Myoga ginger

Is anyone growing it in their forest gardens? I'm interested in trying it! It looks like it should grow well in our climate, though I might need to keep an eye on the soil moisture levels. Interested to hear how it performs in a permaculture, and what it tends to grow well with.

Oh good luck with that Syd! I had the same thought and was give some lovely crowns from someone in England a few years ago. Apparently it was taking over a bit in their garden - too much of a good thing! With me however it faded away. Most of the crowns didn't shoot and those that did came up late in the year and never established, although some persisted a few years.
It has long roots like asparagus, and generally a similar growth habit I guess (except the flowers are a ground level I understand). I was really keen on trying it as a new perennial vegetable... I think I am too cool and probably too shady. It may have been better for me to have planted it in full sun rather than in my fruit garden jungle.

Interesting! I thought it liked part to full shade, so that's useful. I could try some in my existing (more wild and overgrown) woodland, if I clear out a little patch of stiltgrass for it, but this suggests I should do it in more of a gap. Thanks!!

I think it is likely to be temperature (and soil) dependant Syd. As I undestand it, Zingiber mioga is a Japanesse native, and the temperatures there are generally milder than the UK. My summer temperatures are pretty low (about 15 degrees Celsius is a warm day for me in summer) and I get pretty constant rain. If you have drier and hotter summers and are a bit further South.... Probably at least part shade, or shade in the evening might work for your plants. It does sound like if you get the right conditions they could be a useful ground cover in the Forest garden though.

I have 7 selections that I'm growing in zone 5 Maine.  This past winter we got to -20F and they all survived.  Mine are planted under fruit and nut trees and seem quite happy.  A few of them are in what I would consider near full shade (little to no direct sun, but not forest dark) and seem happy.  A few are in partial shade and they are quite happy too.

Very interesting Greg, I had the similar thoughts planting Myoga under a few Japanese plums, and persimmons.  I read somewhere traditional Myoga cultivation in Japan is under trees.  So I planter Myoga near my anaerobic composter at the edge of my garden just inside overhead watering.  The Myoga (Mioga) has made it 2 winters with over topping compost of alfalfa 3-4” which composts down to 1”.  Speciation/Family planting other plants in the same family may help as my turmeric and cardamom are in the same bed.  I’ve been running soil assays on that bed, but haven’t figured the dominant soil ecology yet as it changes seasonally.  Cheers.

Greg Martin wrote:I have 7 selections that I'm growing in zone 5 Maine.  This past winter we got to -20F and they all survived.  Mine are planted under fruit and nut trees and seem quite happy.  A few of them are in what I would consider near full shade (little to no direct sun, but not forest dark) and seem happy.  A few are in partial shade and they are quite happy too.

Do you mean 7 different varieties? I'm not familiar with varieties of it! Are they performing differently? Different flavors? Very interesting!

Syd Smith wrote:

Greg Martin wrote:I have 7 selections that I'm growing in zone 5 Maine.  This past winter we got to -20F and they all survived.  Mine are planted under fruit and nut trees and seem quite happy.  A few of them are in what I would consider near full shade (little to no direct sun, but not forest dark) and seem happy.  A few are in partial shade and they are quite happy too.

Do you mean 7 different varieties? I'm not familiar with varieties of it! Are they performing differently? Different flavors? Very interesting!

Some have only been in the ground for a year and I haven't tried those varieties yet....I'll have to do a side by side taste testing in a year or so.  I am looking forward to that.  Truth is I'm still getting used to the flavor and best uses.

3 of the 7 are variegated landscape ornamentals and the variegation patterns are quite different from each other.  They are very pretty.  The other 4 are solid green with size and flower color variations.  

Really interested to hear Greg's results in zone 5. I've been thinking about planting something under my apple trees that actually produces food rather than just being a ground cover, and myoga keeps coming up. The fact it handles near full shade is what appeals to me. Most edible understory plants I've tried need more sun than they actually get once the canopy fills in by midsummer.

Here's an image of one of my mioga plants that never gets hit with direct sun.  It's under a quince tree with a cornelian cherry to its south and large blueberry bushes to its east.  The picture looks brighter than the actual spot!

And here are a few in a sunnier setting that I should probably move to someplace shadier to make this space open for plants that need more sun.  Wanted to share to show some of the variegated varieties that are available.  These were the first ones I got and gave them a nicer spot since I wasn't sure if they would survive in zone 5 at the time.  They have been happily growing here without damage for over a decade now.