Here’s my lemongrass experience. I planted a small clump from the nursery and left it alone (you might see a trend in my style, gardening by neglect). It grew out of control for a few years. I would occasionally cut a stalk out for use. Then I got the bright idea to trim back the top grass part…terrible idea! Everywhere on my body that one of those grass blades touched me ended up covered in long angry red welts. I swore to never touch the plant again. A year or so later I wanted to reclaim my pot, so I made DH dig out the lemongrass. He harvested all the stalks and I froze them.
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Here are my latest chinenses peppers pictures.
Thanks to those who have shared seeds with me!
Bogman, I will have to add some of yours soon.
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I will want one, due to the mosquitoes invading in summer. I’ll see if I can find a young plant in pot. I’ve tried seeds, nothing happened. I have read that germination can be a bit tricky.
Chowdom, I live in Virginia, near the Blue Ridge mountains, USA.
Great pictures all! I wish Artichokes would grow here. Cardoon makes it, but not Artichokes. The “annual” ones just don’t produce enough large heads.
Regarding Lemongrass: I grow it annually, outdoors in the garden. A gallon windowsill pot gets 5 feet across by Sept. Then, it gets hacked, a small couple are replanted in pots, and the rest of the stalks processed. Last season, I tried freeze drying the peeled stalks. If you partly split a lemongrass stalk, lengthwise from the “root” end, you’ll see a tender, somewhat triangular growing tip in the middle, near the base; this part tastes terrible, not what you’d expect. So, I remove these before storage/processing. Lemongrass is a heavy feeder and loves hot, humid, sunny weather. As aussieshepsx2 discovered, there are a couple things to be aware of: some folks have a skin allergy to the leaves, and one can also get Phytophotodermatitis. The latter is a reaction from contact with a plant/plant part and sunlight. Many folks are not affected by lemongrass, while others get severe rashes from either the leaves or leaves+sunlight.
Lemongrass is usually started by division, not seed. An inferior type, Cymbopogon flexuosus, also called East Indian Lemon Grass, is often started from seed. True Lemongrass, C. citratus, is the better culinary plant. One can often root a stalk from the market, if it has some basal, woody stem attached.
Green Fennel seeds are potent and wonderful, if you enjoy that Anise-like taste. (Licorice, by the way, does not have an anise-like flavor. It’s a root whose main quality is it’s super sweet.) I like to take green fennel seeds, cook them in sugared water, drain, roll them in sugar and dry them. Also great in sausage, tomato sauce and pizza crust!
Shrinkrap, those peppers look fantastic! Super healthy and green. You should get a good harvest with plants that strong-looking. The C. chinense here (35 plants) are about half that size. There’s also about 70 Capsicum annuum, hot and sweet.
I planted some C. chinense seed from 1993, collected in Grenada, and they germinated! For all this time, they were stored in my “seed fridge”, so kept cold. Still, it’s shocking that 26 year old seed grew. I also planted seed that was “younger”, which meant giving plants away to neighbors after they all came up.
Planting is usually after May 10, around here, just in case of frost. May 10 is the normal, average frost date. This year, frost date appears to be April 10. Lots of unprecedented climate anomalies these days!
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Do you need to be in a very warm climate for lemongrass? I can’t say I use it too often, but I LOVE the smell of lemongrass, and a being the weirdo I am, I would probably just cut them open and leave them around my house because they smell good… it’s better than wasting the stuff.
I’m in a temperate zone, and it’s just starting to get more consistently warm now, but we still have a few chilly nights (my rosemary plant is making me nervous out there). I would expect within a few weeks, we’ll be much better for growing.
General question for all of you in the US – where do you get your seeds? If you’re not lucky enough to have a neighbor or friend who has the right variety of fruit, veggie or herb that you want, is there a place you think has better seeds? I find a lot of places online, but don’t always see a ton of feedback on them. I can’t say I have a lot of gardening friends to get or trade seeds with, as many live in a city with no plots or have no time to garden.
Victory Seeds for Dwarf Project tomatoes, Renee’s for most everything else. Grow Organic for garlic, potatoes, and shallots. Years ago, when I was growing in the ground I did Tomato Growers, and I have done Johnny’s and Park Seed as well. Oh, and Seeds of Italy, when they did fava beans.
Yes, Lemongrass does best in a warm-hot climate. If the smell is what you’re after, you may get a similar odor from certain fragrant-leaved geraniums. Lemon Balm is not far off, but around here, that’s an invasive plant; it seeds like mad. Speaking of seeds:
I order from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seeds of Italy (generous packets) and I’m a member of the Seed Savers Exchange. Baker Creek Heirloom seeds have a lot of types, but I have had several issues with the seed not being true to type; it was sometimes a hodgepodge of unsatisfactory types, a sign the parent plants were either impure or they were not isolated properly. I’ve had no issues with Johnny’s or Seeds of Italy. Mostly, however, I keep over 350 varieties going here, with seeds stored in one of two dedicated fridges. Many varieties can’t be found commercially.
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The fava beans are finally blooming now.
Thyme are flourishing too…
The seedlings of tomatoes, outdoor in day, indoor at night.
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Your plants are beautiful!!
My uncle in Los Gatos (an hour from San Francisco) is a fantastic gardener. He has many varieties of stone fruit trees, kumquats, grapes, lemons, etc …
He reserves a patch of fava for us every year. 
Yesterday was harvest day!!
He eats them raw out of the pod. We like them raw as well.
We had them recently grilled and they were almost creamy inside and delicious. Will toss some pods in oil and sea salt and try on the grill pan tonight.
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Thanks, but your uncle’s beans are even better! We only eat them raw too.
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Those are beautiful!
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Something is eating my peas! We’re having a strange spring, and they are hanging out with the tomatoes, that I think are struggling with flea beetles.
That sucks! For us, the gluttons are usually caterpillars.
I cleared out the weeds and prepare the bed for the tomatoes later this week, I found 6 snails in perfect size! Maybe instead of tomatoes, I should start thinking of raising snails! 
I turned the soil, not a trace of the 30+ fava bean seed I sowed at the end of winter. They must had a great time!
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Yay, another Earthbox enthusiast!
To answer your question, check the bottoms of leaves for any small caterpillars as well as the droppings they leave. If there are none, it may be some (or many) baby grasshoppers chewing the leaves up.
“Yay, another Earthbox enthusiast!”
What makes you say that? 
Aha! Another potential culprit! I have looked for caterpillars and frass, and found some on my taters, but not the peas. Based on my current conditions, so far I’ve accused snalis, slugs, earwigs,and flea beetles! I’ve tried sluggo, and diatomaceous earth. I have NOT tried going out at night with a flashlight, because I’m scared!
We have had a record setting wet and cool May so far, and I haven’t seen many grasshoppers since it started, but I’ll keep that in mind.
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Looks like your problems are on top leaves as well? Can’t be slugs or snails, they will be happy with lower leaves, won’t go up. You will also see slime on leaves and stem… This happened with them partying with my strawberries.
My bet is on flying insects.
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I was thinking that as well; A long trip for a snail, and no slime.
Do you have some kind of cover that UV can pass, e.g. fly barriers, that you can use to protect your peas?
