Register at go.illinois.edu/GingerFieldDay
Growing fresh (i.e., baby) ginger in the Midwest has been done before, here and there—perhaps most famously by Ben Hartman of the Lean Farm in Indiana.
When it works out, fresh ginger commands a price premium of $20-25/lb or more when sold retail, offering diversified specialty crops farmers the chance to sell a premium item at the end of the season and bring in a profit as they head into a leaner time of year.
Due to the nuances of ginger production in a temperate climate state like Illinois, ginger growing research has not yet been done on a wide scale across our state.
However, Illinois Extension's Ginger Growers Group—a collaborative group of small farmers and Extension educators—is working hard to develop a set of best practices of ginger production in Illinois, so that this could become a more viable and better-understood option for Illinois specialty crop farmers.
Join us on Tuesday, September 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 for a two-stop ginger tour evening at:
Useful Yard Company (1712 Lawndale Way, Bloomington, IL 61704) - 5:30 p.m. - Start location
and then
Epiphany Farms Estate (23676 E 800 North Rd, Downs, IL 61736) - 6:45 p.m. - Second location
... and see fresh ginger rhizomes growing in field conditions, in a high tunnel, in soilless media grow bags, in cold frames, and in a greenhouse!
During both stops, attendees will learn the ins and outs of fresh ginger production as best as we currently understand it, with particular emphasis on plant spacing, irrigation, fertility management, intermittent disease issues, harvest protocol, and more.
Chris Stenger, owner/operator of Useful Yard Company in Bloomington, will lead a tour and talk at our first stop about his 3 years of experience growing ginger rhizome. Local Food Systems and Small Farms Extension Educator Nick Frillman will lead a tour and talk at Epiphany Farms Estate—our second stop.
Upon the completion of our formal tour and talk at 7:30 p.m., participants will be invited into the Epiphany Farms Estate Wash/Pack shed (by the Farm Store) for refreshments and an informal continuation of the ginger conversation for a half hour! "Chefarmer" Ken Myszka and J Balmer with Epiphany Farms will share their thoughts on ginger production as well.
Participants will leave with a fact sheet on ginger seed sourcing and ginger pre-sprouting (the germination process for fresh ginger rhizome "seed"), so that they may join our state-wide, ginger-growing coalition next season if interested in collaborating and staying in the know about all things ginger.
You may also like the following events from U of I Extension-Livingston, McLean, Woodford Counties:
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