Ginger starting to sprout - can I still use it?
From a culinary perspective, I find that when sprouted, the ginger just loses a bit of flavour, that's all. If you let it grow for a very long time and it becomes all shriveled, then you are talking about a flavourless piece of ginger. I've even used such shriveled and even moldy (cut the mold off, though) pieces... no flavour at all!