Growing Lemongrass

GROW YOUR OWN LEMON GRASS

Lemon grass is an amazing super-herb that has been used for hundreds of years for both culinary and medicinal purposes.Both its stalk and foliage are used in many prepared dishes, such as teas, soups and sauces. Lemon Grass is actually really easy to grow! First of all, it is a perennial, which means that it will come back year after year in many climates, growing all year long in the warmest ones. It also lends itself well to both growing outside and inside, so where it is the coldest or when you want to have fresh lemongrass year round, you can move it indoors or outside as needed. Let’s take a look at how to grow lemongrass.

Planting And Growing

• To get started, go shopping and buy the firmest, least dried out bunch of lemongrass you can find. 
• Take it home and then peel back the first layer or two and a good part of the upper leaves, especially the ones which are dried out.
• Take the stalks and put them into a glass of shallow water and place it near a sunny window.
• After a few weeks, you should start seeing tiny roots at the bottom of the lemongrass herb stalk. It’s not much different than starting any other plant in a glass of water. 
•  Within a week or two, roots will start to appear and possibly some leaves. When the roots are about 1-2 inches long, you can trim back the original stalk a bit more and then plant each stalk into its own small pot of compost. 
• Gently cover all the roots and quite a bit of the bulbous part at the bottom if you can. These small pots of lemongrass should be grown on in a warm place until they have plenty of leaves and the roots need a bigger pot. 
• At this point, you can harden them off over a week and then plant outside in a sunny, warm and moist spot 12 inches apart. 
• You can also re-pot them on into larger containers to keep indoors or you can plant them in your garden. Fully grown, the plant is fairly bushy with long thin leaves and numerous stalks emerging from the original one. 
• Though they can grow to large sizes if they have the space, a container or pot will constrict their roots enough to make it a lovely house plant.

Propagating Lemon Grass

• Propagating lemongrass is just as easy as starting new plants from store-bought lemongrass herb. 
• Again, take a couple of inches off the top of the grown plant and place them in water in a glass on a window sill. 
• Wait a few weeks and you will once again have a lemongrass herb ready for planting.

Harvesting And Storage

• To harvest, just select the stalks you want and simply break them off the main plant at the base. 
• The bulb is the bit you mainly use in cooking and it is actually the only part you can eat. 
• After you have harvested your lemongrass stalks, remove and discard the woody portions, as well as the foliage (unless you intend on using and drying the leaves for teas or soups). 
• While most people pick lemongrass to use right away, it can be frozen for up to six months if needed.

Few Health Benefits Of Lemon Grass

• Drug indigestion- Tea contains lemongrass helps overcome indigestion, abdominal pain, colds, intestinal cramps and diarrhea. Lemongrass also helps reduce gas and prevent the formation of intestinal gas further.
• Beautiful Skin- Lemongrass is a pillar in the cosmetics industry. Benefits include reducing acne and serves as a refresher. Lemongrass oil can also be massaged into the entire body to give effect to warm up.
• Benefits of the nervous system- Essential oils are made using lemongrass can be used to strengthen and improve the functioning of the nervous system.
• Prevents cancer- A study revealed that every 100 gram of lemon grass contains antioxidants that can prevent cancer. In 2006, a team of researchers from the University Gurion in Israel discovered a compound in the body that lemongrass can kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells.
• As an analgesic- Lemongrass relieve all types of inflammation and irritability associated with aches and pains. So if you have a toothache, muscle pain, joint pain, or pain, lemongrass tea can certainly help.

Chicken On Lemon Grass Stick Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 g Chicken mince
• 1 Long red chilli, roughly chopped
• 2 cm Ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 2 Spring onions, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup Coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• 4 stalks Lemongrass, trimmed and halved
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 to serve Sweet chilli sauce

Method

• Place the chicken, chilli, ginger, spring onion, coriander and fish sauce in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Divide mixture into 8 portions and, using damp hands, shape each portion around a lemongrass skewer.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken skewers for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, or until cooked through. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.