Nature has blessed humans with a lot of blessings. They have been trying to create alternatives to that since they got their hands on technology and science. But what nature has the ability to provide such good fruit, vegetables, herbs, and food, man has not been able to produce it?
When coming to gardening, it’s a wish of every gardener or homesteader that they should be able to grow such plants, which have a lot of benefits. It not only fulfills the need for decoration and aroma in the garden but also can be used as food. It should have multiple uses as well.
In this dilemma, they go for many herbs, shrubs, vegetables, and fruits. Even they go for many different techniques which are useful to make the plants useful in many ways over a proper period of time.
They use greenhouses and other technologies to do so. Important is that gardeners also look for perennial plants to get maximum benefits as well.
Among one these useful plants are lemongrass. As the name suggests, it is a very important and useful plant in the garden. It should be the preference list of all the gardeners. It is important to note that it is easy to grow and take care of.
That’s why we are going to tell you 10 reasons to grow lemongrass no matter where you live.
Lemongrass And Its Types
Lemongrass is considered an herb. The scent and flavor of the lemon grass is very good. For that reason, it is considered an important part of recipes. Sometimes it has medicinal uses as well. You would also observe people using it as an important ingredient of green tea as well.
There are two main types of lemongrass that are grown over the world. You can go for any of these based on the area and the climate you have. Just make sure you make a good choice and then take good care.
West Indian lemongrass is a very common type of lemongrass. It is native to Southeast Asia. But now this type of lemongrass is grown in many tropical zones in the world.
In India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and other tropical regions, it is grown as a commercial food product. Where it is grown on a mass level and quite a good money is being earned.
The other important type of lemongrass is citronella lemongrass. This is also native to the Asian climate. But the main thing is this type of lemongrass is not edible. It is grown to extract essential oil which is known as citronella oil.
This citronella oil is used as an insect repellent. But as you are going to grow the lemongrass for culinary and personal use you have to go for the west Indian lemongrass. It is available on almost all gardening and horticultural sites like rosemary etc.
You just have to choose the right type and just plant it. It is not frost-tolerant. You just have to make sure that it doesn’t interact with the frost. When planted close to the equator zone, you would be able to enjoy the growth of the lemongrass over the year.
If you want to plant the lemongrass as perennial and you want it to behave like this, you can plant it in the indoor settings in the containers. It will save it from frost.
Also, you can easily grow and enjoy this plant in the US hardiness zone 9 and 10.
It is such a useful plant that you should plant it as a gardener, no matter indoors in a container or in the outdoor garden. It doesn’t matter where you live.
10 Reasons To Grow Lemongrass No Matter Where You Live
There are a lot of benefits and reasons why you should go for the plantation of lemongrass. We are going to discuss the important 10 reasons to grow lemongrass.
1 – Make Beauty And Environment-Friendly Products
Lemongrass has the ability to clean surfaces at the home. Also, it can be used to make natural beauty products and eco-friendly products for the home and for beauty use. You can add lemongrass to the poured soap, melt, and other daily usage soap recipes.
You can also use lemongrass to make beauty products. You can make a DIY lemongrass Lip balm to keep the lips good. Also, you can go for a lemongrass hair rinse and sugar-mixed lemongrass scrub for your face and skin.
2 – Lemongrass As Natural Medicine
Lemongrass has medicinal uses. You can use tea brewed from lemongrass. It is very useful to manage and make things right in the digestive system. You can use it to treat mild fever in children as it increases perspiration.
Lemongrass also produces a very useful essential oil. The oil has both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It can be used for many problems including arthritis joints.
3 – To Keep The Insects Away
It doesn’t matter if the lemongrass plant is in the container or in the garden it acts as a very good insect repellent. There is a particular item in the lemongrass citronella that keep the insects, flies, and other insects away.
Also, you can extract citronella oil from it. Also, the culinary used lemongrass repels the insects as it has a good scent and flavor.
4 – Good For Container Gardening
You can also grow the lemongrass in the container easily. Rather it is good to grow in the container because you would be able to save it from the frost. Also, it is good at growing in the container as t needs little water, and care.
Also, it is a good companion plant for many vegetables which will give you an extra edge by planting it in a container.
5 – Avoid Soil Erosion And Get Ground Covered
If you are planting it in the garden, you can plant it as a landscape plant. It covers the ground very well. You can plant it in a way that will be a delight for the eyes.
Also, you would be able to control soil erosion using lemongrass.
If your area is in tropical or in a sub-tropical zone and the weather is hot you would be able to tackle the soil erosion with the help of lemongrass. Also, it will keep the ground moist as it will be covering the ground.
6 – Using Lemongrass As An Edge Or Divider
If you are living in a warmer climate you can use the lemongrass as the living edge. It is very good in the decorative sense and will provide support to the garden plants and act as a good companion plant.
You can use it as a divider in the garden. It will fulfill all the purposes. You would be able to enjoy the lemongrass as well as you will be able to keep all the plants at their respective places. It will also stop the spread of weeds.
7 – Amazing Fragrance
One of the main qualities for which lemongrass is planted and used in many recipes is its amazing aroma. Whether it is planted in a container or it is planted in the garden, you would be able to enjoy its refreshing scent.
Place your lemongrass near your sitting area of yours. You would be able to enjoy its citrus-mixed aroma. It is very soothing and relaxing. While using the tea you will feel the same.
8 – Improvement Of Degraded Soil
You can use lemongrass plants to improve the degraded soil. when grown effectively in the ground, you would see that it grows well and makes the ground well.
This plant grows well and rapidly. It creates a good amount of organic matter under it making the soil fertile. It effectively accumulates the potassium in the soil in this way degraded soil will get improved.
9 – For Use In The Kitchen
One of the main and most important reasons for growing lemongrass is its culinary usage. It is because it has many uses in the kitchen. Young shoots can be eaten as vegetables. Leaves are used in many recipes and in making healthy tea.
It has a lemon/citrus-like flavor. It’s the main ingredient in many dishes from Thailand and in many Southeast Asian states.
10 – Making Household Cleaners
You can prepare organic household cleaners using lemongrass. You can add the essential oil of the lemongrass to the vinegar to make the multipurpose cleaner.
It is because this plant has and its extract has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal qualities. It can be used for many purposes besides culinary and medicinal use. The cleaners made using lemongrass are quite strong and also have a refreshing aroma.
In short, lemongrass is such a blessing of nature that it should be in the home or in the garden no matter what size id of the house or the garden. Due to multiple benefits, it has only benefits if the cost-benefit analysis is done.