Edible and Medicinal Landscaping : Lemongrass

Since we moved to our property in 1989, it has been our intention to grow as much of our food and medicine as our little property will support. Much of our yard is planted with "edible landscaping". We live in the country, in the unincorporated area outside of a small town. We are not in a subdivision, so we can plant whatever we want, where ever we want. But many people live in subdivisions that severely limit what people can plant in their own yards. So periodically I want to showcase an edible or medicinal plant that can go in the landscape of even the most domineering of HOA's. So, with landscaping limitations in mind, I present you the lovely, low maintenance, edible and medicinal Lemongrass!

Lemongrass is a beautiful, heat and moisture loving tropical. As a feature in the landscape it can take the place of or can be added to plantings of other strictly ornamental clumping grasses, like Blue Oat Grass or Tufted Hair Grass. No one would ever know that it is a edible and medicinal herb and would likely not offend any HOA planting restrictions.

                            The Nutritional Value of Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a nutritional powerhouse. It contains Vitamin A, B1, (thiamine), B2,(riboflavin), B3,(niacin), B5, (pantothenic acid), 6, (pyrodoxine), and folate, (folic acid), and Vitamin C. It also provides many essential minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, phosphorus, copper, zinc and iron.  

                          The Medicinal Properties of Lemongrass

Aside from being a delicious addition to many culinary masterpieces, lemongrass also has many health benefits. It can be used in a variety of ways, in teas, in food, tinctures, salves and as hydrosols and essential oils. Lemongrass is antioxidant, anti fungal, and antimicrobial. It plays many roles in maintaining health. Lemongrass detoxifies the kidneys and liver, lower levels of uric acid and eliminates collected fats in the tissues. It lowers cholesterol, and reduces the risk of cardiac disease. It impedes the growth of liver and breast cancer, and promotes cellular apoptosis. The anti-inflammatory properties aid in gastric disorders such as constipation, ulcerated colitis, diarrhea and stomach aches. Due to its anti fungal properties it is effective in treating ringworm, athlete's foot, and other skin fungus issues. It aids in sleep, reduces fever, relieves aches and pains, soothes the nervous system, and treats respiratory infections. The essential oil when applied with a carrier oil to the skin, conditions connective tissues, which helps with tendinitis, fibromyalgia connective tissue spasms, and reduces edema.                           

             Growing and Using Lemongrass

When we lived in Costa Rica, I saw lemongrass growing wild everywhere, but had no idea what it was. One day I was visiting friends, we were walking their gardens to see what was growing and I saw the bright green grass clumps growing as a border in their herb garden. I asked them what it was and they told me it was lemongrass. Soon I had a clump of lemongrass in our rain forest garden on the mountain and have had it every year since.

Lemongrass is easy to grow. It is not fussy about soil types, and even though it likes moisture, it will hang tough even in drought conditions. Because it is a tropical, I plant lemongrass in large planters and bring them inside to winter over in the house before the first frost. But it can be planted in the ground and then lifted, potted up and brought in the house when the weather turns cold.                            
At the end of the season, I divide the lemongrass clumps into two categories over wintering and harvesting. I harvest the majority of it for use in cooking, tea making and medicines and transplant enough of the lemongrass to pots to start next years crop, and overwinter it in the house. To re-pot the lemongrass I will overwinter, I cut the tops back to about 6" above the fibrous neck of the stalks and pot it up with a mixture of compost, Coco Coir, (can be purchased at Walmart), and organic potting soil. I reserve the blades for drying and using in teas.

Lemongrass I pulled away from the clump to use for transplanting.
I can harvest individual stalks for use or for propagation,
without damaging the mother clump.

It is easy to "steal" from the clump for current use or for propagation.
Just find a thick fleshy stalk, pull sideways until the stalk separates
from the clump slightly and then pull up firmly until the stalk comes free
from the clump.There will be enough roots on the stalk to transplant.

The clumps that I harvest are treated in several ways, I trim the blades off of all the stalks, and dry them in my Stack!t dehydration rack or in my Excaliber Dehydrator, (the Stack!t works best for the thin blades of lemongrass since they air dry without a fan, the Excaliber tends to blow the blades around alot).

Skittles is quality controlling my work as I cut
the tops from the lemongrass I will transplant  

The fleshy parts of the stalk I divide into thirds. I peel the woody outside leaves from the stalks, trim off the root end of the lemongrass and blend one third of the harvest into a paste.  I put into a tiny cell ice tray and freeze. I then pop out the mini cubes, putting them into a freezer bag for use later in curries and other dishes.

The ice cube cell holds about a tablespoon, which is a great size
for freezing foods like lemongrass, home made tomato paste,
 and food blends like pesto. In this photo there is
sunflower seed pesto in the tray.

 I chop one third into 1/2 inch pieces and freeze for use infusions, tinctures and making medicinal honeys later.

I use a pair of kitchen shears to cut the stalks,
 since they are quite fiberous and difficult to cut.

The last third I peel then cut the stalks into 2 inch pieces. I split the pieces lengthwise into small sections and place them on dehydrator sheets and dry, using only the fan but no heat.

The dehydrated lemongrass can be stored several ways depending on what is on hand. It can be stored in a Mason jar with the two part lid and an small O2 absorber.

Another way is to Vacuum seal with a Foodsaver that has a Mason jar attachment, the corresponding sized Mason Jar and a two part lid.

The jar attachment for the Foodsaver is placed over the jar
 and the flat part of the lid.

The Foodsaver removes all the air from the jar causing a vacuum
which seals the lid to the jar just like it was processed in a canner.

Once the jar is sealed, the band can be put on and then the jar
 can be labeled and stored in a cool dark place. The contents will last
 for years if properly stored. (*note: It is not time for me to harvest
my lemongrass for the season, so I am using a few photos from other
 projects, in this case the calendula flowers I recently harvested).

If storing in Mason jars, the lemongrass should be stored in a cool, dark place to preserve the volatile oils. For longer term storage the dried lemongrass it is best to store in small mylar bags with an O2 absorber, labeled and kept with other LTS culinary and medicinal herbs.

So if you are looking for a plant to that serves multiple purposes, look no further, lemongrass is edible, medicinal and looks great in the landscaping.