When is the best month to plant ginger? What is the best time and method to plant ginger?

When planting ginger, try to place it horizontally. This will make it easier to operate and harvest, and the yield will be much higher than when it is placed vertically. If the trench is dug in the north-south direction, it is recommended to place the ginger buds facing west.

Ginger planting time

The planting time of ginger in the north and south is different. Generally speaking, it can be planted in March and April in the south , but in the north , it needs to wait until April and May . The best time to plant ginger is in April and May every spring, because the environment at this time is relatively warm, which is suitable for the growth and development of ginger.

How many seasons can ginger be planted in a year?

Ginger can be grown once a year . Because ginger is not cold-resistant, it will die in a low temperature environment. However, in a greenhouse with a constant temperature, ginger can be grown all year round.

Ginger harvest time

Ginger needs to be harvested around the winter solstice, mostly during the period from October to November . This is the harvesting time for most ginger. At this time, the ginger is spicy and is also very resistant to transportation.

Ginger Planting Methods

1. Site selection

Choose sandy loam or loam with deep soil, good water and fertilizer retention, good air permeability, and rich organic matter to plant ginger. Ginger should not be planted continuously, and root, fleshy root, and tuber crops should not be selected as the previous crop, otherwise, diseases and insect pests will be serious, and the yield and quality will decline.

2. Choose ginger

The ginger you buy should have a rough skin and a darker color. Do not buy ginger that has been smoked with sulfur and has a smooth, damaged skin, bright color, and a pungent smell as seeds.

When harvesting ginger, farmers who have been growing ginger for a long time choose plots with healthy, disease-free, high-quality and high-yield growth, and select ginger pieces that are lush, free of pests and diseases, rot and damage, with full buds, uniform size, bright color and unfrozen for storage as ginger seeds.

3. Germination method

Before sowing, germination should begin about 20 days in advance according to the sowing time. Germination can be carried out by various methods such as greenhouse germination, kang germination, cow dung germination, etc.

Keeping ginger at a certain humidity and keeping the temperature between 22-25℃ can help it grow into strong buds on schedule. If the temperature is too high, the buds will be weak and thin, and if the temperature is too low, the germination will be slow.

When the ginger buds grow 0.5-1 cm, they can be planted in batches. You can break the ginger pieces by hand or cut them with a knife, and keep 1-2 full buds for each ginger seed. The wounds can be smeared with plant ash to facilitate wound recovery. If necessary, sterilize them to prevent the ginger seeds from rotting.

4. Apply base fertilizer reasonably

Generally, decomposed chicken manure or sheep manure is chosen as base fertilizer, and 1000-2000 kg is applied per mu of land. After mixing evenly with the soil, it is turned into the soil.

You can also apply 100 kg of cake fertilizer, 50 kg of triple compound fertilizer, or 25 kg each of urea, superphosphate and potassium sulfate per mu in the sowing furrow. Ginger is a chlorine-sensitive crop and should not be applied with chlorine-containing fertilizers such as potassium chloride.

5. Planting seeds

Water the bottom of the field before sowing, and arrange the ginger after the water seeps down. The density of ginger should be controlled at 5,500 plants per mu, with a spacing of 30 cm between plants and 40 cm between rows. One ginger seed should be placed in each hole. The sprouted ginger can be placed with the buds facing upwards, but it is best to place it flat, which is convenient for operation and harvesting.

If the trench is dug in the east-west direction, the ginger sprouts should be placed facing south; if the trench is dug in the north-south direction, the ginger sprouts should be placed facing west. The seed amount per mu is generally 400-500 kg. In rural areas, it is said that ginger is enough to cover the cost, so it is better to plant large ginger rather than small. The thickness of the soil is 4-5 cm.

6. Field management

Start watering after the seedlings emerge, and apply the first topdressing when the ginger seedlings grow to 25 cm, mainly nitrogen fertilizer. Apply the second topdressing when the ginger roots grow rapidly, mainly potassium fertilizer, combined with triple compound fertilizer. Apply potassium fertilizer and compound fertilizer again after another month, and the amount can be halved.

7. Pest and disease control

The main diseases and pests of ginger include ginger blight, spot disease, leaf blight, eye spot disease, anthrax, canker, bacterial soft rot, ginger borer, ginger maggot, and Spodoptera litura. Summer is the peak season for diseases and pests. Early prevention and targeted control are required.

8. Harvest in time

Ginger can be harvested from young ginger, tender ginger and old ginger. You can choose according to your needs. Young ginger is harvested from late June to early July. Young ginger is harvested in September and can be pickled.

Old ginger is harvested around early November. If the temperature is below 10°C, ginger may be frozen. The harvest should be completed before the first frost in the local area at the latest. Stop watering 7-10 days before harvesting, otherwise the root tubers will have too much water content and easily rot during storage.

9. Storage in cellar

When the temperature drops below 17°C, store it in a cellar, and then keep the temperature between 12-15°C and the relative humidity at around 65% to avoid diseases and rot during storage. Do not store ginger in the refrigerator, otherwise it will easily rot and deteriorate.