Friday 6 April 2018

Lemongrass Mulch

Just about a year after I planted out many little lemongrasses, for the specific purpose of growing some of our own mulch, it was time to give them a haircut! 

The abundant, strappy leaves of lemongrass.

One of the little lemongrasses I planted last April.

Lemongrass grows well in our climate and has loved the hot and wet conditions of the Summer just gone. Each thriving plant has provided an abundance of long, strappy leaves for us to chop and use as mulch.

One year's growth and ready for a haircut!

While we predominately grow lemongrass as a source of mulch, it has lots of great uses as Morag Gamble explains in this post over at her blog,  Our Permaculture Life.  

Roughly chopped!

I cut each lemongrass clump back quite a bit. As I worked, a lovely lemony scent filled the air and masses of chopped leaves dropped onto the ground. I left some of this to cover and protect the soil around the lemongrasses themselves and gathered up the rest in my trusty wheelbarrow to move to an area of the garden that needed some new mulch.

A barrow load of homegrown lemongrass mulch.

A blanket of lemongrass mulch around the mandarin tree.

A blanket of lemongrass leaves now covers the soil around our mandarin tree. This loose tangle of strappy mulch will allow plenty of water to seep through while protecting the soil and nourishing it as it breaks down over time. A second, lighter "trim" of our lemongrass will yield a little more of this mulch for use in our garden too before I leave the clumps to regrow their long, strappy hair-dos!

Meg

p.s. The other plant we chose to grow as a mulch, Canna Lily or Queensland Arrowroot, is also doing well. I will need to chop them back soon too. More free mulch!

A little Canna Lily just beginning to grow.

One year of growth.














16 comments:

  1. The "Chop and drop" method is such a great idea, so easy and simple, and just perfect for lazy gardeners like me. I guess some people couldn't stand the "messy" look, but not me, I'm all for ease and budget, and growing mulch covers both! I have Lemongrass, and I also have some Galangal which has huge leaves like the arrowroot, you've given me the idea to use it as a chop and drop mulch too, thanks! 😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Messy" fits right in to my gardening philosophy too, Cheryl. It's great to be able to grow some kind of mulch as it saves money on inputs for the garden. Shredded galangal should work well I think. Meg:)

      Delete
  2. Meg, watch that arrowroot as it will go crazy. I just did the same thing with my East Indian lemongrass which I am trying to get rid off as I also have West Indian lemongrass which apparently is the one used for cooking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will keep my eye on the arrowroot, Chel. I know it can spread so I planted them where I think there's minimal risk of it getting away from me. I am not sure which kind of lemongrass I put in. Off to find a plant tag ... Meg:)

      Delete
  3. Looks like you are working hard in the garden...now that it's stopped raining I'll have to get into mine over the weekend too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a lot to do in the garden after all the rain, Kathy. I hope to plant more veg seedlings out over weekend. Happy gardening! Meg:)

      Delete
  4. I can only grow lemongrass in a pot, which has to be in the greenhouse over winter, it's no where near the size of yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The lemongrass loves the sub-tropical climate we have here, Marlene, making it the perfect suited for growing as a mulch. It's abundant! I'm not sure what plants you could grow for mulch in your climate, something that thrives abundantly over your Summer perhaps?? Meg:)

      Delete
  5. Our lemongrass used to grow quite prolifically in Adelaide and I did similar when I got a chance. I also used to dry a fair bit of the leaves for tea. I'm not so sure it will go quite so well in Canberra! Mulch can really add up in costs - i'm all for homegrown too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We still have to buy some mulch in but the more we can grow ourselves the better! I'm not sure what you could grow down in Canberra for chop and drop mulch, a very different climate to up here in Brissy. Perhaps, there might be some suggestions on the Temperate Climate Permaculture website. Meg:)

      Delete
  6. That mulch looks beautiful around the mandarin tree. I use the leaves from my huge poplar tree as mulch. It really helps the soil by giving the plants a slow feed...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Having a source of mulch growing in the garden is fantastic! It's a great resource and saves money if it can replace or supplement buying mulch in. Poplar trees are just beautiful, you are lucky to have one growing in your garden. Meg:)

      Delete
  7. Thankyou for this tip,Meg. I have a huge mound of lemongrass, it's about the only plant that survived the flood, despite being a metre or so under water for 3-4 days. There's only so much tea I can make, so mulch it will be. And I have canna lillies everywhere too,they started showing up after the flood, so washed from somewhere else. As Nanna Chel said, they can get away from you, but I don't mind,they're filling up empty spots in the garden and are lovely and colourful. But I'll be chopping them down too now, for mulch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like a very hardy clump of lemongrass you are growing, Nanette. I learnt about using both lemongrass and canna lily as mulch during the Intro to Permaculture course I did. I will do a second chop of the lemongrass soon and get a little more mulch for the garden. Such a great (and free) resource! Meg:)

      Delete
  8. I love using lemongrass for mulch and it is also great for getting the compost fired up. I have the idea too that the smell keeps insects at bay, but that might just be wishful thinking as the mozzies are awful after our wet season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lots of mozzies and midges here too after all the rain. I haven't noticed the lemongrass keeping them at bay either though the scent is lovely and lemony as it is cut. Meg:)

      Delete