How to harvest ginger

Fertilisation

Coffee husks are good fertilisers for the ginger crop. Coffee husks help the soil retain the required moisture. An acre can take about three to six lorries of four tonnes each.

Each lorry costs about sh100,000, depending on distance. The husks can be applied at least two weeks before planting. They are spread out evenly in the whole field and then covered with soils.

Also, phosphate is good for fertilising. An acre requires a supply of 50kg. The 50kg bag costs between sh130,000 and sh150,000. These are mixed in the soils at planting.

Planting the crop

Ginger is propagated by dividing the root stock or rhizomes. Each can be just 2cm long, but it must have a nodule.

Rhizomes can be got from ginger seeds are planted 30cm from each other in drills in the field spaced by 60cm.

Harvesting

Ginger takes between six and eight months to mature. This means that there is one season in a year. Mature crops show yellowing of the leaves and withering.

The top part finally dries off and falls to the ground. It is advisable to leave the crop unharvested for the first year and it sprouts again, harvested at the second year. In this way, the yields increase.

Harvesting is done by uprooting the whole plant. The yields depend on many factors, such as fertility of the soils, the amount of rain and others, but if all goes well, an acre can produce about two to eight tonnes. If a kilogramme is sold at sh5,000 at the field, a single tonne can fetch sh5m.

Ginger can be stored for over six months without going bad.

Pests and diseases

Root mealy bugs tend to attack the crops, but not seriously. In other words, ginger is largely resistant to mealy bugs. For the diseases, a fungal infection arising from excessive use of coffee husks during damp weather causes damage to plants

Adding value

Ginger should be stored in a cool, dry environment with enough aeration, so that it does not rot. It can also be processed into powder for a longer shelf life. To process it into powder, one needs to dry it properly and then put it into a pounding machine.

These simple machines come in many sizes, ranging from as low as sh500,000. After pounding, it can be packed in plastic containers of varying sizes.

Compiled by Daniel Kituzi (farmer) and Joshua Kato (editor, Harvest Money)