My friend of over 20 years, Ling, brought me some homegrown sugar cane in February 2018 and they were amazingly juicy and sweet.
To enjoy these, we hacked the long hard stem of the fruits at the joint which will break after a few hits.
From the top of each shortened stem, split it in half first then quartered as desired.
We ate this by biting off thinner strips and chewing out the juice from its fibrous flesh and then discard the fiber.
Commercially, there are cold-pressed machines in Asia that will squeeze the juice out for a refreshing and sweet thirst quencher. Best served chilled.
Sometimes, a slice of lemon is added to counter the sweetness.
Sugarcane is not suitable for container gardening as it is a giant when fully grown.
According to Ling’s mother-in-law who grew these plants, they need full brutal sun and grounded.
She watered only occasionally with rice rinse water.
Most of the time, these plants depend on rain.
The stems were harvested when they were “long” enough, at least 6 months from the sapling stage in her garden.
She chopped off the desired length, leaving a shorter stump in the ground and the latter with grow bigger for the next harvest.
The experience of tasting this amazingly fresh and delicious crop made me curious.
I wonder how they start their journey?
To start, plant them with the “eyes” facing upward in the soil after cutting to shorter lengths at the joint.
Young shoots emerged about 14 days and grew rapidly.
A young sugarcane sapling has invasive roots mass and tends to roots bound easily in containers.
This one a keeper for study while the rest were planted in my outdoor garden.
Will update as the saplings grow.
Looking for green bean color sugar cane sticks, you have?
Hi Andy, we regret we don’t have what you want.