Kids are WIMPS! Although fresh ginger root can have a powerful zing. When my middle boy was teething I remember he was pretty miserable, so I gave him a chunk of ginger root to gnaw. It was potent enough that the sting numbed his gums, and I remember him padding around, drooling, while mercilessly gumming the ginger. I had learned to dip my finger in whisky and rub the gums of my eldest to achieve the same effect, but I felt a lot better about letting the munchkin munch to his heart's content without worrying about driving a toddler to drink over sore gums.
Beside, that whisky was for me!
It's a lot harder to grow ginger and turmeric here in Oregon. They're not supposed to be exposed to temperatures below ~55 Fahrenheit, and it gets down to freezing here sometimes, so once the rains kick in for fall, I have to bring it inside. This means it has to grow in pots, and I use big pots so they're very heavy. A couple years ago I noticed the big pot of turmeric was pulling the windowsill in the living room off the wall, and have jury rigged some support from the back of the couch to stop the damage from progressing.
I sure wish I could tuck it into a raised bed and just let 'er rip.
Thanks!
Ha! Yeah, mine were previously growing in the layers of a worm tower. I lined the bottom with feed sacks so they would spread out and not down. It worked out really well, but I understand what you mean about them being heavy! Interesting that you can grow it indoors there - makes sense. And using it as a teether - who would've thought of that? Ha!