You'd be surprised how many dishes Lemongrass appears in. A staple in Asian cuisine, especially Thai. As delicious in a stir fry or curry, as a creme brulee. It adds a unique sweet lemony flavour to mains and deserts, and makes a delicious, refreshing herbal tea.

Lemongrass looks like little fat spring onions. It's easy to grow, fast to germinate, and easy to harvest (just pull or cut a stem at soil level, wash, chop and cook). A popular choice for growing in pots, indoors or out, and if grown hydroponically with grow lights, will reward you with a faster growth rate.

Lemongrass is also a natural insect repellent, so you can grow it indoors for culinary use, then transplant it outdoors as a gorgeous ornamental grass that also doubles as a mozzie repellent.

About this herb

Variety: Lemongrass (Cymbopogan citratus)

Popular for: Thai cuisine, stir fry and curry, with chicken, pork, lamb and seafood. Pairs well with coconut, ginger, chili, turmeric, peanuts, cashews and lime. Refreshing herbal tea.

Sow depth: 5mm

Germination in: 10 to 14 days

Mature in: 12 weeks

When to sow: Outdoors - North Island: Spring to early Summer, South Island: Spring. Indoors - All year round (grow light recommended in winter).

Growing tips

Lemongrass is a popular choice grown indoors all year round, our outdoors in Spring and Summer depending on where in NZ you are. It germinates easily from seed and can be grown from a stalk cutting also. Grown indoors you'll likely want to transplant it outdoors later as mature lemongrass turns in to a gorgeous big ornamental grass.

When growing indoors, harvest frequently. You can start harvesting lemongrass from as little as 30cms tall. Just cut off a stalk flush with the soil surface. You can use the entire stalk to cook with, dry some for use later, or put leftovers aside to make tea.

Lemongrass likes a position outdoors that's in full sun half the day, half shade. It loves a good dose of direct sun, so when growing indoors, if you don't have a sunny spot that gets a good 6+ hours sun a day, then a grow light is a good idea.

Recipe ideas

Used for curries, soups, salads and deserts, Lemongrass is also prized as a medicinal herb and the essential oil is popular in perfumes and cosmetics. It makes a delicious herbal tea, served hot or cold. Lemongrass is a more subtle substitute for any dish that uses ginger.

There are probably fancier ways to make lemongrass tea, but I just keep leftover lemongrass from cooking, cut in to 5cm lengths, and steep in boiling water for 5 minutes or so. Add a dash of honey for extra sweetness. Delicious! Such a convenient way to get that lemony zing all year round for when lemons aren't in season.

Here's a favourite recipe to try for a mild, family-friendly curry Coconut chicken curry with turmeric and lemongrass and I'm going to try this Lemongrass chicken stirfy next for sure.

For those with skills better than mine, I've eaten (but not made it myself) a delicious lemongrass creme brulee. If you're a whiz with deserts, please try this Lemongrass creme brulee recipe and let me know how you get on. It does say its rated an easy 1 out of 3 for difficulty (I'm just not the best with deserts!).

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