Vetiver grass weekend

A couple of weeks ago I published Vetiver plants for sale in a local group. it is this time of year and I thought that selling a few will generate some well needed income.

my plants are two year old and big enough for splitting. I originally planted two dozens out of which all survived.
I estimated, before starting, that I could easily split two hundreds.

they make a serious root system that can get to as deep as 2 meters. with a shovel I dug out as much roots as possible. these plants are very hardy and as much as 5 or 10 cm is enough for them to re-establish.

the root system is very tangled and holds a fair amount of soil, so once out, this whole plant goes into a bucket full of water for softening.

it takes some time, the water and some help for the soil to be removed from the roots.

while soaking, I took advantage for a haircut.

these grass blades are top notch mulching material that will last for a fair amount of time. older plants can provide an abundant amount of mulch twice a year. depending on the local climate, Vetiver would grow slower or faster. as a rule, it is actively growing as soon as temperatures go over 10·C.

heavy duty mulch around a young mulberry tree.

before using the machete to split, I first use my hand to feel where the plants wants to be split. this way I avoid cutting roots and minimize damage to them.

first I split the plant into smaller workable sized pieces and only then further to single plants.

you can not divide plants any further once there are not enough roots to go around.

at this age, I managed to get about 20 to 25 single plants from every mother plant. not a bad rate.

a strong single plant should have a good root system and enough green blades for it to properly establish in its new home.

over all, I got 2 orders for 30 plants and another of 250 plants which was more then I expected.
all the original plants that were pulled out for splitting were replaced with new ones plus another 17 new plants that were added.

a new plant near an older one. these new ones get all the help I can harness to help them re-establish. they have been watered once with a mycorrhiza solution to help them make friends quickly and they all got a Lakhovsky coil placed around them for an extra push. needless to say, they are being watered in abundance until they show signs of well established.