Growing wild ginger with the scent of stink bugs, selling for 500,000 VND/kg

Visit the ginger growing model that smells of stink bugs of Mr. Luong Dinh Hien (born in 1962) in Bo Luong village, Dong Y commune, Bac Son district (Lang Son) when he is busy watering the rocky mountain ginger garden.

Mr. Hien said: Rock ginger is a wild plant that grows in the high mountains. Rock ginger has a special flavor and a very distinctive aroma that cannot be confused with other types of ginger.

Currently, Mr. Hien's garden has more than 500 pots of valuable rock ginger.

"Just lightly touching the leaves, you can smell the characteristic aroma of this ginger. Or just a few ginger leaves are enough to spice up a delicious dish. At first, no one thought this plant was edible because it smells exactly like stink bugs. But when eaten, it has a special aroma. Many people initially "disliked" it, but later asked for seedlings to bring home to plant..." - Mr. Hien shared information.

Through discussion, Mr. Hien said: In 2016, his family boldly implemented and was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (KH&CN) of the province with 500 trees, technical guidance, and appropriate planting methods.

After a period of planting and caring for it, he realized that the rock ginger grew well and was suitable for the local climate. At this time, he planned to expand the area to 1,000 bushes, but due to the scarcity of seedlings, he took the initiative to separate the pots for propagation.

All parts of the rock ginger plant can be used to make a characteristic aromatic spice.

“I split a pot (1 clump) of rock ginger into 2 seedlings equivalent to 2 pots. But with this method, the survival rate of the plants is very low, many plants die...”, Mr. Hien said.

Nowadays, natural rock ginger is increasingly scarce. People spend the whole day searching for it and can only find 1-2 roots, about 1-2 taels of tubers, and even return empty-handed. Every Lunar New Year, the price of rock ginger is quite expensive, ranging from 700,000 - 1 million VND/kg. Meanwhile, the price of regular ginger is only about 20,000 VND/kg. That is why tissue-cultured rock ginger seedlings are quite expensive, about 15,000 VND/small tree that meets the seedling standards.

Rocky mountain ginger is quite small and has a red color like lipstick, often crushed to make spices for sausages, ham, etc.

According to Mr. Hien, he takes advantage of the garden and plants it in pots, which does not take up much space and does not take much time to care for, but the rock ginger plant still grows and develops well. After 1 year, the rock ginger plant can be harvested. Depending on the size, the price varies, ranging from 100,000 - 250,000 VND/pot.

“Previously, some families planted rock ginger in their home gardens according to traditional experience, so the yield was not high. Natural rock ginger rarely flowers, and the number of buds in the tubers is not much. However, when planted with tissue culture, the plants have a very high survival rate. With good care, after about 5-7 months, an initial parent plant can produce 5-6 more stems,” said Mr. Hien.

In particular, if the naturally grown rock ginger plant is 60cm tall, then after 2 years the tissue cultured ginger plant is only about 15cm tall, so it saves a lot of space. With the current area, he used to be able to grow only a very small number of plants, but since growing tissue cultured ginger, the productivity and output have both increased significantly.

Mr. Hien regularly checks for fungal diseases on the plants and sprays water.

Since the beginning of the year, he has sold more than 50 pots of rock ginger. On average, 3 pots yield half a kilo of root, selling for 500,000 VND/kg, with customers mainly in Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang... There are customers who want to buy all 500 pots of rock ginger, but he says the price is 200,000 VND/pot because these ginger pots are all growing very well, green plants and have many branches.

Realizing the economic efficiency of rock ginger, many households have also started to grow this plant, increasing their income. Thereby opening up a new direction for economic development, gradually eliminating hunger and reducing poverty, contributing to building new rural areas in the commune.

Rock ginger is often pounded and squeezed to get the juice as a preservative to keep food fresh for a long time. Especially traditional dishes of the mountain people such as sausages and grilled meat will be very delicious if there is rock ginger as a spice.

Rocky mountain ginger is also made into starch used in processing and is a precious medicinal herb with high antibiotic properties, used to treat inflammatory diseases, bone and joint diseases, cardiovascular diseases...

Due to the above characteristics, the natural rock ginger plant is exploited massively until it is exhausted. To find rock ginger, people have to spend a lot of effort searching and exploiting, but still cannot find a large quantity.