Vetiver Or " King's " Grass

[churchill]

It can be obtained free , so I believe , and is used mainly to stabalise slopes adjacent to roads , to help prevent landslides etc . Has anyone used it and what experiences ?>

[churchill]

More info here

http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_IVC2/CP-2-1.PDF

[lannarebirth]

I've got about 123 rai; some of it quite hilly. I've planted close to 50,000 king's grass (ya faek) plants. I really can't saw enough good things about it. It holds sloping earth and earth near streams (after one year) better than anything I've ever encountered. Deep, deep roots. Plant it in rainy season and you'll never have to water it again.

If you want to plant it next year, 5,00 shoots could be broken into 25,000 shoots by then.

[churchill]

Did you plant yourself or does the supplier help to plant correctly and in the best locations ?- i have some land part of which is prone to slides and will certainly plant some of this to help solve the problem but am also looking at gabion walls as part of the solution .

[lannarebirth]

Did you plant yourself or does the supplier help to plant correctly and in the best locations ?- i have some land part of which is prone to slides and will certainly plant some of this to help solve the problem but am also looking at gabion walls as part of the solution .

We planted it ourselvesf. It goes in super fast. Just hoe a shallow channel a couple of inches deep and plant a shooting every 5 inches or so. Pull the soil back in, water everyday for a week (or plant in rainy season). Plant it in horizontal rows, maybe a few meters apart.

[churchill]

Thanks

[chiangmaibruce]

Also used and recommended in parts of Australia for the same purposes. I bought a batch for bank stabilisation purposes in an area where it is very dry for most of the year but with heavy rain for the remainder. Vetiver is very hardy and also tolerant of periodic cutting with a 'whipper-snipper' (brush-cutter) if appearance of the area is important.