How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Comfrey, May 27, 2008.

  1. Comfrey

    Comfrey Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2008
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi everyone

    There's three questions here. Am I allowed to confuse things by putting them together?

    I keep thinking about different carbohydrates I can grow, one that springs to mind is sweet potato, either white or orange fleshed. Does anyone have experience with this? Do you get them to climb or scramble? Do they go mad and take over the garden? And if so, can you get rid of them once they've got hold?

    It's the same query about Jerusalem artichoke: do they go mad? Should they be contained in some way?

    The ginger thing: how do I get ginger to shoot/root from a bit I buy in a greengrocer's? What temperatures does it require? Might it grow in a protected spot on a patio in temperate areas? Has anyone had any success with this? (I'm sure this question seems weird to you tropical folk).

    Thanks so much for your help!
     
  2. dylanz

    dylanz Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2007
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    Hey Comfrey !

    Only have experience with the Jerusalem Artichokes... they grow "well" :)
    I'd recommend making a rhizome barrier for them if you want to keep them in control at all.
    Otherwise... you'll be eating sunchokes daily... which isn't a bad thing !

    ==
    Dylan
     
  3. Susan

    Susan Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2006
    Messages:
    62
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    I have tried all three where I live, I guess I would describe the climate as Temperate adjusted by altitude (Blue Mountains, Australia), by that I mean we get snow a couple of times a year but it doesn't hang around the way it used to. The J. artichokes no problems, as for a barrier well I haven't and the patch has managed to grow about 15 cm larger each year. And that's with me thinking I have carefully re-planted the 'chokes' in the required garden bed and certainly not outside it in the pathway...
    As for the ginger and the sweet potato I have managed to grow both (or at least I planted what I know as kumura - an ogange coloured tuber), both in a carefully sheltered microclimate: but have only ended up with a little more (very little that is...) than I planted as the tuber stock in the first place. It probably isn't worth the effort, but having said that I do persist and grow it each year. I'm forever hopeful and I do have the space, so why not!
    Susan
     
  4. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    They are the easiest things to grow
    Stick them in the ground and stand back!

    Sunny spot, well drained + animal poo.
    What is the problem?

    PS
    If you cut or break a root wait till it "heals" before planting.
     
  5. tranquil

    tranquil Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2008
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    I planted some ginger about a month ago that I bought from the store that was already sending out some green shoots. I planted in a medium sized pot and the shoot is now about 2 feet in length. It can grow in shade and doesn't need much water (careful about over watering). According to this site, it should be 75-85 degrees F.
     
  6. Comfrey

    Comfrey Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2008
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    Ok everyone, thanks for that, I guess just do it is the reply.
    I'll report back!
    I would send some pics if only I could get my camera to work (what is it with me and technology, everything seems to break or get outdated as soon as I catch up with it!!)
     
  7. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,464
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    g'day comfrey,

    dunno about the artichokes but i would imagine they are not difficult just source some viable corms and plant them?

    ginger again it must be viable corms (lots of supermarket stuff treated so as not to grow), and simply plant them either in pots of in the ground no matter which, they will thrive, we don't eat much ginger so mine gets planted and stays in the ground all the seasons, it dies down for winter and springs back early summer, i keep it heavily mulched.

    sweet potato's again we don't ever seem to eat many, but i always have a plant so at least i can give some growing stock away when needed, it will take over but you can keep feeding the vine back over itself or prune it the you tips and leaves are edible like spinach. i keep hacking mine back to keep it in order. but again it must be viable stock, once you ahve a suitable tuber cut it in 1/2 across the middle and place each 1/2 in a dish with some water in the dish and keep the water u to it, the tubers will sprout and as the sprouts reach around 4"s cut that section of the tuber off and plant it, divide it if ther are enough shoots.

    for me can't stand those awfull commercial grown orange stuff my prefference the white or red/purple skinned types with the whittish flesh, once you have them growing you will always have them. and as with all things lots of mulch. one asian philosopher says if you let the vines grow up a trellis or fruit trees you will get bigger spuds. for me they get big enough just let to ramble.

    len
     
  8. paradisi

    paradisi Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2005
    Messages:
    665
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    whichever you plant, make sure there's root barriers all round (not so bad with sweet potatoes)

    I've been getting rid of a patch of ornamental ginger for 10 months now -

    sweet potato the vines just feed the tubers. when the flowers die its time to pick the crop and then dig the vines into the patch for your next crop (not sweet potatoes)

    jerusalem artichokes - once you've got them established you'll find it very hard to get rid of them. make sure they have root barriers

    ginger grows in the sub tropics - so basically if you can keep the frosts off you should get ginger

    anything you buy in the greengrocer should grow, but if its been in a cool room too long you might have trouble. You can leave it in a warm sunny spor until the shoots start. A large pot will do for growing ginger or turmeric - thats what I use
     
  9. Loris

    Loris Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 7, 2006
    Messages:
    148
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    Ginger should be easy because there are ginger farms all around us. But they don't like the clay and they can be a bit touchy about hot sun especially on high UV days. I grow my ginger in the big broccolli boxes with some holes punched in the bottom and a nice light loam and pop them in under some dappled shade in the summer time. (the hibiscus)

    I have found our tumeric to be very very tought compared to the ginger. So I grow galangal which is the asian ginger. It is much more forgiving and is also quite frost tolerant. It grows prolifically and bunches up so we use it for a weed barrier around mulched garden beds. Maybe worth a try for you.
     
  10. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2005
    Messages:
    583
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    How frost tolerant is the galangal.........would love to try some but our winters are cold....brrrrr...almost snows.
    Cathy
     
  11. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    Yes quite right

    A lot of supermarket plants are sprayed with growth retardants
    Wait until your ginger starts to shoot or soak it in water for a few days
    If you change the water daily this helps

    i have seen some amazing Galangals, one which is like a terrestrial orchid. Stunningly beautiful.
    but all gingers are worth a punt.

    The Ginger Factory at Buderim Queensland has one of the best collections of gingers.

    Just don't plat a root until any wound has healed.( leave a few days)
     
  12. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,464
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    g'day cathy,

    we had some heavy frost in rural air temp around the -4 to -6c range and they got very slightly singed. not sure about snow but all you can do is try, i find even with ginger if you mulch them heavily as they die down for winter the corms are protected in the ground over winter.

    i have both here in clay and they spread very slowly not rampant, it would be easy to control just remove some materila from the outside of the clump. i've used both in the cooking and reckon galangal had the better flavour but that is up to taste, might be the ginger flavour comes on stronger if you harvest after it has died down for winter?

    not sure wher you are cathy? but if you want some galangal yell out might be better in the spring but hey? then get it growing very well in a pot and then plant in the garden maybe the following late spring early summer, that way if is well established, of course keep some in a pot for the first over winter just in case.

    len
     
  13. Comfrey

    Comfrey Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2008
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    Great, thanks everybody again for all your replies.
    I bought ginger in a supermarket and have stuck it in water, we'll see if it shoots. Very hard getting anything around here, strangely enough it comes from this area of Spain being such a big exporter of fruit and veg, people only grow/sell commercial export produce. Apparently I can buy J.artichoke tubers from France or the UK over the internet (at a price!) Anyway looking for stuff on the web led me to this site so I can't really complain. In the meantime it's a lot of fun planning and researching...
    What are you using for root barriers, paradisi?
     
  14. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    3,464
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: How to grow root ginger Jerusalemartichoke and sweet potato

    g'day comfrey,

    probably better to simply plant the ginger into a pot than try to root it in water?

    you can use anything as a root barrier, when i need to i get hold of say a 3 gallon or 4 gallon plus plastic pot cut some off the bottom so as to have around 6"s below the surface and about the same above then top it up to just below the rim and plant whatever it is you want. you can get 44 gallon plastic drums and make root barriers also.

    ginger isn't a rampant grower so i never bother with barriers for it, you always have the option each beginning of season to lift it and divide it to keep spread in control of simply remove some of it at the end of the season, too easy, if you use it regular and harvest through the growing season by snapping of pices of rhizome from the growing plant, that will keep it in trim. you can of course simply grow it in a large pot and once well root bound tip and replant or divide?

    with sweet potato's i again don't worry i simply keep the vine trimmed back, and you can grow your sweeties in well lit shaded areas, if you let them grow rampant a bit you will of course get more tubers later on. when you harvest a tuber simply cut off the vine and stick that back into the hole the tuber came from with soil packed around the vine ends they will continue to grow and produce.

    the artichokes again i managed to kill mine, but plant in larger pots or make a root barrier or harvest often by suing fingers to dig around under the soil surface and gather corms, use them instead of potato's in your diet.

    len
     

Share This Page

-->