How to grow lemongrass indoors....It's easy!

March 15, 2021

If you like to cook Southeast Asia food, you probably appreciate fresh lemongrass. Most lemongrass sold in New England, even at Asian markets, is very dry and hard to chop or pound in a mortar and pestle. So why not grow your own, providing fresh lemongrass year round? Follow these guidelines:

-Cut off the bottom 1/2" to 1" of a store-bought stalk of lemongrass and stick it in a glass of water to get it to root. This might take a week or so and several tries with more than one stalk.

-Once rooted transplant it into a pot of good soil and compost mix and keep it regularly watered so the roots can take hold.

-If you are doing this in the summer, place the pot outside in full sun. If you are doing it during the colder months, keep the pot in a sunny spot in your house. We recommend some supplemental light (we used our smallest light, our 40W Bud Booster) to aid plant growth.

-You can keep the lemongrass in a pot all year long or transplant it back and forth between inside and your summer garden, depending on the time of year.

-The plant will require very little water (as little as every 2-3 weeks during the winter months) once it takes root.

-You can cut a stalk off as you need it and new stalks will continue to sprout.

-Keep the browning parts of the leaves trimmed back Enjoy!