Lemongrass

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karstopography
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Lemongrass

#1

Post: # 17600Unread post karstopography
Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:44 pm

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My lemongrass plant is now older than a year. Wonderful fragrance, nice to look at and pretty useful in the kitchen. One favorite way to enjoy it is as a tea.
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Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#2

Post: # 17610Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:36 pm

I was going to say that I wish that I lived where lemongrass would be a perennial, but on second thought, I really don't. Lemongrass loves heat, but I hate it! :lol:

I think that I will skip the lemongrass this season, as I normally have to go to the Asian market, right about this time, to get some (as well as a few Asian herbs, which I root in my cloner), and I just trim them, leaving that hard root core, then put it in a pyrex cup of water, and they root in about 3 weeks, changing the water frequently. I have so much lemongrass in the freezer that I could skip a couple of years. I trim it, as I would to use in recipes, and Foodsaver it, in small 3 or 4 packs, and the rest in larger packs. It keeps for years this way.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

Gardenboy
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Re: Lemongrass

#3

Post: # 17612Unread post Gardenboy
Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:51 pm

I have plenty of lemongrass seeds if anyone is interested. Does not tolerate frost. Loves heat and humid climates. Great for tea and also I also grow it in containers between my tomatoes because it repels whiteflies.

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karstopography
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Re: Lemongrass

#4

Post: # 17626Unread post karstopography
Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:44 pm

I did nothing special to protect my plant over our winter other than one night, I covered it with freeze cloth. We had 5-6 nights over the winter that got into the low 30s, and maybe to 29-30 degrees. Top of the leaves got nipped a bit by frost on a couple of occasions, but it’s not as delicate as some other tropical types.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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SpookyShoe
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Re: Lemongrass

#5

Post: # 17630Unread post SpookyShoe
Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:48 pm

I have not grown lemongrass for years. I took a class In Thai cooking and got a plant. It grew very well here. Now I want to grow it again!
Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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Re: Lemongrass

#6

Post: # 17635Unread post Gardadore
Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:14 pm

I was going to skip it this year because I don’t use a lot of it as it takes so long to get big and then it is fall. But I never thought about freezing it! Do you freeze just the trimmed leaves or also include part of the bulb? Maybe I will get another plant and harvest the leaves before frost to freeze. Great tip!

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#7

Post: # 17639Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:59 am

I trim the lemongrass as if I was getting ready to use it - cut off the root core, until I see the purple rings, pull off the toughest outer leaves, and cut it to about 6" long. This way, when I pull it out of the freezer, no more trimming is needed, just cutting.

For freezing, I make these narrow strips for the Foodsaver, by taking the 8" rolls and cut it into about 2" wide strips, crosswise, then seal the long sides. Then I cut one of the short seals off, and that's the end I put 2, 3, or 4 stalks in through, then Foodsaver it! I put all of those in a gallon ziploc, and freeze them, and they are ready just as I need them, in the various amounts I need. I have a lot more than I need every time, and the excess (usually the smaller ones) I Foodsaver in larger amounts. I still have a few of the smaller amounts in there, but when I need more, I'll cut open one of the 3 bags with 25 or 30 in them on one of the corners, and transfer some into a ziploc, and use it out of that, though they don't keep as well that way. Then I re-seal the Foodsaver bag on the corner, and when I need some next time, cut one of the other corners!

Another thing that I Foodsaver is the dark green leaves (as with the regular stalks, this keeps forever when vacuum sealed) - these are actually useful, in that you can make lemongrassaide, by blending some with water and sugar, or other sweetener, and strain it, and serve over ice. Probably some alcoholic drinks they make with it, in SE Asia.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Nan6b
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Re: Lemongrass

#8

Post: # 17658Unread post Nan6b
Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:15 am

Lemongrassade sounds wonderful. All the goodness of lemon without the sourness of lemon.

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SpookyShoe
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Re: Lemongrass

#9

Post: # 17788Unread post SpookyShoe
Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:13 pm

Nan6b wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:15 am Lemongrassade sounds wonderful. All the goodness of lemon without the sourness of lemon.
Sounds so refreshing! With lemon cookies... the ones that have the powdered sugar on top!
Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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SpookyShoe
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Re: Lemongrass

#10

Post: # 17921Unread post SpookyShoe
Mon Apr 20, 2020 6:57 pm

Karstopography, I just noticed the Spanish moss in your first post.

It's everywhere in southeast Texas, right?
Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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karstopography
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Re: Lemongrass

#11

Post: # 17929Unread post karstopography
Mon Apr 20, 2020 8:08 pm

Yes, bumper crop of Spanish Moss here near Lake Jackson. Leaded gasoline way back when about wiped it out, but it has recovered nicely. There’s also a goodly amount in my compost bins. For a while, I used fallen clumps it to tie up tomatoes and it works, but I worried about how secure it might be. Bats love to roost in it, my wife picks up wind fallen piles of it, the other day a bat flew out. Not the first time. Cows love to eat it. My buddy the rancher used to feed it to his herd in the winter.

Oddly, ball moss is taking over in some of the areas with Spanish moss. I have a bit of ball moss near the power line feeding my house. Ball moss is ugly and trees seem to decline once it takes over.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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SpookyShoe
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Re: Lemongrass

#12

Post: # 17935Unread post SpookyShoe
Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:18 pm

There's lots of it Spanish moss where I live too. I'm very near the water.
Donna, zone 9, El Lago, Texas

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Re: Lemongrass

#13

Post: # 17945Unread post Gardadore
Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:32 am

Looks like I need to investigate getting a Foodsaver since I found a really strong Lemongrass plant at a local garden center. Still too cold to plant but is a nice size for a 4" pot!! Any recommendations for a small one as I don't plant to use it a lot.

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#14

Post: # 17968Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:35 pm

@Gardadore Depending on the type of lemongrass that is, it may be enough for you, by the end of the season. If it's the type grown from seed, which most sold like that are, maybe not, as those stalks don't get very large. The kind that are only grown from rooted stalks get very large, by the end of the season. One year, with 4 plants in the ground, one of them had 86 stalks in the 6" cluster when I pulled it! Not all full sized, but that was incredible. The ones I grew from seed (only once) only got about 3" clusters, with very small stalks (I used 3-4, for each stalk called for in a recipe). You would need a 4-5 gal pot for each of the larger kind, as they get a good sized root ball on them, by the end of the season (early May to late Oct. here).
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#15

Post: # 51263Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Jul 27, 2021 9:27 pm

This year I started my lemongrass stalks in some water on 4-14 - I remember I bought it the day before, because I had an appt. that day right up the street, from the Korean market, where I bought it! Now, just a little over 3 months later, here's the 4 plants (actually 3 - one is out of the photo). Those sage and rosemary plants behind are quite large, but these are already dwarfing those, and still have over 3 months, before I have to dig them up!
ImageLemongrass, in front of some large sage and rosemary plants. 7-27 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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worth1
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Re: Lemongrass

#16

Post: # 51409Unread post worth1
Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:47 am

Spanish moss and ball moss are not a moss.
They are related to the pineapple.
Yep a pineapple.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#17

Post: # 52050Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Aug 10, 2021 9:18 pm

Here's that lemongrass just a couple of weeks later, showing how much more it has grown.
ImageLemongrass, 8-9, almost 3 months from harvest. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#18

Post: # 56397Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:28 pm

Today, I finally harvested all of my lemongrass - got 95 stalks, and only a very few small ones! I was surprised, for sure, as in the past it seemed that half the mass was small stalks, but you can see how few there were, even on the smallest clusters.

As I've done before, I trim these now, so when I thaw them, nothing is thrown away - it's already been done! Well, not really - all those trimmings (other than those greens I saved) are in the garden, as mulch! I took photos showing the woody centers in the stalks, and the first one trimmed to the purple rings in the center. Some I only had to cut a small amount from, while the ones in the center (the oldest stalks) I sometimes had to cut up to 3" from. Good thing is, I won't need to do this again for quite a while! I still have a few from 4 seasons ago, from 3 stalks - I couldn't find anyone that wanted my 4th rooting, so I planted it!
ImageAll 4 lemongrass clusters, showing the size difference. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's the largest cluster, with the stalks cut through, with a cleaver, showing the outer ones already with the purple rings in the centers, but most needed some trimming.
ImageLargest cluster, stalks cut off, showing the woody center of most of the the stalks, which will need to be cut off. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The smallest cluster still had few small stalks, and had more of the ones that didn't need trimming at that end.
ImageSmallest cluster, still with few small stalks. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I didn't save all of the greens - only half. These will be cut more, then Foodsavered, and the volume will decrease greatly.
ImageLemongrass greens, from 2 largest clusters, about 46 oz., filled a plastic bag from a store. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And the 95 stalks I got from the 4 clusters:
Image95 stalks saved, and rinsed, draining, before vacuum sealing them, in the Foodsaver. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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pepperhead212
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Re: Lemongrass

#19

Post: # 56398Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:35 pm

And here's that lemongrass 5 days before I harvested it. And a photo of the huge sage and rosemary plants, that didn't look like much, behind the lemongrass.
Image4 lemongrass clusters, next to a large sage and rosemary plants. Ready to be harvested soon, 10-25 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageSage, 4 ft across, and rosemary, almost 4 ft tall, that were dwarfed by that lemongrass! 10-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

Kurt
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Re: Lemongrass

#20

Post: # 56410Unread post Kurt
Sun Oct 31, 2021 7:45 am

Here in Florida we use a edible lemon grass,West Indies.you can slice those thicker stalks real thin,eat raw or put into salads,soups.

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