I'm not saying either of your ginger varieties are edible, but IF one of them were, it's probably the first one that smells like Pinesol. I would guess it smells and tastes that way because of the age of the rhizome. (What we refer to as ginger "root" is actually the rhizome of the plant.) There are two different schools of thought. Some homegrowers collect rhizomes before the plants flower, at about 8-9 months old at the latest, but sometimes you can harvest as early as 4 months. Others say to harvest once all the growth has died back for the winter. It'll look like your plant is dead, but really it's dormant. The roots are still alive and that is what counts. Dig up the plant and you will see stringy things coming off the bottom of the bulbous part - those are the actual roots. Anyways, while it's dug up, harvest some of the rhizome and pick a healthy-looking part with lots of eyes to replant - it'll sprout in spring so you keep your ginger stock going. Try this with the pinesol variety and see if your rhizomes come out a little more like traditional ginger. One thing to remember is that homemade/grown things always taste a little different than store-bought ones. To sprout storebought ginger, soak it overnight in water. This helps remove any growth inhibitors that may have been sprayed - and yes, even organic ginger can be sprayed with organic growth inhibitors! "Organic" simply means the compound is found naturally, not that it isn't applied and isn't harmful to your health. After soaking overnight, plant part (or all) of the rhizome in a bit of really nutritious soil - preferably loaded with compost. You want to give these babies as many nutrients as possible. The important part is to make sure the section you plant has at least 2 eyes. They look similar to eyes on a potato. Those are where the growth sprouts from. It sounds like past that, you don't have an issue getting the plant to grow. Even though in its native regions, ginger is an evergreen, in northern climates, it is a perennial, so it dies back in the winter and respouts in the spring without you doing anything. Do NOT water it once it has gone dormant or the rhizomes may rot in the soil and you won't get new shoots come warmer weather. I would assume those that claim their ginger died in winter actually just had dormant ginger and would have seen new growth in the spring. Hope this helps!

I work at Aquatic Gardens in Birmingham AL, we have several different types of lotus in the spring. I have a 10' diameter, lotus bog with fairly large roots.

Hi that variety is not edible, I have the same thing growing in some pots. There is a website that talks quite a bit about Ginger varieties and touches on some of the edible one. If you want to grow some of the edibles ones you can start buying some rhizomes from the market. I have a few that are groing in large pots and I harvest enough each year to keep me in plenty of ginger. There are some gingers that the seed pods are used as a spice, but I can't remember all their names. George W. Z5-6 Mo.

You can buy the edible roots at the grocery store and start your own to get Zingiber officinale. Look for fresh roots. You may have to go to an Asian markert for the Galangal roots. It is also called Thai ginger and has a hotter taste. The tumeric is a cucurma longa.The roots are more yellow. You should be able to find those if you have an East Indian market or world market.