I recently harvested some ginger that I had started from a hand of ginger from the produce stand. I prefer to use organic ginger as it hasn’t been treated with growth retardant. Break the ginger into pieces, making sure that each piece has “eyes”, much like potatoes. Plant at twice its depth, either in loose garden soil or a large pot.
Remember that ginger root grows laterally, so give it plenty of room. Ginger takes eight to ten months from planting to maturity, but I suggest harvesting at around six months. I waited the full amount of time and my ginger was tough.
Since the ginger was so mature I decided to cook it and can it. I cleaned it well, cut into pieces, and boiled it for thirty minutes. I measured the water, added twice as much sugar, and boiled it until the syrup became thick. I then water bath canned it for 45 minutes, once again because it was so mature.
The syrup became caramelized due to the long cooking time, which is fine with me. This canned ginger can be used just like you would use fresh ginger and the syrup can be used in baked goods as a flavor enhancer.
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