Thursday, June 9, 2011

Lemongrass

I recently started cooking with lemongrass and I love it!  This grass is used in many Thai and Vietnamese dishes and brings a citrusy-bright flavor to every dish you can imagine.

Being the avid gardner that I am, I thought this grass would be the perfect addition to my garden. So after hunting around on the internet for growing instructions, it  seems this perennial is easy to grow.....just like the other grasses that seem to pop up in the middle of my gardens.

Start with a bunch of lemongrass that can be found in your local Asian market, cut the tops off and placed the stalks in water. Be sure to choose plants that look like they have some life left in them.











































Change the water every couple of days and in 2 - 3 weeks you will start seeing root development happening.


















When there is solid root growth, plant the stalks in a sunny location. Remember that lemongrass needs to stay warm all year. I'm planting my stalks in a pot that can be brought indoors or placed in the hoophouse.


























Lemongrass is well on the way to producing a fresh crop of deliciousness!

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday!

10 comments:

  1. One of my favorite things to grow! Lemongrass returns from the roots in my zone 8b GA garden after it dies back in the winter. I pot up a clump for the greenhouse in fall because the dog and cat like to chew the leaves. That potfull can be divided in the spring to make more plants for landscape use.

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  2. OH, I need to get some more lemongrass to grow this season. I love lemongrass!

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  3. Thank you for sharing at Simple Lives Thursday! I have some new lemongrass growing in front of my house... LOVE it!

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  4. Hi Kathy! I found your blog through a link on the Seattle Tilth Web site, and I love it. Your pictures are amazing, too. I work with a new (Seattle-based, but global) Web start-up called earthbongo, which is a social networking site where people can create and share projects to make the world better. We would love to have you join our community! Check us out at www.earthbongo.com or e-mail me at valerie@earthbongo.com.

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  5. this is fantastic! I have wanted to start using lemongrass more, and this will be perfect to ensure I always have it on hand. Who knew?!

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  6. Does lemon grass repel mosquitto?

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    1. Hello! I've read that lemongrass is a good mosquito repellant because of the citrusy odor. It's easy to grow, keeps the biting bugs away, and is a wonderful grass to enhance the flavor in many dishes!

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  7. Definitely have to get some going on my deck..We have alot of mosquitos here, so that is an added benefit. Love citrusy flavors in my foods..lemon basil is another good one.

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    1. Hi Shelley,

      Lemongrass is such a dual purpose plant! Lemon basil sounds intriguing, I'll have to find some. Thanks!

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