Difficult Ginger

Early spring 2023 I got super excited to grow ginger. I watched tons of YouTube. Filled a shallow pot with organic compost and potting soil and perlite. Bought organic ginger. Soaked like many suggested and put it in the greenhouse, and waited, and waited... It didn't finally pop up only to die shortly after.  I have lost track of how many times I've tried to start, and  the different techniques I've tried.  Finally I saw a video that talked about ginger being an understory plant. I put it in the soil in the middle of a raised bed that had a large tomato, a pepper and luffa. It was growing very well. Which was surprising because it didn't seem to get any sun at all. I kept moving the pepper aside so it would get a little morning sun, but it really didn't get much. The problem is it was very late in the season by the time I cracked the code.  The foliage had only grow about 12" before cold weather came. It's been a very mild winter so far we have only had a couple of light frost.  The ginger still feels firm. Should I leave it in the soil? Or should I dig it up?  Will it come back when it warms up?
This is one of those plants that everyone says is so easy to grow, that has given me nothing but trouble. I'm determined to make it work this year. I look forward to some advice on making this place finally grow for me.  Thanks

Hi Jen,

I'm not an expert on ginger by any means, but I did have moderate success growing it last year. I purchased my ginger stock from Fedco and followed their germination guide with excellent results. One thing that jumped out at me in your post is that you soaked the rhizomes. Fedco recommends only watering them sparingly at this stage, at least until they sprout:

Germinating
Keep the soil in your bedded-down crate of ginger or turmeric rhizomes at 80 degrees with a heat mat or in a heated greenhouse. Direct sunlight is helpful, and the heat is crucial. Go light on the watering; especially before sprouts appear, the rhizomes won't take much water. Only when the soil is dry to the touch should you sprinkle it lightly. Ginger and turmeric are sensitive to overwatering at this stage, but most sprouting failures are due to low or fluctuating temperatures.

(source: https://www.fedcoseeds.com/resources/growing-guides/ginger-and-turmeric.htm)

I've seen videos where folks have transplanted them into pots and brought them inside for the winter. Not sure how to advise on that, but if they survived this long might be best to leave them be. Perhaps you can create a 'microclimate' with some buckets of hot water and cover them on cold nights, or use an infrared lamp ...?

Hope things works out for you this year - cheers!

Thanks Pete. Maybe I will just leave it. At this point what have I got to loose? The one In the ground has already been subjected to lower temps, but maybe a black bucket of water next to it will help it survive the winter.
I only soaked the first ginger. Thanks for the low water info. That's important. I don't think I was over watering, because they didn't rot, but who knows.
Thanks for the info and your time
Jen

so where i live (9b) ginger is super common, but i've also had a heck of a time growing it.
I notice when we go to more tropical areas we see it growing in the understory (usually in the same environment as bananas-- lots of water) in rainforest with minimal soil, but where it is commercially grown it's in totally different environs-- full sun, in sandy loam or sandy clay. My soil is rocks and clay, so I only occasionally grow it, and in fact this week put some sprouts into some sandy substrate in a container.
I have also found that it seems to follow some sort of calendar I don't get in terms of when it wants to sprout and grow-- reading what was said above about the young ones not getting too wet, that makes sense. In fact turmeric is the same.
It does survive the meh frosts we get in 9b (the greenery will die back), so for you I'd not worry too much about the cold.

Hi,
I grow ginger (& turmeric) here in S. FL and it's pretty easy. It's amazing to me that I read above that commercial growers have it in full sun! In my experience, it really doesn't like sun and does pretty well in almost full shade. (turmeric likes more sun). After I buy organic ginger, I leave it on my counter until it gets eyes. I plant it in compost and just let it grow, either in pots to sell on, or in the garden. It will die down in winter and disappear, but will come back. You can harvest at any time, but probably want to let it get bigger for at least a year. Remember to mark where it is so you don't accidentally destroy it.

I would not pre-soak it because the only time I have a problem growing an eyed ginger is if I put it in a pot with soil that gets mucky. Then it just rots. If your air is very dry, maybe just keep it in a slightly moist wrapping until it gets eyes. Where I live, it gets humidity just being in my house (no AC). In my experience, if it doesn't get eyes that way, it's not going to grow.

Good luck & I hope you keep trying because it's so much better-when fresh, and the young rhizomes don't have that thicker skin!