Since just muttering the verb form of the word “garden” seems to result in a massive snow assault hailing from our angsty northeastern skies these days, I’m going to have to go ahead and change the name of that act for the purposes of this article. Instead of covering topics related to doing-that-thing-where-you-put- seeds- in- the- ground, I’m going to discuss safer subjects until St. Patrick’s Day when I can hopefully push the snow aside and behave-in- a- supportive- manner- so- as- to- help- small- plants- get- big. You see, if the angry snow monsters who live in the sky think we have lost all hope of ever seeing green grass again, maybe they will think they have won and will relax long enough to take naps, or play a round of dominoes, or do ANYTHING AT ALL other than cause weather forecasters to invent new and creative words to describe way too damn much snow.
That brings me to one of my favorite winter activities – buying lemongrass from the grocery store or Asian food market, using what you need for your recipe, and turning the rest into a houseplant. Lemongrass is, you guessed it, a grassy full-sun plant that grows in zones 9-11 and is essential to Thai cooking. Although it's a bit exotic for your average grocery store, you can find it sold as a somewhat dried stalk in Asian food markets or specialty stores.
DISCLAIMER: My cats take to lemongrass like a frat boy to a keg of Milwaukee's Best. Unless you feel like cleaning up after a feline that can't hold down his or her own herbal refreshments, I suggest you keep your plant out of harm's way.
That brings me to one of my favorite winter activities – buying lemongrass from the grocery store or Asian food market, using what you need for your recipe, and turning the rest into a houseplant. Lemongrass is, you guessed it, a grassy full-sun plant that grows in zones 9-11 and is essential to Thai cooking. Although it's a bit exotic for your average grocery store, you can find it sold as a somewhat dried stalk in Asian food markets or specialty stores.
Try to buy the freshest stalks with lots of green color and thick bottoms. Even though it looks a bit dried and dead when you buy it, peeling off the outer grass layers will reveal small growth nodes at the base of the plant. All you have to do is use those outermost layers for cooking, trim down the top of the stalk, pop it in a glass of water for a few weeks and wait until a decent root systems establishes. Move it to a pot with a drain hole and indoor potting soil. That’s it! In our zone 6 weather, you can keep it as a houseplant until summer, and then move it to your deck ... or you can even do-that-thing-where-you-dig-a-whole-and-then-take-the-plant-and-put-it-in-there!
DISCLAIMER: My cats take to lemongrass like a frat boy to a keg of Milwaukee's Best. Unless you feel like cleaning up after a feline that can't hold down his or her own herbal refreshments, I suggest you keep your plant out of harm's way.
Here's my hopeful lemongrass with a backdrop of angry snow monster wrath:
And here's my two year old plant, which got started the same way in winter I moved it outside for the summer when I did- that- thing- that- we- all- know- but- won't- be- discussing, and then moved it back inside for the winter.
So go ahead and turn your groceries into plants. Thanks for reading, and happy you-know-what!
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