There is an uncertainty in the determination of the harvest time faced by the TOGA red ginger cultivation business actors in Sleman Regency. There is a strong tendency to harvest ginger before it reaches the age of harvestable crops, ie 7 to 12 months. The problem interesting to be investigated is why such thing happened? Analytical descriptive study using the approach of observation, interviews, aroma tests, and statistical analysis of collected data was implemented to respond the above question. It shows that the harvest of ginger before time can still produce a level of aroma of ginger that is worth enjoying. But the number of crops is still below the optimal level. TOGA business actors tend to harvest red ginger before reaching harvest time. There are various causes. However, these two are the main contributing factors: 1) orientation of the ginger cultivation of the TOGA system that is in order to meet not only the nucleus family’s needs but also the extended family’s needs and 2) drastically depleted water availability due to the arrival of the dry season which is too fast. The first contributing factor can be related to the Javanese wisdom applied in the family based farming system.

Kata kunci : TOGA, red ginger, Sleman regency