Lemon grass at Solai: From tussock to bundle

Walk into a lemon grass block at Solai early in the morning and the first thing that greets you is the smell. Crush a single blade between your fingers and the air fills with bright, citrus-sharp fragrance, the same note that ends up in a cup of tea in Europe, a Thai curry in Dubai or a chef's kitchen halfway across the world.

At New Agrodeal Kenya, that journey begins with a humble clump of grass and ends with a neatly graded bundle ready for export. Here is how it happens.

The tussock: where it all starts

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a perennial grass that grows in dense, upright tussocks, each clump sending up dozens of long, slender leaves from a thickened base. It loves warmth and sun, and the Rift Valley gives it both. Once established, a healthy tussock keeps producing for years, which makes it a dependable partner alongside our herbs and flowers.

Unlike many of our crops, lemon grass is not grown from seed in the usual way. It is multiplied vegetatively: mature clumps are divided into slips, each with a piece of root and a stem base, and those slips become the next generation. That makes the quality of the mother plant everything. Clean, vigorous, true-to-type clumps give us clean, vigorous, uniform fields. This is where our propagation discipline, the same care we give to every crop on the farm, pays off first.

Planting and growing with care

Slips are planted in well-prepared, free-draining soil enriched with compost, with enough space between clumps to let air move through as the tussocks fill out. Lemon grass is forgiving, but it rewards good husbandry. We keep the soil alive with compost and recycled green waste, use water-saving irrigation, and rely on Integrated Pest Management to keep inputs to a minimum. Weeds are controlled early, because a clean block means a clean harvest.

The result is a crop that is not only productive but grown the way we grow everything at Agrodeal: responsibly, traceably, and with respect for the land and the community around it.

Harvest: timing is everything

Harvest is where experience shows. Cut too early and the stalks are thin and lack aroma. Wait too long and the leaves toughen and quality drops. Our teams harvest when the stalks are plump and fragrant, cutting just above the base so the tussock can regrow strongly and give us the next cut.

Because lemon grass is a cut-and-come-again crop, a well-managed block is harvested repeatedly through the season. Every cut is recorded against its block, so we always know where a bundle came from.

Harvesting, as we like to say on our farm, is the most rewarding and most essential work there is. With lemon grass you can smell it happening.

From field to packhouse

Freshly cut stems are moved to the packhouse quickly. Aroma is the whole point of this crop, and heat and delay are its enemies. Inside, the work is careful and hands-on:

• Trimming: dry, damaged or yellowing leaves are removed and the stalk bases are cleaned up.

• Grading: stems are sorted for length, thickness and appearance so every bundle is uniform.

• Bundling: graded stems are tied into tidy bundles to the customer's specification, with the pack size and presentation the buyer asks for.

• Chilling and packing: bundles are cooled and packed into the cold chain, labelled for traceability and documented for export clearance.

The same hygiene controls, documented inspections and cold-chain monitoring that protect our basil, mint and chives protect our lemon grass.

Why it matters

Lemon grass is far more than a garnish. It is a staple of Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, a popular ingredient in herbal teas and infusions, and a favourite with chefs who want a clean citrus note without the acidity of fruit. Buyers want it fresh, fragrant and consistent, and that is exactly what a disciplined farm-to-packhouse system is built to deliver.

For us, it is also about people. Every bundle represents the work of our Solai team, from the propagation crew to the harvesters, graders and packers, and the livelihoods that grow around a reliable export business.

From our tussock to your kitchen

From a single clump of grass at Solai to a bundle on a buyer's counter, lemon grass follows the same promise as everything we grow: harvested at peak freshness, graded with care, and delivered with traceability you can trust.

Interested in lemon grass or any of our herbs, vegetables and flowers? Get in touch with the New Agrodeal team on +254 793 753247 or at info@agrodealfarm.co.ke, or visit www.agrodealfarm.co.ke.