Grow Vetiver Grow Vetiver

Using grey water

Sasha (Queensland, Sunshine Coast)

Sasha learnt about the merits of vetiver grass through her permaculture and mainstream gardening research.

She decided to try growing some herself because she liked how it looked as a hedge row and thought it would be rather useful to use the trimmings for garden mulch.

Sasha received her 30 vetiver slips in March 2023, and kept them in a bucket with just the roots in water for a few weeks before planting them.

The slips were planted in sandy loam over a clay bed, about 15cm apart, resulting in a row approximately 2.5m long. Sasha added some dynamic lifter at the time of planting. They received full sun and had plenty of moisture as the bed was located downhill from the grey water irrigation.

When we asked Sasha how easy or difficult it was to grow vetiver, she said:

“Easy!

[They] Grew without any further input from me”

Sasha has now trimmed her vetiver for mulch and, a year on, she’s even dug-up and separated her first clump so she can grow more.

PHOTO: Sasha’s vetiver row, 6 months after planting.

Sasha (Queensland, Sunshine Coast)

Sasha learnt about the merits of vetiver grass through her permaculture and mainstream gardening research.

She decided to try growing some herself because she liked how it looked as a hedge row and thought it would be rather useful to use the trimmings for garden mulch.

Sasha received her 30 vetiver slips in March 2023, and kept them in a bucket with just the roots in water for a few weeks before planting them.

The slips were planted in sandy loam over a clay bed, about 15cm apart, resulting in a row approximately 2.5m long. Sasha added some dynamic lifter at the time of planting. They received full sun and had plenty of moisture as the bed was located downhill from the grey water irrigation.

When we asked Sasha how easy or difficult it was to grow vetiver, she said:

“Easy!

[They] Grew without any further input from me”

Sasha has now trimmed her vetiver for mulch and, a year on, she’s even dug-up and separated her first clump so she can grow more.

PHOTO:  Sasha’s vetiver row, 6 months after planting

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