Growing peppercorns

[The Chili Monster]

My parents have just returned from Goa with complimentary spice packages from an organic farm they visited there. Included are some peppercorns (various). Needless to say both packs are now (safely?) in my possession. I have just started off some lemon grass seeds, in addition to cardamon, and would like to have a stab at growing these peppercorns. I'm guessing that peppercorns share similar growing requirements as the lemon grass and cardamon, but has anyone on this forum tried to grow peppercorns? Any advice is most welcome.

[Shirley]

http://www.plantcultures.org.uk/plants/ ... ow_it.html

This is a great site actually - hope you find it useful.

[The Chili Monster]

Great, thanks!

[Millymollymandy]

Good site! How are you going to keep your cardamom so warm, chilimonster?!!

I've grown lemon grass from seed but it gets enormous, the roots are incredible and it drinks water like there is no tomorrow!

[The Chili Monster]

Hi MMM

I planning to sit the pots (cardamom) on those little heat pads you get from Boots and lag with fleece overnight. I have made space for both the cardamon and lemon grass on a south facing window (so now the aloe vera's probably going to sulk). That and an awful lot of praying (probably be more swearing going on, though).

[Millymollymandy]

Good luck! Cardamom is my favourite spice smell.

Lemon grass turns into a giant grass (surprise, not!) and the leaves smell delicious when bruised! One thing I found hard was quite how to cut the individual bulbs off the plant - it kind of required taking out of the pot and having a hack at it with a large sharp knife. No growing instructions ever gave harvesting instructions!!!

[The Chili Monster]

Hi MMM
The gospel according to http://www.loghouseplants.com/lemongrass_h_o.htm
gives this advice for harvesting:
Grown indoors or out, the grassy leaves become almost cane-like at the lower end, with a swollen, bulb-like base. Above this, the hardened foliage wraps about itself like a woody leek. To harvest, you simply remove what looks like a single "bulb" each time you want to use lemon grass in a recipe. If you accidentally pull up a cluster of them, as occasionally happens, you can simply reset them and grow them on as a new clump. You can also bring them indoors and keep them in a glass of water for up to a week, harvesting bits as you need them.

Thompson and Morgan differ -they simply recommend chopping them at the base of the stem:
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/factsheet/lemon-grass/

[Millymollymandy]

The reality is that it isn't very easy to cut a bit off. I expect in the tropics they just take a spade to a huge clump!

I'm glad to see it is Ok down to about 7C - so I think I will grow some again if my seeds are still OK, and can bring it into the spare (cold) bedroom with my geraniums in winter. I grew holy basil last year. You can tell I like Thai food can't you?

[The Chili Monster]

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