Earthing up ginger requires attention to technique; master the skills for a steady high yield

Earthing up is an important measure that determines ginger yield and quality. Only with proper earthing up can ginger grow vigorously and yield high. The rhizome of ginger needs to grow in a dark, moist environment, and stops growing when exposed to light. Therefore, earthing up should be carried out as the ginger grows. If earthing up is not done in time, the ginger rhizome becomes exposed to the air, which seriously affects ginger quality and yield.

What methods should be mastered for earthing up ginger? How should earthing up be carried out to better promote rhizome expansion and increase yield? Li Yonghui, an experienced ginger farmer from Xiaodalu Village, Linghe Town, Anqiu City, Shandong Province, summed up his more than 10 years of ginger-growing experience and put forward a method of earthing up according to the needs of different customers: different customers have different consumption needs. Southern customers prefer the slender "finger ginger," so the earthing up needs to be thick to promote the ginger rhizome to grow upward faster, making the ginger pieces slender; northern customers and ginger for export mostly prefer short, thick large ginger pieces, so earthing up should follow the principle of small amounts applied multiple times, with each earthing up preferably smaller and shallower, to promote thick and sturdy rhizome development.

Earthing up ginger should be adapted to local conditions and timing, and generally 3 times of earthing up is appropriate.

The first earthing up begins when the ginger rhizome has 3~5 branches but has not yet emerged above the soil surface, with an earthing thickness of about 2 cm. At this time, simply use small hoes or hooks and other farm tools to scrape the ridge soil about 4~5 cm wide on both sides of the ginger planting furrow (generally the ridge width is 25~30 cm) down along the ridge edge into the planting furrow, then water. This can both prevent weed growth and help the ginger rhizome expand. The first earthing up must not be too thick, otherwise it easily affects soil aeration, causing ginger sprout growth to be blocked, rhizome branching to decrease, growth to slow, and both yield and quality to be affected.

The second earthing up should be carried out 20 days after the first earthing up, with an earthing thickness of 2~3 cm. At this time, the ridge soil on both sides of the ginger planting furrow can be leveled into the ginger planting furrow with small hoes or hooks and other farm tools. This earthing up also must not be too thick, otherwise it easily makes ginger rhizome growth difficult and affects yield.

The third earthing up, also called "large earthing up," is carried out 15 days after the second earthing up, with a thickness of 7~8 cm as appropriate. At this time, all the soil on the original ridges needs to be earthed up into the planting furrows, so that the original furrows where ginger grew become ridges and the original ridges become furrows. This earthing up is very important and is the key to determining the growth and development of the ginger rhizome. If the earthing up is shallow, the ginger pieces are short and thick; if the earthing up is thick, the ginger pieces are slender. Afterward, if any ginger sprouts are found exposed, they should also be earthed up in time to ensure normal growth of the ginger rhizome.

Each earthing up should be combined with fertilization and watering, and the order should be fertilization first, then earthing up, then watering. Before the first and second earthing up, 5 kg of compound fertilizer and 40 kg of bio-organic fertilizer can be applied per mu, applied in a band about 15 cm from the base of the plants. Compound fertilizer must not be applied at the base of the plants, so as to avoid burning the seedlings. After application, earth up and water. For the last earthing up, the amount of fertilizer should be increased. This is exactly the period when the ginger rhizome grows and develops fastest and requires a large amount of fertilizer, so 50 kg of compound fertilizer and 75 kg of bio-organic fertilizer can be applied per mu.