Gardener shares low-effort method to grow popular kitchen spice at home: 'Very little maintenance'

This simple hack for infinite homegrown ginger could save you money and a trip to the store.

YouTuber The Frenchie Gardener (@thefrenchiegardener) provided a step-by-step guide to "easily grow your own ginger at home."

The scoop

The video demonstrates placing a store-bought organic ginger root into a shallow water-filled dish. The narrator advises misting the ginger daily with a spray bottle to keep it moist, encouraging growth.

After a few weeks, he says, you'll see "sprouting eyes," which are the developing stems.

The next step is to fill a small pot with well-draining soil. He shows how to gently bury the ginger in the soil, leaving one or two of the sprouting eyes exposed. Then water and wait for the magic.

The Frenchie Gardener wrote in the caption: "It requires patience (9 months of growth) but very little maintenance!"

The video shows how the ginger develops into tall stalks. According to his narration, the ginger plant can be kept inside like an indoor plant, then transplanted into a larger pot and moved outside once it's warm. He shows how you can then harvest ginger from the thriving plant.

According to The Frenchie Gardener, a single ginger rhizome can produce 10 or more new gingers. 

How it's helping

Growing your own food at home is a great way to save money, especially with rising food costs.

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time ⏳ Not enough space 🤏 It seems too hard 😬 I have a garden already 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

While ginger may not be the most expensive item in your shopping cart, the price can add up, especially when you consider how quickly leftover ginger can spoil if not stored properly.

That unused, moldy ginger contributes to another huge problem — food waste. A study by Penn State estimated that the average U.S. household wastes 32% of purchased food worth $240 billion in economic losses.

Growing your own low-maintenance plant means always having fresh ginger to spice up your dishes and enjoy its health benefits.

Gardening influencers have shared similar hacks to grow other pantry staples from store-bought scraps, like garlic and green onions.

Beyond the cost savings, home gardening is a healthy activity. Getting outdoors and connecting with nature is a rewarding experience that's beneficial for your physical and mental health. Fresh produce tastes better, and you can rest assured it's free of harmful chemical pesticides.

Even a small garden can have a positive impact on your local ecosystem. When starting a garden, consider adding some native wildflowers to support vital pollinators. 

What everyone's saying

Commenters on the video were blown away by this simple method. "This is very inspiring," said one. Another replied: "I never even thought about growing ginger even tho I use a lot of it."

One user was so motivated that they'd already given it a try: "I saw this video, went to buy ginger, planted it and it's growing amazingly."

Another shared their own helpful tip: "You can separate the eyes and have multiple plants."

"We need to keep planting and growing things ourselves," wrote one commenter.

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