Digging Up Fresh Ginger

Digging Up Fresh Ginger This is how ginger is pulled from the ground during harvest in Yunnan, China. The workers first use hoes to break and loosen the packed soil around each group of plants. They dig carefully because the valuable part is still buried underneath. Ginger grows from a **rhizome**, an underground stem that expands sideways and forms thick, connected sections. Once enough soil is cleared, the workers gather several stalks together and pull upward, bringing the whole cluster out with its roots and soil still attached. Some of the plants reveal surprisingly large masses of ginger, with dozens of swollen sections packed closely together. The pink tips visible on many pieces are young buds or growing points on the rhizome. After digging, the leafy stems and smaller roots are trimmed away, leaving the ginger itself ready for cleaning and sorting. A lot of plant can be hiding under a fairly ordinary patch of soil. #ginger #gingerharvest #farming #agriculture #rhizome