Here's How I make my home made ginger beer

[Mark]

I thought I'd put this in our home brew section. It's my own version of home made ginger beer and it has a whole heap of benefits including:

• Tastes great
• Natural ingredients
• Uses much less bottles
• No risk of bottle explosion
• Don't have to wait for it to mature
• Easy to do

​

 

[Steve]

Exellent video Mark, I really enjoyed that.
I'm off to watch the 'How to grow ginger' vid now.

And I love that quote at the end .....'Ah that's bloody good!'

 

[Mark]

Exellent video Mark, I really enjoyed that.
I'm off to watch the 'How to grow ginger' vid now.

And I love that quote at the end .....'Ah that's bloody good!'

Cheers mate It's all just a bit of fun!

 

[Steve]

Cheers mate It's all just a bit of fun!

It sure is. It's thought provoking as was straight away thinking 'how can I grow ginger in pots in enough quantity to make your ginger beer recipe'.

 

[Mark]

Ginger grows very well and easily in our part of the world also good in pots!

 

[Steve]

So with Brisbane having a 'Show Day' holiday yesterday, my wife and I took a drive up to Noosa for a look around. Did the markets at Eumundi and then on the way home called into the Ginger Factory at Yandina. Needless to say when I got home I put some plans into place to get my ginger plantation growing.
I'm going to buy some organic ginger that hasn't been sprayed with growth inhibitor as I want to be sure to give it the best chance.

Once again I'm going to have to buy some sort of pots or bags to grow these in.
Question: How deep does ginger tend to root?
From the YouTube vids I've seen some pots are quite shallow (around 20 - 25 cm deep).

Also, my understanding is you cut/break the rhizome up before you plant it so you have an eye bud facing up. Does that grow one larger rhizome from each shoot?

Mark you are definitely inspiring me to get out in the garden so thank you for that.

 

[Mark]

Question: How deep does ginger tend to root?
From the YouTube vids I've seen some pots are quite shallow (around 20 - 25 cm deep).

Ginger doesn't root far down at all - maybe 2 - 4 inches max. The roots which grow off the rhizome are like fat tentacles (width of a pencil).

Most of the time the rhizome can be seen growing on or just below the surface and if the bed or pot is mulched the rhizome usually grows under the mulch on top of the soil.

When I replant my ginger (it's dormant ATM which is a good time to do it) I just give the garden bed a quick dig up, throw in some blood and bone, and then spread some of the ginger I saved from last season around evenly, then just barley cover with soil, and finally throw a nice covering of mulch on top.

Any large pieces with several eyes, I simply break up and make into separate plants. Over the season, each small break-off will grow into a fist or hand size rhizome. Don't be too concerned if you can't find any buds or "eyes" as they will develop in ground anyway...

You should find ginger very easy to grow in pots - that's another great choice. Ginger does need plenty of water though so make sure it gets a good drink often especially potted ginger.

Expect ginger in the subtropics (around here) to start sprouting mid to late spring.

Don't be afraid to break off some rhizome mid season to use as "young ginger" in cooking - I love young ginger!

I wrote a small article about ginger on the blog if you are interested in a quick read

Mark you are definitely inspiring me to get out in the garden so thank you for that.

I've been waiting to use this smilie

 

[Steve]

The ginger I ended up buying and planting are starting to shoot.
Very exciting.
Before I know it I'll be drinking ginger beer while playing the banjo (maybe without the banjo). Yeehaaa!

 

[Mark]

A few of mine are starting to shoot also - I always like to see the new growth come through each season it's like a confirmation all the right garden bed prep has been done. Ginger is quite a nice plant to have in the garden it's nothing spectacular and its flowers are not near as nice as some of the non-edible gingers but the upright green stalks look nice and give a "tropical" feel in a pot or garden setting.

 

[Steve]

Hey Mark,

My ginger seems to be going pretty well I think but I was interested in seeing how yours looks?
This is my first attempt to grow it and I'm not sure I've got the best location sorted for them.
Any chance you could post a pic of yours at the moment?

Cheers,

 

[Mark]

Hey Mark,

My ginger seems to be going pretty well I think but I was interested in seeing how yours looks?
This is my first attempt to grow it and I'm not sure I've got the best location sorted for them.
Any chance you could post a pic of yours at the moment?

Cheers,

Here's mine Steve - we're still pretty early into the season plus mine are looking a little lackluster because we haven't had the usual rainfall but once we start getting some more wet season rain (which ginger loves) the plants will spark up.

We've been using some of our young ginger in cooking it's mild and very pleasant in those Asian salads where raw ginger is used.

P.S There's a cherry tomato growing through the ginger ATM it's a self seeder and producing some good fruit so I've left it for now...

P.P.S My netting framework is still there just in case because on the other side of this bed I'm growing asparagus and wasn't sure if the possums would eat it but it seems like they don't like asparagus and definitely hate ginger

 

[Steve]

Thanks Mark, It looks pretty similar to mine except I don't have quite as much.
I was a little concerned that there was a bit of browning on some of the leaves but I can see some of yours are the same.

I haven't tried any young ginger yet but I will mention it to the chef and see if she can include it on the menu somewhere.

Question, I notice some of the tops of my ginger rhizomes are starting to peak though the mulch. I keep covering them back up but was wondering if its bad news if they get exposed to the sun? Just wondering really.

Cheers mate.

 

[Mark]

Thanks Mark, It looks pretty similar to mine except I don't have quite as much.
I was a little concerned that there was a bit of browning on some of the leaves but I can see some of yours are the same.

I haven't tried any young ginger yet but I will mention it to the chef and see if she can include it on the menu somewhere.

Question, I notice some of the tops of my ginger rhizomes are starting to peak though the mulch. I keep covering them back up but was wondering if its bad news if they get exposed to the sun? Just wondering really.

Cheers mate.

Yeah, I think the season will improve when wet arrives (if it ever does) more water and humidity will help - I noticed my ginger was late to sprout this season too so it's probably just one of those years. Maybe we could both give our plants a sprinkle with some seaweed concentrate - it wouldn't hurt.

There's not really a problem with the rhizomes showing it's just that they may dry out a little that's all...

 

[Steve]

Hey Mark,
A few weeks back I harvested my ginger and was amazed at just how much I got out of 3 pots.......... 3.5 kg!
Wow I was astounded.
So I put some in the freezer for cooking, buried some for next season, and made some of this ginger-beer syrup stuff with the rest.
And again, wow. Its some tasty stuff I must say. Even the wife loves it and she's not big on ginger beer. It has a real tang/sting to it so much more than the store bought stuff.
I think i got 4 bottles of syrup which I froze so it lasts a bit longer.

So thank you Mark for the video, much appreciated.

I will definitely be growing another 3 pots worth next season. I was thinking of buying some more pots but with how much I got last season I don't think i need to expand just yet.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mark]

Hey Mark,
A few weeks back I harvested my ginger and was amazed at just how much I got out of 3 pots.......... 3.5 kg!
Wow I was astounded.
So I put some in the freezer for cooking, buried some for next season, and made some of this ginger-beer syrup stuff with the rest.
And again, wow. Its some tasty stuff I must say. Even the wife loves it and she's not big on ginger beer. It has a real tang/sting to it so much more than the store bought stuff.
I think i got 4 bottles of syrup which I froze so it lasts a bit longer.

So thank you Mark for the video, much appreciated.

I will definitely be growing another 3 pots worth next season. I was thinking of buying some more pots but with how much I got last season I don't think i need to expand just yet.

Cheers
Steve

That's a great result Steve and thanks for letting me know! My wife likes the ginger syrup too. I know exactly what you mean about the extra tang / bite in the home made stuff.

I think your tip about freezing the syrup is a rippa and how good is it that you have plenty left to replant and potentially expand your crop.

Cheers mate

 

[Steve]

Well it's nearly been a year since my last crop of ginger was harvested but it was time to get it out. It had all but died off and the storms of a month or two ago I think helped that process along.
Anyway, This year i used the same 3 pots as last year but put a few more seed rhizomes in each thinking that ginger doesn't mind getting crowded a bit.
So what was the result I hear you ask??
Well, whilst digging and cleaning it all up I was a little worried that I didn't have more than last season and if i had to guess I'd say it was maybe even a little less.
Oh how the memory fades.....
I weighed it all up once clean and i got 6.8kg whilst last season I got 3.5kg!
Wow, what a surprise.

Now what to do with all this ginger??
I'll give some away to family, probably make some more of Mark's ginger beer syrup , the wife wants to experiment with a bit, and of course put some away for next season (maybe I can cram some more in those 3 pots? )
I've always wanted to try to make candied ginger but need to do some research into how much effort that is.
I'm happy to hear any other suggestions of what to do with the excess.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Mark]

Great stuff Steve that's awesome how you're doubling your ginger crop each season!

There's a lot of information online about candied ginger but you might find this article helpful by that blogger guy who writes for self sufficient me

http://www.selfsufficientme.com/recipes/growing-ginger-and-candied-ginger-recipe

Ginger is such a useful crop to grow.

 

[bearded1]

Now what to do with all this ginger??

We use probably about 1/2 a kilo of ginger a week at our place. We use it in curries a fair bit, but the main use would be in my wife's ginger and lemon tea. My wife has been traditionally prone to getting the flu, or at least a bad cold at least once a year. Last time she got one, I made her this lemon and ginger tea, which she took a liking to and has it every morning and some nights. Since having it, she had not had a cold, or a sick day. That was 18 months ago. Lucky for us our neighbour grows organic ginger commercially, so we often get given some.

Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 tbs of finely grated ginger
Juice of 1/2 lemon ( a nice juicy one)
Honey to taste ( use raw if possible)

Method:
Place all ingredients in a teapot or similar
Add enough boiling water for one large cup
Stand for 5 min
Strain into a cup and enjoy .

 

[Mark]

Sounds great B1 - I'm definitely going to try this and I might make it for my misses this weekend when she gets back from her trip.

 

[Steve]

Great stuff Steve that's awesome how you're doubling your ginger crop each season!

There's a lot of information online about candied ginger but you might find this article helpful by that blogger guy who writes for self sufficient me

http://www.selfsufficientme.com/recipes/growing-ginger-and-candied-ginger-recipe

Ginger is such a useful crop to grow.

Thanks Mark. Yeah I should have known to go looking locally.
We are going to give this a go fur-sure.

And I like the sound of that Lemon Ginger Tea B1, must try that one too.

I'm off to bathe in ginger.....