He’s Growing Tropical Ginger In Maine

He’s Growing Tropical Ginger In Maine Ginger is a crop that normally grows in the tropics but Ian Jerolmack harvested 5 500 lbs of ginger from a 5 700-sq ft greenhouse last year in Maine That equates to more than 20 tons per acre compared to standard worldwide yields of 4 to 10 tons per acre “Last year’s crop blew us away with yield and quality ” says Jerolmack “We had huge stunning plants I was a nervous wreck about it afraid we wouldn’t find a market for it all We would send a crew in to fill a 100-lb order and they would get it from 15 ft of bed ” Jerolmack found his market By the end of the year he had sold every pound For a northern grower like Jerolmack selling everything fresh is necessary It has more flavor is juicier and lacks the fiber of store-bought ginger However that also means it has a shorter shelf life and his crop can’t handle shipping Tropical ginger found in most stores will have matured in the ground over an 8 to 9 mo growing season The season in Maine is too short for the ginger to reach full maturity one reason Jerolmack buys new rhizomes each year to plant “We start our ginger in trays in March in heated greenhouses and transplant them to beds in unheated greenhouses the first of June ” he says “Typically we don’t pick until the first of October when the temperatures start to drop ” says Jerolmack “The closer we get to mid-November the more there is to harvest However this year we had an early freeze ” The short growing season is only one of the challenges Jerolmack has faced in his 10-year journey to amazing yields Jerolmack quickly learned that ginger needed to be grown in the greenhouse for heat but then it was subject to sunburn “We had to put shade cloth over it ” he says The shade cloth made watering a challenge as did maintaining humidity “In 2020 we used misters but the water went into the soil and we overwatered ” recalls Jerolmack “Ginger likes water passing through the soil constantly but standing water will cause it to rot in a week ” Jerolmack is sloping his beds so the water will drain better He is also trying drain tiles in some beds One big change he made in 2021 was to shut down venting in greenhouses with ginger In previous years he tried to keep temperatures in the 80 to 90-degree range At the same time he shifted misting to on-again and off-again to maintain humidity without overwatering “The primary difference last year was that we realized the ginger didn’t care if it was 120 degrees if it was humid ” says Jerolmack Fertility was another thing to be fine-tuned “It needs a lot of nutrition ” says Jerolmack “It’s like corn It wants nitrogen if it’s going to grow fast and vigorous ” Another change in production practices in recent years may have played a role Jerolmack has switched to no-till and the use of cover crops and heavy mulching “Our system means no weeds ” he explains “We can plant very close and not worry about disturbing fragile and important feeder roots since we don’t cultivate ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Stonecipher Farm 1186 River Rd Bowdoinham Maine 04008 www stonecipherfarm com

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