Want to grow ginger or turmeric? Pick up the roots at the grocery | Sally Scalera

Usually, we go to a garden center to buy plants, but you can buy edible plants at the grocery store, too.

Check out the grocery store produce section for ginger and turmeric root, plus be on the lookout for when chayote squash is available. Ginger and turmeric can be grown in a container in locations with partial to full shade, but chayote is a vining plant, so it will need plenty of room to grow.

Fresh ginger and turmeric roots can be planted directly into a container or in the ground.  Both plants grow best in partial shade to full shade.

When growing the culinary ginger root (Zingiber officinale) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) in a container, be sure it’s a large container that’s at least 3 gallons.  Be sure to place a tray underneath the container so the root ball is thoroughly watered each time. Choose a fast-draining potting mix, as letting the soil dry out between watering is better than keeping it too moist.

An advantage to growing them in a container is that you can easily harvest a section of the root, let the cut end dry out for a few days, and then add fresh potting mix to the container to continue growing it.

If you would prefer to grow the ginger or turmeric in the ground, ensure the soil has been amended with compost, worm castings or other types of organic matter. Both plants are deciduous and will die back each winter, so periodically water the plants through the winter and the foliage will grow again in the spring.

Ginger won’t begin producing flowers, which are produced from a green pinecone until it is at least two years old. The pinecone is an identifying characteristic of all the gingers in the Zingiber genus.

The perennial vine chayote (Sechium edule) is a tender, tropical vegetable native to Guatemala that’s a cucumber relative.

You can simply leave the fruit on the counter (or buy a sprouting chayote fruit if you find one at the grocery store) until it begins to sprout, and then either plant it directly outside in the ground or in a container with lightweight, fast-draining media. The entire fruit should be planted on its side, with the smaller stem end slanting upward and slightly exposed.

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The vine produces light green, pear-shaped fruit, which contains a flat, edible seed. Some type of trellis or support is needed for this climbing vine. A pergola is a great structure to support a chayote vine, because it makes it easy to walk below the vine and harvest the fruit.

The vine produces long tendrils, so it won’t require any help on your part to get it to climb. The flowers will be pollinated if bees and wasps are in your yard. It only takes 35 days after pollination for the fruit to mature.

There are many ways to serve chayote, such as creamed, buttered, fried, stuffed, baked, frittered, boiled, mashed, pickled (which is the most popular method) and salads.  Following harvest, the fruit may be stored in edible condition for several weeks if wrapped in newspaper and kept cool (50-55°F).  If kept at room temperature, the fruit will sprout and shrivel.

When planting your edible plants, be sure to establish the soil food web throughout the root system, which should be done for all plants. For more information on this topic, contact the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Master Gardeners at Brevard-1mg@ifas.ufl.edu. To determine what nutrients your new plants will need, test the soil now. Our soil testing form can be found at edis.ifas.ufl.edu (search for Soil Testing Form) and be sure to pay for the $10 Test B.

If you are looking for another plant to grow and like to eat, why not consider growing either chayote, ginger or turmeric? You can pick them up the next time you’re at the grocery store and start growing them yourself.  If you have never eaten a chayote, buy one and try it first. It doesn’t make sense to grow something you won’t enjoy eating.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email her at sasc@ufl.edu.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Start ginger, turmeric, chayote squash plants from grocery store finds