Description
Key Facts
- Ideal for Stir Fry, Asian Dishes and Teas
- Very easy to grow but quite tall
Background info
This is a great herb to grow on a balcony or garden. This page refers to West Indian lemongrass which is most often used for cooking. (As opposed to East Indian Lemongrass)
- Originally from maritime South East Asia (Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, etc.).
- Citrusy flavour (like lemon), slightly sharp and tangy.
- Ideal for oriental cooking, added to soups, curries, sauces and fish dishes.
- Days from seed to harvest – about 100 to 150 (3 to 5 months)
- About 90 to 150 cm high
Example Lemongrass Recipes
This wonderful lemon-scented herb is an essential ingredient in oriental cooking, add to soups, curries, sauces and fish dishes.
In addition the woody stems are also great for making a refreshing tea.
Typical recipes:
- Lemongrass curry (see video)
- Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
- Fresh Lemongrass Tea
How to grow lemongrass at home
This is a fun and unusual plant to grow, however…
This is a tropical plant that can get quite big – which is why it’s best to plant it in individual pots. It’s ideal for a hydroponic system, but we wouldn’t recommend it for aquaponics.
Sow in trays or use organic moistened propagation cubes like to ones available from Amazon (shown right)
The seeds will germinate rapidly within three to five days at 18-21ºC. When large enough to handle, pot into individual pots and keep inside, or on your balcony or terrace after the chance of frost has passed.
It will take at least 24 weeks from sowing to cropping – so you will need a bit of patience. Although if you use an hydroponic system the time will be shorter.
Quick guide:
- Plant in individual pots
- Optimal growing temperature is 22 to 35 ºC
- Ideally with a high humidity level
- And full sunlight or high levels of artificial light.
Minze Vries –
Nice flavour but a real pain to grow. Would’t bother unless you really need it for your recipes