Try growing exotic herbs

Jul 12 2005

CHEF Raymond Blanc tells HANNAH STEPHENSON how to grow Malaysian herbs in your own home...

Top chef Raymond Blanc has travelled extensively to find the best herbs, spices and other natural ingredients to recreate in his beloved gardens at the world-renowned hotel and restaurant Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire.

Now, some of the delights of his award-winning Malaysian garden from Chelsea have been reproduced in part of his existing organic kitchen garden, featuring Malaysian vegetables and herbs which can survive and thrive in this country.

But you don't have to be a culinary or horticultural genius to grow Malaysian produce in your own garden, says sub-tropical plant specialist Stephen Hendry, of Newington Nurseries.

Ginger and lemon grass are easy to grow as are pak choi, Chinese cabbages, Thai basil, galangal, mizuna and squashes, he says.

"You should have the same attitude to tropical plants as you have to summer bedding and prepare to overwinter more exotic tropical plants as you would your geraniums."

If you place a stalk of lemon grass bought from the supermarket into a glass of water, roots will grow, and this can then be planted out in the garden.

Blanc enthuses: "You can see little nodules at the base of the root.

"Put it in water with cotton wool and wait. Within five weeks all the root system will be forming and in eight weeks it will be ready to be planted on a south facing wall of your house."

A large container of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) may be placed outside all summer, but must be brought inside the house, or a frost-free greenhouse as soon as the nights become cool in September.

It will grow best in a temperature that does not fall below 13C (56F).

The plant will increase into a large, dense, basal clump, rather like a bamboo, which can be divided if it becomes too large.

When the clump is well established with plenty of new leaves appearing, the leaves may be picked when fresh to use in a variety of salads, Chinese, Thai and Indian recipes.

Blanc's favourites include Vietnamese mint (Persicaria odorata), perfect for stir-fries, which is very easy to grow but can take over your garden, so plant it in a pot to keep it contained.

In warm areas plant in part shade in fertile, moist, well-draining soil. In cooler areas it can be grown in full sun. Protect the roots in winter by mulching. Shift the plant over winter into a sheltered position in areas of frost.

Bananas are often dismissed as plants which can only survive in tropical climates, but you can grow them here, says Hendry.

"Treat bananas as annuals and get your banana to flower and fruit in one year. Once it's fruited at around the end of September, you will have four or five suckers around the base.

"Dig them out with the roots on, bring them in and put them in a pot and by the end of May the following year they will be ready to plant in your border.

"You need a very good compost --we use Sinclair's, who do a tropical mix with a bit of bark and a bit of grit in it - and the roots seem to run in it.

"Feed them twice a week with tomato feed and you'll be picking bananas by the end of the summer."

Banana plants which have cropped can be dug up and placed on the compost heap.

Specialist nurseries can provide an array of mouth-watering Asian plants.

Ginger is another popular ingredient used in so many Malaysian dishes and is easy to grow, says Hendry.

"We've got more than 20 varieties of ginger," he says.

"It's so easy to grow, it's like a weed. Some grow 2m in height, with good corms.

"If your garden is south facing and sheltered, you can just straw them over to protect them. Some are more tender than others, so read the label before you buy.

"The more tender ones have a better scent and a better flower. Thai ginger has a beautiful orange flower, very much like a gladioli."

For more information contact Newington Nurseries, Newington, Oxon (01865 400 533; www.newington-nurseries.co.uk).