Vetiver is Bett-iv-er

Maybe it's a love my dad secretly instilled in my mind when I was young - secretly only because I remember hating playing the "what's that plant" game, or maybe it is true that my hippie side has blossomed over the years,  but whatever the case, I now have a deep love for learning about plants and their usefulness.

This particular plant I'm going to share with you is like the Batman of plants.  Not Superman, because it can't really fly or have actual supernatural powers, however it's natural skill set is used with hero tactics, and looking at it you'd never even know it was a like a man in a bat suit, saving lives in its free time - it's just that unassuming.

It's called vetiver.  You probably already gathered that. 

All you oily people are like "I have that essential oil!"

And to you I say yes, yes it is a great essential oil...but it is also so much more.

What is Vetiver?

Vetiver is a grass. A big bushy stand alone clump of grass.  Over here on Kauai, we are surrounded by an irritating, invasive, tall clumping, scratchy grass we call "buffalo grass" (aka guinea grass). Vetiver looks a lot like buffalo grass, but the differences in it's innate qualities are huge!

Vetiver grass has a root system like Asha Mandela's dred locks: thick and ridiculously long.  Above ground it reaches heights of around 8 feet, and underground, the roots reach lengths of 9+ feet.

A great quality of vetiver is that many varieties are not self propagating - meaning you have to propagate it purposefully for it to spread.  It will not take over your yard - which you cannot say about many grasses. All in all, it doesn't appear to be that useful.  Ah, but you could say the same about Bruce Wayne.

Uses

This plant is on the up and up.  Be ahead of the game and start using it already!  Vetiver is helping solve huge problems worldwide, it is so dang affordable, and it's applications span the spectrum!  

Vetiver Solutions

vetiver.org

The bushiness of vetiver makes it a great hedging plant.  Since it's roots run thick and deep, if planted on contour (horizontally level) rows, plantings about 3-5" apart and rows about 3' apart on a hillside, it is perfect for erosion control.  This is coming in particularly handy for our property, as it is largely a steep, eroding slope.  The root system does not branch out around the plant, but down instead.  This means planting between rows is totally possible (most grasses choke out other plants surrounding them).  Again, the plant does not spread like other grasses, so it will not invade your yard.  

The upper half of the plant is thick and strong at the base and perfect for catching debris and slowing and spreading water runoff.  Over time, if planted on a steep slope, it will begin to create natural terracing as dirt and debris collect behind each hedgerow and settle into a flat area.  It grows in a wide variety of soils & loves the sunshine.  

Vetiver is a purifier!  The roots filter soil and water like a boss.  It is not afraid of cleaning up waste contamination, metal toxicity, chemicals, scum and general impurities.  They've actually created this floating vetiver billboard in Manila to clean up a river.  Something my little island of Kauai could follow suit on, as surprisingly our streams & rivers are highly polluted!

Floating Billboard

Thought the usefulness of the plant is done? Nope.  Chop the tops to refresh the plant once and a while and you can use it as soil enriching and protecting mulch.  Deter pests from areas where it's planted and from burrowing because they don't like the smell of the roots. Its multifaceted benefits make vetiver a permaculture staple grass.  Here's a nice little visual of how it can change the world if done right.  

The Perfect Grass

We're Not Done Yet!

All that was just how it's useful when it's planted in the ground.  I'm not even going to go into detail on the other half.  But here's the summary: When used for it's parts (oil, medicine, materials, water) vetiver has body, mind & emotional worth!  

Vetiver naturally...

• cools your body & environment
• treats ADHD & insomnia
• boosts energy
• is a super antioxidant
• drink infused root water for blood purification
• great for treating skin imperfections and problems
• can put you in "the mood"
• helps with anxiety
• repels termites, mosquitos and other critters
• can be made into blinds that cool the home and give off a relaxing scent & other natural fiber household items.  

In my own life, we have just recently planted vetiver along our steep hillside, and it's in it's baby stage.  I plan to plant a bucketload more, and I'll do an update when it's erosion control duties are in full effect.  I also have the oil.  When diffused it makes me feel like I just drank a glass of red wine - super relaxed and sleepy and just a little bit goofy.  Also, I'm a little obsessed with putting just the smallest amount on my wrist and sniffing it throughout the day.  It smells glorious, but a little bit like a man's cologne...so "just enough" to keep me stress free and sane through the day.  So good.

For a full reading on the value of vetiver's material properties, just click on the picture below, or here. 

Courtesy of Dr. Axe

That being said, you heard it from me. Vetiver: the batman of plants.  

Shaloha!

Permaculture: I Love You So Mulch!

Lets talk about mulch, ba-by.
Let’s talk a-bout de-bris,
Let’s talk about all the green leaves, and grass clippings,
Mulch can be…
Lets talk a-bout...Mulch.  

It’s much more provocative than it seems.  It’s like the “plain jane” you know that has a wild and crazy side once you get to know her.  

In case you were worried I was just writing about things for moms, I'm here to tell you no! That's not it.  My purpose of starting this blog is to share about my many - sometimes unconventional - interests, which span a wide spectrum -  in the hopes that maybe you'll learn something new (because I LOVE learning new things).  So we’re heading into the topic of permaculture: a topic we have not breached yet.  We’ve done oils, we’ve done mama, we’ve done parties, music, chanukah...we're on this journey together.  But now it’s time to talk about how to change the world, and how mulch is going to help do that, and make your life more exotic at the same time.

If you don’t know about permaculture, go look it up.  Or if you’re too lazy to do that we will get into detail on what it is some other time (it’s like the universe of all things “sustainable gardening-ecosystem-building” - an expanse of unexplored information constantly burgeoning).  I’m going to start with something more simple, an important element in permaculture.  Mulch.

Think:  Water retention.  Soil protection.  Organic resurrection.  

If I can rhyme to make it more alluring, I will.

Can I just say something, before I start?  I hate hearing people say “I have a black thumb”.  Because it’s a straight up lie.  It really is one of two things.  

1. You have not mulched. 

or 

2. You just don’t care to really learn about growing things.  

Sorry not sorry.  I used to have a “black thumb”.  But actually I was just a laggard who thought I could shove a seed in the ground and it should grow.  Plants have preferences too, you know.  They like water, some like sun, some like alkaline soil, some like acid - if your soil sucks, they need nutrients to grow just like anything else.  So don’t tell me you have a black thumb.  Just say you’re not interested in learning about what plants need.  You want your tree to give you fruit?  Lets learn to give your tree what it needs to give you fruit.  It will return the love a hundred fold.  You’ll be swimming in fruit.

Whew.  Needed to get that off my chest.  So mulch.  Let me tell you how I personally feel about mulch.  I have a friend who is a tree trimmer.  He has mulch coming out of his ears, and I haven’t told him yet, but I literally dream about the day our house is done so that if he needs to unload some mulch he can dump it all over our yard.

Another friend of mine used to trim trees with my tree trimmer friend.  He made connections with some county tree trimmers and now they come drop piles…magnificent piles of mulch in his yard on a regular basis.  Want to know how I feel about that?  Totally jealous.  I want mulch.  I want it all over, everywhere.  You might think “well that’s a little quirky” - but that’s because you don’t know mulch yet.  The pictures in this blog are credited to our friend with the mulched garden.  It is certainly paying off...look at those kabocha squashes!  I admire what his diligent work & creativity and a ton of mulch is resulting in for him and his beautiful family.  He's doing some awesome permaculture work here on kauai on the west side.  Check him out @westkauaifarms

So you want to know:  Why do I need mulch?  

Here you go:

1.  N(C)+3-6”M= -W  (I made that up - don’t you miss math class?)  In other words: Newspaper (or cardboard) + 3-6 inches of mulch = organic weed eliminator.  Ciao, Round-up! I don’t even need you, vinegar.  Im’ma mulch these weeds to death.  Mulch makes for a nice garden path material as well.  

2.  Hey, did you know after you throw down that newspaper/cardboard and the thick mulch layer, you’re also naturally attracting beneficial wormies into your garden?  These guys LOVE to enrich your soil and convert the paper/board into garden gold (worm compost).  

3.  THEN, get this.  If you sheet mulch an area, the mulch breaks down over time and becomes SUPER EPIC soil for your plants.  It’s EASY and it’s called “no-till gardening” or "sheet mulching" and it’s amazing.  It takes more time if you’re in a dry climate, but you are literally enriching the quality of soil just by topping it off with an organic mulch that has tons of other useful qualities.  Adding some organic manure before putting down your cardboard in the beginning process helps with fertility.

4.   Mulch RESERVES moisture.  When you have a solid top layer of mulch, you need as little as 10 percent of the water that other gardens do.  Some also acts the opposite in super wet situations - it absorbs excess moisture in flood, saving your plants from an anaerobic situation.  Sign. me. up.

5.  Mulch comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes.  Some organic material options:  spoiled hay (make sure no seed!), grass clippings, wood chips, rocks, dead leaves, garden clippings, living mulch…etc.

If you want to fall in love with mulch, watch this vimeo sensation: Back to Eden

I promise you, plain jane is gonna take off her shoes and show you her dance moves.

Shaloha!

http://permaculturenews.org/2016/01/22/mulching-with-purpose-and-precision/

http://permaculturenews.org/2015/07/31/the-oft-forgotten-art-of-growing-mulch/

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/9-easy-steps-sheet-mulching