Who knew ginger was so easy to grow

A month or so ago, I bought a big hunk of ginger root at the Bestway and, per instructions found online somewhere, buried it in a pot of loose soil.

Weeks later, it's got gorgeous healthy green shoots that smell of, guess what? Ginger! when you rub their leaves. No flowers as of yet, though I hear the common store-bought ginger often produces (relatively) un-showy yellow flowers.

This thing was much easier to grow, by far, than my tomatoes or basil. I've resolved to make a second attempt at an indoor herb garden this winter; I think the basil was just a little too sun-baked.

Now I just have to figure out how to use it. Not that I don't know how to cook with ginger, but rather, I'm just not sure whether to harvest the whole root and dry it, or break off bits as I need them, etc.