Publisher's Synopsis
The idea of growing spices is intimidating to many gardeners. But you may already be growing spices without giving yourself credit. Unlike herbs, which are the leafy tender parts of young plants, spices are the harvestable parts of mature plants used for their culinary flavor and aromatic intensity. They include the flowers, seeds, fruits, roots, rhizomes, bark and other underground stems of spice-producing plants. If you've grown fennel or dill for the seeds or lavender for the buds, then you already know how simple growing spices at home can be. Even if you haven't grown spices yet, if you can grow vegetables such as tomatoes or squash, then you have the basic skills required to grow spices for their aromatic fruits and seeds. When thinking of growing spice plant at home ginger is the easiest and most common spice grown at home. It is scientifically called Zingiber officinale all over the world. Ginger is often referred to as ginger root and comes under the category of spices grown underground, but it is the fleshy, underground stem or rhizome of a perennial plant. Ginger has its origin in South China and later spread to other tropical areas, including West Africa and India from where it reached Britain and further European countries. Ginger is widely used in savory curries as well as in confectionery and baked items. It is used in herbal teas not only for the sake of fragrance and flavor but also for its medicinal value. The ginger plant can be easily propagated from one to two-inch pieces of the rhizome containing, at least, one 'eye' or growing bud. Basically, rhizomes are modified stems and have a branching habit and send out new shoots as it grows and spreads.Ginger can be both in an indoor and outdoor garden. Fill a large container with rich, well-drained potting mix. Place several pieces of ginger uniformly apart on the surface of the container. Cover it with an inch of sieved sand and press down firmly. Keep the container in an area having proper lightening conditions or under grow lights. Water it regularly whenever the soil seems dry and feed once in two weeks with a general purpose fertilizer.
