Quynh Vinh experiments with growing ginger in bags

(Baonghean) Taking advantage of the land around the house, under the trees in the garden and packaging such as cement bags, animal feed bags; only costs money for the initial seeds, and does not require much care... Many households in Quynh Vinh commune (Quynh Luu) are piloting planting more than 3,000 bags of ginger.

We were very impressed when we visited the ginger growing model in bags of the Chairman of Quynh Vinh Cooperative, Nguyen Huu Thao. With 500 bags just planted in early March, placed in neat rows in a garden of about 100 square meters; expected to be harvested in November.



Growing ginger in bags has the advantage of being easy to care for, easy to prevent diseases, and if the plant gets sick, it is easy to treat.

Anh Thao said: "This is the family's first planting season, but I find the method of planting ginger in bags very simple and easy to do. Just use an old cement bag, cut it in half, bend the corners, and punch holes in the bottom to avoid waterlogging; only plant 2 small branches in one bag. Use alluvial soil, mix in manure and sawdust to loosen the soil so that the ginger can easily produce roots.

This method of planting has many advantages such as not needing to follow a seasonal schedule, and can be planted year-round. If any plant gets sick, it is easy to isolate; one square meter of land can be planted with about 10-12 bags... Currently, in the commune, there are 15 families that are experimenting with the model. After the harvest, if the results are positive, we will hold a field workshop for members to learn, replicate, and increase their income."

Talking with Mr. Le Van Thanh, Secretary of the Party Committee of Quynh Vinh commune - a pioneer in growing ginger in bags in the commune, he said: "In early 2010, by chance, when watching the program "Farmer's Friend" broadcast on VTV2 channel, I saw an introduction to the model of "growing ginger in cement bags" and instructions on how to do it, I took careful notes and then applied it to try planting 20 bags under the canopy of fruit trees in the garden. After 8 months of planting, when it came time to harvest, I was surprised when each bag had an average of 1-1.5 kg of tubers... Planted directly in the ground, normally each ginger sprout only produces 3-4 branches, when harvesting, it takes a lot of work to dig, not to mention the tubers often break; planting ginger in bags saves on fertilizer (about 30%), and you can take the initiative in the time of care and harvesting, and the tubers remain intact and uniform. Ginger grown in bags also produces many branches, each branch produces one tuber. The investment cost for a bag of ginger is only from 1,500-2,000 VND; but the value is many times higher than normal planting. With this planting method, we can apply it to turmeric and galangal.

In 2012, Mr. Le Van Thanh expanded the planting to 150 bags. The good news spread far and wide, many people in the commune and district came to him to learn and follow. He shared his experience: Choose healthy ginger buds, then incubate for about 15-20 days, and plant the ginger in bags as soon as it sprouts. Do not plant too deep, as it can easily cause root rot; do not put the ginger bags out in the wind, because the wind can break the plants, cause the roots to fall off, and make it difficult for the tubers to develop. The soil for growing ginger consists of 70% topsoil, 30% composted manure and a little inorganic fertilizer... Depending on the weather, you can water more or less to maintain moisture. After 1 month of planting, the ginger often emerges, so you need to add soil and organic fertilizer.

However, to prevent yellow wilt and rot caused by infectious bacteria is very difficult to treat, mainly prevent after each long rainy season or periodically spray once every 15-20 days with root fungicides. Young ginger kept in the cool will grow faster than outdoors, but when the plant grows, it should be brought to the sun to make the ginger strong...

Ngoc Anh