Ginger is among the healthiest (and most delicious) spices on the planet. It is loaded with nutrients and bioactive compounds that have powerful benefits for your body and brain. Personally, I love making Haymaker’s Punch as a healthy summer drink. Commonly used in sushi recipes, health drinks and tea, ginger is said to help reduce pain and ease stomach aches and to boost metabolism. There’s also evidence that ginger can help lower cholesterol. Ever wonder how to grow ginger indoors? Ginger can easily be grown inside and harvested year-round.

Instructions for How to Grow Ginger Indoors:

1. Start with a living ginger root. These are available from nurseries, garden centers or seed companies. If you have a friend with a ginger plant, a root cutting from that may work as well. Choose a root that is firm, plump and has tight skin with several eye buds on it. Roots can be cut and sectioned at the buds and planted so that each will grow into an individual plant.
2. Soak the ginger root in warm water overnight to prepare for planting.
3. Fill a shallow, wide plant pot (ginger roots grow horizontally) with rich, well-draining potting soil.
4. Place the ginger root with the eye bud pointing up and cover it with 1-2 inches more of soil. Water lightly.
5. Place the pot in a spot that stays warm and doesn’t get a lot of bright light.
6. Keep the soil moist, being careful not to over-water.
7. Ginger is slow to grow. Be patient. After 2-3 weeks, you should see some shoots coming up.
8. A few months after growth begins, small pieces of ginger can be harvested. Move the soil at the edges of the pot to find some ginger rhizomes (the term for an underground, continuously growing stem) beneath the surface. Cut the desired amount off a rhizome toward the edge of the pot and then replace the soil to allow it to continue to grow.