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Ginger
rlew
Posts: 73
in Fruit & veg
How long should ginger take to form roots? Mine have been soaked in water for 3 weeks now but nothing. Are them white bits mould? 
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After some weeks a creamy shoot appears above the surface then tiny hair roots start growing from the root - at that stage I pot it up and it starts growing.
I've done it a few times over the years, but what grows isn't very impressive, the main root only seems to grow a fraction after a season and the foliage tends to get brown marks, so I've not bothered trying again.
Your roots are showing signs of white mould at the cut ends.
I'd slice off the mouldy bits and try the method I've used. So long as the root hasn't gone wrinkly or squishy they should be ok
PS - the first thing you'll notice when they start growing is a tiny white bump on the root surface, a bit like a tiny pea, that then turns into a pointy shoot
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
A layer of damp sharp sand (not builders sand) at the bottom then lay a bit of root on top then cover so the root has about 1/2" of damp sand on top of it.
I can't remember how long it took to see a shoot, I think it was at least a month or so.
Once it has sprouted and grown roots, then pot it up in multi-purpose compost.
It's only that I usually keep ginger in damp sand for cooking with - it keeps fresh for months that way. Shoots often appear, so I thought I'd try growing it.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I have tried to grow cooking ginger but ultimately, it was not worth the bother of keeping it going during the winter. I just pushed a piece of the fresh root into sandy soil in a small pot and kept it just damp. It developed green grasslike stems but never did much more. Perhaps I should have persevered for longer.
I have ginger lilies growing in the garden which grow to 6ft each year. The roots are around 3 ins. thick but they do not have such a strong flavour as the cooking variety. The flowers smell wonderful, which is why I planted them. I have cream and orange flowers, there was a red one but it died after a very cold spell so presumably is a bit more miffy than the cream and orange ones.
I leave the root in slightly damp sand in my garage throughout the year - it never seems to go off, but does grow slightly
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I've grown ginger a few times and am doing so again this year. I bought some organic ginger and have it currently in slightly moist compost. It is only just below the soil surface at the moment because I found it begins to promote growth tips quicker with some light. It will then be buried about 2" down in a 20cm pot.
I've not rooted ginger in water but I think it would be better to have the root just moist rather than saturated. They do like water in the growing season but don't like to be sat in it.