Asian herbs?

[Tracydr]

Anybody grow Asian herbs? I just bought some galangal and lemon grass from Amazon,put some in a few pots for the greenhouse,will have some for Tom Yum this weekend.
I've grown lemon grass in AZ from grocery store. Never tried growing galangal. I'd also like to try a bunch of Vietnamese herbs. I only have seeds for red perilla and basil. Wondering about growing some of the other Asian herbs,either in the greenhouse or outdoors.
We live in a very small town,no Asian stuff in the stores besides basics. I need to grow anything I'd like to use that I used to get at huge Asian groceries in AZ.

[KC.Sun]

I have red Shiso growing like a weed right now, I'm glad I grew it in a container last year. If you can find fish mint Dap Ga, I hear that's pretty easy to grow. I like to add that to shredded chicken salads.

Galanga may take some effort. I tried growing ginger last year, but it rotted really easily. I think you have to grow the roots in the ginger family under partial shade.

Have you tried growing Holy Basil? I'm trying that this year, but have not been able to start the seeds.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by KC.Sun

I have red Shiso growing like a weed right now, I'm glad I grew it in a container last year. If you can find fish mint Dap Ga, I hear that's pretty easy to grow. I like to add that to shredded chicken salads.

Galanga may take some effort. I tried growing ginger last year, but it rotted really easily. I think you have to grow the roots in the ginger family under partial shade.

Have you tried growing Holy Basil? I'm trying that this year, but have not been able to start the seeds.

For some reason my Shizo didn't germinate. Maybe too warm in my greenhouse. Haven't tried holy basil yet.
Maybe the dehydrated malabar could thicken gumbo?

[PhilaGardener]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

For some reason my Shizo didn't germinate.

Try winter sowing. Purple Shiso would come back year after year in my garden as a weed.

[luigiwu]

I would LOVE to grow all the vietnamese herbs they use for salads - like rau ram, etc. Is galangal easy to grow? How long does it take?
I grew Thai basil (Holy) last year but since I don't really cook Thai, I didn't use it. The leaves were pretty.

[rags57078]

I have bought from this place before .

http://evergreenseeds.com/vegetableseeds.html

[fonseca]

This is my first year growing lemongrass from seed, ordered from Baker Creek. I hope to end up with enough to dry or make into a paste and freeze. No more wasting time trying to regrow store-bought.

Other asian herbs:
-Purple Shiso (interesting flavor that some people loathe, very poor germination for me)
-Thai Basil (delicious raw)
-Holy Basil (needs to be cooked or used for tea)
-Chives/Garlic Chives
-Culantro (native to Americas but popular for Vietnamese food, similar to cilantro)

I have debated getting a kaffir lime tree. The leaves are cheap in asian markets, and I already have to overwinter too many plants. I haven't worked up to ginger or galangal yet, hate to say it but I buy galangal paste instead of fresh root, and fresh ginger is cheap and widely available.

[Reign]

I buy lemongrass from the local Asian Market, root it and grow in pots. I grow green shiso in the garden.

[AlittleSalt]

Tracy, I've been looking at the Kitazawa catalog for 2 years now. There is a page that offers an Asian Herb Garden for $23 that includes:

Ao Shiso Green Perilla
Evergreen Nebuka Japanese Bunching Onion
Broad Leaved Nira Chinese Leek
Kinsai Chinese Celery
Leisure Cilantro Chinese Parsley
Mitsuba Japanese Parsley
Sweet Large Leaf Basil

[KC.Sun]

The bunching onions from kitzawa are definitely worth the space. They provide amazing flavors to soups. Especially chicken soup. If I only had space for 1 item, the japanese bunching onions it would be.

Other Vietnamese herbs are relatively easy to find for me. Culantro is a must if you like to eat Pho.

[Tracydr]

Ill give the culantro and benching onions a try,plus Thai basil. What about rice paddy plant and Vietnaese mint?

[fonseca]

If you plant Welsh onions once you will have them for life. They are actually from China, but often sold as Japanese bunching onion. Mine are reddish-purple, not as red as the Red Beard sold by Kitazawa. They grow well in small (1 gallon) containers.

I have never seen Culantro for sale anywhere, but have had it in both Vietnamese and Cuban restaurants. If you like cilantro but can't grow it in the summer heat, try culantro!

[KC.Sun]

The rice paddy plant is only used in Vietnamese sour soup. If you like that, than it's worth a try.

I forgot to mention, kinh gioi (Vietnamese lemon balm) is also a good one to try. It's a really good Vietnamese mint that you can use in soup, salads, and noodle dishes.

I'm not sure what you mean by Vietnamese mint, in the Vietnamese culture, all the Vietnamese herbs they consider mints in a way.

Do you have a picture of the mint you're considering?

[MarianneW]

Galangal is easy but takes a while. Or, at least mine has. I got a piece at the grocery store & planted it and now 2 years later, it is finally starting to spread. I think most of the slowness was my failure to adequately water & fertilize. If you grow yours in a pot, it should do fine & you can bring it in during the winter.

Also, I'd miss that grocery store too if I went away. I love that place. If you want, I can make a list of what herbs they have next time I go.

[gdaddybill]

Thanks to all for the inspiration--just placed an order with Kitazawa.