change from white/light pink to a very dark pink. This is an indication that rhizome growth is beginning so a hill or mound must be provided for the new hands to grow into. Add about 3 inches of soil or media. Do not use anything that is actively decomposing to hill your ginger (no fresh compost, no sawdust, no fresh manure). This type of material will steal valuable nutrients from the ginger resulting in depleted yields.
 |
Ginger seed pieces should be covered with no more than 1-2 inches of soil when transplanted into field soil or growing media. Here you can see the soil level just prior to the first hilling. Note the color change at the base of the stem. You will have to dig down a bit to see the color change. No need to check all the plants. Pick a few and monitor them for color change to occur. Click here to read more about hilling on the website. |
The next hilling will be about 3-4 weeks after the first, and so on and so forth, for a total of about 8-10 inches of hilling over the season. The last hilling should be about mid-late August, perhaps into the first of Sept. if your ginger is still actively growing rhizomes. Always place a little soil or media on rhizomes that are peeking out of the soil... don't want them to sunburn! Turmeric and galangal will be managed the same, only soil on rhizomes that are peeking out of the soil surface. You may end up hilling these two crops a couple of inches over the whole season. Remember to email or call if you have more questions or comments about your ginger, turmeric and/or galangal. Take care, Susan |
