Lemongrass do be growing

4 days ago by David From Space to c/gardening

We got our first cold warning yesterday! It's not supposed to be that bad, but might as well start getting things ready for winter anyway. We have a few different plants we bring inside or put in the greenhouse, among those is lemongrass!

So, these guys. I cut these yesterday afternoon. They were flat! Already the stalks shot up a couple millimeters! Wow!

Now, because lemongrass is a tropical, they don't do so well in the cold wet weather. It's mild enough here that they can often survive, but why take chances? So, to prep lemongrass for winter, you give it a haircut, trim the roots, and plop those bad buds into a jar of water. Change the water every couple weeks and trim off any excessive new growth. Then, in spring, you have a bunch of lemongrass stalks ready to go in the ground again! We also have a bunch of lemongrass plants still menacing the garden from last years go-around, so I'll get to see firsthand how they do in the winter.

Also, another fun part is you get a giant bushel of lemongrass leaves at the end. Far more than you use for cooking, my wife likes to bundle them up into a dried herb broom that just smells amazing.

Twanquility 5 points 4 days ago

Those are some nice tips, really. (Also your advice, harh harh) Haven't tried growing lemongrass, but it smells amazing and does wonders for some korean dishes, alongside toasted sesam-oil).

After cooking, i've often put the 'fresh-herbs-in-a-pot-of-dirt' into a new pot and watered it. They always died, until I started leaving them in their plastic pots, and only watering them from the bottom. (Plant>plastic>larger pot with some water).

Any advice is appreciated.

save

path: 0 26283767, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 4

emuspawn 4 points 3 days ago

I use the lemongrass a lot in Thai cooking! It's also a delicious herbal tea.

When I plant live herbs from the store, I typically remove any dirt and separate the plants as much as possible before I replant them. With the live basil and rosemary at least, they really pack them in there! I usually separate out all the individual plants(the easy ones at least), being careful with the roots, give them a rinse, and plant them in a new (small) pot with a clean soil mix. They stay inside for a couple days to get over the shock, on a sunny window sill or under a grow light. Then, just like a transplant, you have to weather them a bit on a mild day before you put them outside permanently. They are often grown in hydroponic environments, and the sun is a deadly lazer.
I've got a dozen basil plants hanging out in my greenhouse right now that were all in the same pot from the store. Just planted them out in the garden all summer, and schlepped them right into new pots yesterday.

You can also propagate a lot of store bought vegetables, especially if you have rooting powder. You usually shave off a very thin slice from the bottom to get a fresh surface, dunk it in the rooting powder, and set it in water shallow enough to let the crown hit the top. Change the water every couple days and eventually you'll get roots and you can plant the vegetable in the garden after a bit. This works with:

Celery - it's finicky, results may vary. It may just bolt. Mine didn't this year! But from seed is easier.
Lemongrass
Lettuce - leaving the innermost leaves intact vastly improves the speed of growth.
green onions - amazing, no notes
ginger - I don't do this cause it'd be a huge pain here. It makes a nice houseplant I hear?
parsley (why tho)
sage
kale leaves - same deal, take the kale leaf, trim a tiny bit off the bottom, and dunk it in rooting powder.

and of course you can plant garlic and potatoes but I get fancier stuff from the local garden center (Chesnok Red my beloved)

save

path: 0 26283767 26289400, hotness: undefined, score: 4, children: 1

Twanquility 3 points 3 days ago

Amazingly detailed answer, thank you so much. I'll save this for when spring begins to return <3

save

path: 0 26283767 26289400 26300846, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0

Drusas 3 points 4 days ago

Korean, huh? Interesting. I wouldn't have thought of that.

save

path: 0 26283767 26286036, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0

PokiLoki 2 points 4 days ago

@Twanquility @emuspawn I grew it one year started from seed. Dont do that. Get a jump by buying some and re-rooting it. I was pretty pathetic and frail from seed even in the second year.

save

path: 0 26283767 26289408, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0