What Plant Powerhouse, Can Soothe Your Stomach, and Bring some Zip to Your Meal?

What root plant can soothe an upset stomach due to its chemical components, has high anti-inflammatory potency, and gives a little spicy zip when added to your meals? Which plant is easy to grow, and can continue bearing crops year after year, starting from just one plant?

This plant star, is the humble Ginger (Zingiber officinale).

It can be safely taken by most people within many forms; such as when chopped up in fine slivers for your stir-fry, when added to a sauce to balance out flavors, if pickled and spread over a salad, or meats, or most commonly if taken as a soothing tea with honey and lemon.

I personally have also used it topically to make my own home-made body balm.

You can simply plant a ginger rhizome that you have on hand. Always try to plant organically grown plants, if you are going to do so however, from one you have purchased or obtained. As some plants will not grow if they have been chemically treated.

Ginger likes warm tropical weather, so if you want to plant it, and you have warm weather right now, go ahead and try it. It is best planted however, in early spring. I used an organic composting mixture for raised beds, and I buried the plant about 1 to 2 inches into the soil.

I have been watering it several times throughout the week; and I monitor the soil to find out what it's needs are: ie. if the soil is dry I water as needed. My ginger took about 3 months for leaves to grow to about 12 inches in height, and it is continuing to grow.

If the weather is getting too cool, you can move the plant inside if you have it in a pot, or you can just go ahead and harvest some. After removing it, you can allow it to cure/dry so that it will be ready for your use. It can be used as is, or you can grind it to make it into a ginger powder for your culinary needs.

Pictures to come over time, as I show you what my ginger looks like as I get closer to harvesting. Here's a picture of my ginger plant to the far left corner. It is the slender growing shoot.

As always if you are not sure you can take ginger, consult with your health care provider.

Can you guess what some of the other powerhouses in the picture are? I can see at least 4 more.

Talk to you soon,

What are you doing today, to bring sustainability to your home?

Dr. Adu.