Shell ginger ( Alpinia zerumbet) has leaves that make a tasty tea.Ĭommon ginger and its cousin turmeric are edible in all their parts, so if you have those – use them however you like. The “cardamom ginger” often sold in Florida ( Alpinia calcarata), though it’s not the true cardamom, has leaves that have an earthy flavor and can be used like bay or cumin. Shampoo ginger ( Zingiber zerumbet) has edible roots but they taste bitter and are not worth eating. For example, butterfly ginger ( Hedychium coronarium) is reported to have edible roots and blooms. Many of the ornamental varieties are edible in certain ways. Though that doesn’t mean they aren’t edible. Unfortunately, these were all “ornamental” types. They had spiral gingers and butterfly gingers, shampoo gingers and blue gingers… it was a cornucopia of wonderful gingers. When I worked in a plant nursery owned by some good friends of mine, I got to meet a lot of beautiful gingers. She wants to know if all ginger plants are edible. Another said he had been using aldicarb for more than 20 years since it was first introduced to the market.”īut Avon isn’t asking about toxic chemicals in store-bought ginger. One farmer interviewed by CCTV said she was aware of aldicarb’s toxicity and did not use it on ginger that her family ate. The CCTV report said farmers in Weifang had been using 120 to 300kg of the pesticide per hectare, nearly three to six times above the level considered safe. Just 50 milligrams of aldicarb is enough to kill a person weighing 50kg, the report said. “Farmers in Shandong have been overusing an illegal and highly toxic pesticide to grow ginger for years on end, adding yet another concern to the country’s growing list of food scandals.Īn investigative report by China Central Television (CCTV), which aired on Saturday, discovered farmers in Weifang city had been using the pesticide aldicarb “three to six times” above the recommended level. The pesticide is not approved for use on ginger.Īldicarb – branded in China as Shennongdan – is a highly poisonous carbamate pesticide that the Ministry of Agriculture says can be only used on cotton, tobacco, peanuts, roses and sweet potatoes, albeit under strict controls.Įxposure in high quantities can lead to dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and respiratory failure. One reason to grow your own ginger is you don’t always know how store-bought ginger is being produced: My article ended up making the front cover: (I did sign up for your newsletters and look forward to receiving them.)įirst of all, it’s a great idea to grow your own ginger and I very much enjoyed having the chance to write for Heirloom Gardener magazine. You said that they are and I am wondering if you have any reservations at all about eating them or using them for flavor, much like a bay leaf.Īlso are all ginger plants the same or might some have toxic leaves? My plants were made up mostly of leaves and I always wondered if those leaves were safe to eat. I read your article in the recent Heirloom Gardener Magazine with great interest because I have grown ginger on and off for many years, especially when I lived in LA but have also grown it in pots indoors.