Topic: ginger cordial

[manicscousers]

Hi, everyone, we grew ginger for the first time in the poly this year, thank you flowerdew, I want to make a ginger cordial, maybe with lemon, as a pick me up for winter, any ideas on amounts, especially of ginger, we got a 1/2 lb piece off the plant thanks

[saddad]

I shouldn't have read this... I've always convinced myself I couldn't grow it, if you are scousers and can grow it in a poly I'll have to try it.... I even got three Pomegranates to set this year!
 ::)

[manicscousers]

cheeky, even scousers can read, another thing we grew for the first time was lemon grass, also banana flavoured passion fruits and a plant called melothrie, tiny cucumber flavoured fruits, grew on a vine that just scrambled all over, each one's about 2" long, brill in a salad

[saddad]

It's not you being scouse that surprised me, but that if you are at home you have the weather... I'm from not so sunny East Lancs... Rossendale originally but then I'm further from the sea and 800' up in the Pennines...
 ::)

[calendula]

ginger's easy  8)

just put some (that has a little round shoot on it) into some compost, biggish pot, water, keep indoors if you have to and wait ( and bob flowerdew's your uncle ;D)

first time I made ginger beer was when I was a student. lack of space forced me to store the bottles on the balcony outside - good job really because it got to potent it blew out the corks like bullets

[manicscousers]

I would pay good money to see that, I've just made a lemongrass and ginger cordial I found somewhere on this site, it's lovely, just the thing for colds

[calendula]

I haven't search for a rx but am sure there will be one but mine went something like this for ginger beer

small piece of root ginger
1 lemon
1lb sugar
1 oz cream of tartar
8 pts water (boiling)
1 oz yeast

bruise the ginger by banging it a bit, peel off the lemon rind and squeeze out the juice, put these and cream of tartar into a very large pan and pour on the boiling water, stir well, leave until cooled, cream the yeast with a little water and stir into cooled liquid, cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for 24 hours, skim off froth and without disturbing the sediment pour into bottles and cork, store in a cool place (preferably on a balcony outdoors  ;D) and ready to drink in a few days

you can pay me later  ;)

rockets to the moon  :o

[Rosyred]

The ginger is a root and will be in the ground isn't it? how big does it spread?

[manicscousers]

what we planted was a piece of root ginger, it had some sort of knobbles on it, like bumps, we planted it in the ground, forgot where it was, next thing, well, about 2 months later, a green shoot, like thick spear grass came up, it got to about 2 feet high, then we dug it up, the piece we planted had grown and there was another piece of root growing, like a side shoot, attached to the shoot, I'm going by instinct so don't know if I'm doing right, cut the new bit off, re-planted it and cut the shoot down , next year will tell if I was right  ;)

[jennym]

Just seen this, and not having been very successful in growing ginger in a pot last year, would like to have another go next year. What sort of soil do you have manicscousers? Did you improve it at all, or dig anything in before planting? When did you put it in? was your polytunnel heated?

[manicscousers]

lets see, take it in order, the soil was improved with leaf mould and rotted grass clippings,
quite moist in the poly, it was the first year so not too much was done,
stuff was just put on top after loosening and worst weeds taken out
put in about end of april, didn't find it  :P until about june, then it grew quite quickly
no, no heat, I've put a cut down demijohn over the top of it, don't know if it'll survive til next year, fingers crossed
good luck  :D

[jennym]

Thanks for that info  :)

[kt.]

This ginger liquid all sounds fab. May try some next year. Never made wine or drinks from any garden produce before.

[manicscousers]

lovely, mixed with lemonade or diluted with hot water and lemon, especially when feeling fluey  :)

[Amazin]

Manics, did you get your banana passionfruit to flower/ fruit?

[manicscousers]

not yet, look like very healthy triffids in the poly, Wahaj says probably next year so fingers crossed, wonder if they need a feed or anything, Wahaj ?

[Amazin]

All the advice I've read advises to use feed that encourages fruiting rather than foliage, as they don't need much encouragement to 'triffidise'!

[manicscousers]

? tomato feed , and when ?

[Amazin]

Here's a link for instructions - great website for growing exotic fruit:

http://www.easyfruit.co.uk/passiflora/index.html

By the way, mine are growing outside (I'm in Soft Southern land though) and they're still green and surviving so far!

[manicscousers]

oh, dear, I've just read you're supposed to keep them restricted, I've not long planted them in the poly border, anywaay, we'll see what happens  :D