f13.net

Maybe VDL is the best person to ask, but I figured I'd ask all of ya's.

I have some ginger root that is a bit old.  It has started to sprout what I can only describe as "eyes" (like on an old potato).  I am assuming that I can somehow convert these things into a plant.  I have spare potting soil and spare pots.  What do I need to do to make this thing grow?  Do I need to spear it with toothpicks and float it in some water?  Can I just stick the thing into some dirt and water it and wait for sweet, sweet homegrown ginger?

I'm already growing basil, sage and a frequently attacked catnip plant (cats can jump crazy high when they have the motivation, it turns out.), so this would round out my calvacade of useful plants.

Ginger is a rhizome, IIRC, so I reckon the thing to do would be to stick it in some dirt, horizontally and just under the surface.  It ought to start sending some greenery up and some roots down once it figures out that it's got water and soil.

'k, now I'll ask some random plant questions of my own, since we have this perfectly nice thread here.

1) I've got an avocado pit that I'm trying to sprout.  It's been sitting half-submerged in water for a couple of weeks and the surface of the pit is cracking up, but nothing's coming out.  Did I get a dud, or do some of them just take a while?

2) My Venus Flytrap's foliage all died off during the winter.  I've heard that it's a perennial and that this is normal, so I pinched off the dead bits (which is now everything that was above ground) and am waiting patiently for it to resurrect, keeping the soil at its usual level of sogginess.  Any idea what sort of signal it might be waitng for in order to start growing again?

Try pricking your finger and dropping a few drops of blood in its mouth.

Growing your own ginger (http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/ginger3.html)

Thanks to both of you!  I have a spare pot and a big bag of dirt, so this was well timed. 

Those questions weren't random at all.