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Post by binnylou on Jul 7, 2019 12:34:50 GMT -5
Who is growing this and do you think it helps ward off the skeeters? From what I’ve read, the grass needs to be crushed to release the oil...just growing it in a pot doesn’t help.
If if I thought it helped just by having a few pots sitting in the garden, I’d put it on my list for next year. The mosquito population is horrid. There is something magic about 4 in the afternoon when they get really fierce. Then it’s time to go inside. And put on more repellant.
If it really does work just by growing in a pot, does it also ward off the good pollinators?
ideas or opinions?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 7, 2019 12:49:54 GMT -5
Is lemongrass the same, or similar? I can tell you that mosquitoes are still around that when it's growing.
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Post by binnylou on Jul 7, 2019 12:51:55 GMT -5
pepperhead212, the article I was reading says that they are not the same.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jul 7, 2019 20:32:24 GMT -5
I grow lemongrass, cymbopogon, which is not the same as "Citronella plant", another plant altogether. They both have citronellin compounds within them. Lemongrass doesn't have much effect nearby in a container, unless brushed by, or cut...or distilled down to my secret skeeter weapon.
I grow mine at the entrance to my vegetable garden. It's not perennial here, so I dig the bulbs up in the fall for cooking, then plant more in April. Very attractive grass, too.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 7, 2019 21:20:03 GMT -5
Cymbopogum is the genus that both lemongrass and several citronella producing plants belongs to. I think they all have some of the oil in them, but not as much in lemongrass. The greens are sometimes used as a repellent, but maybe there are other chemicals that do the same thing? Even so, I can tell you that lemongrass (and probaply citronella plants, being closely related) grows slowly, and it doesn't really emit much of an aroma, until crushed.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Aug 13, 2020 14:19:37 GMT -5
Poured up and strained the last of the lemongrass and clove tincture I made over the winter. A good quart of concentrated repellent that'll hopefully do until this year's lemongrass is ready to cut. We have had far fewer mosquito and tick bites this year than ever, and we're in the heart of mosquito and tick country.
I'm a-tellin' ye, this stuff works.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Sept 8, 2020 20:47:27 GMT -5
Finally ran out of last year's tincture, lasted all season til now. So, I cut a bunch of this year's crop, and steeping it with cloves now for water-based decoction to do for the rest of the year. More to tincture and cook with over the winter. The house smells wonderful, and there ain't no bugs on us.
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