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Kitchen garden tips from NAREI… Caring and harvesting ginger (Part Two)
This week, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) will provide you with some tips on how to care and harvest ginger (Zingiber Officinale) in your kitchen garden. NAREI’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Oudho Homenauth has reminded that ginger must be planted in rich and humus soil. However, for lower quality soil, you can supplement with compost that has well-rotted manure included. This compost should be worked into your garden soil prior to planting your ginger plant. Water the plant to keep the soil evenly moist, but not overly wet or water logged. When the surface of the soil around your ginger feels dry, it is time to water. According to Dr. Homenauth, ginger is a shade loving plant so it must be planted in a location that is shaded during the heat of the day. 
This will keep the soil your crop is growing in moist and keep the humidity level around your plant higher, which ginger plants need. The crop is manured depending on the soil type. As a general rule, which is being followed in India, farm yard manure or compost is applied at the time of bed making. On an average, you can apply three to four pounds of animal manure per plant. Disease
Like any other crop, ginger too is prone to disease. In Guyana, the most common type of disease is phyllosticta leaf spot caused by phyllosticta zingiberi and rhizome rot (soft rot). The former can be controlled by growing the crop under shade and spraying with Bordeaux mixture (one percent) or Mancozeb (0.2 percent) at an interval of 14 days. The disease manifests as small brown lesions in the leaves and gradual shredding of the affected portion, giving a grey look to the plant.
Harvesting
You can actually start harvesting ginger in about eight to nine months after planting when the leaves turn yellow and gradually dry up. 
Harvest by hand using digging forks, wash under running water—it’s tricky to rinse the dirt out from the cracks and crevices, and you’ll have to break apart the rhizome to get it all—and allow the ginger pieces to air-dry before storing or selling. Save back some rhizomes to replant.
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