First up – Vetiver produces the most earthy, scrumptious essential oil… It’s not a ‘pretty’ smell but it’s addictive AF. Seriously this stuff has been like crack for me lately.
I CAN. NOT. STOP inhaling it 
For my animals, it’s an unconventional but highly nutritious, drought resistant source of forage.
Ecologically speaking, vetiver is an MVP. Mainly due to it’s unusual root system – which shoots straight down (up to 4 metres in the first year!!! 
). This brings enormous benefits by reclaiming contaminated soil, stabilising erosion, increasing the soil microbial diversity AND improving water retention.
It’s also a fire retardant in bushfire areas and works well as a wind break.
So with all of that, it’s worth mentioning that this is infact my first rodeo with Vetiver.
Honestly, after I read the care instructions for getting it established – I reckon having a set of sextuplets would be easier and I don’t intend on doing ‘all the things’.
How to plant Vetiver grass
Dip Treatment:
Apparently bothering with this bit can increase establishment by 90%. It’s got a reputation for being hard to establish but rock solid once it gets going.
- Brew a compost, fungi friendly slurry. There are plenty of resources online but I basically mixed up some aged compost (with teensy mould hairs) in a bucket with molasses & stinky fish hydrolysate. Best done 24hrs in advance to give the microorganisms time to thrive.
- Submerge the vetiver roots in this gross gravy for 30 mins prior to planting.
- My slips arrived in the post, so I did the dip and planted them in compostable planting pots.
The key to establishing vetiver is to keep them well watered when they first go in.
My greenhouse is attached to my actual house – which made it a whole lot easier. I could just water them at the back door for a few weeks, instead of in situ in the paddock.
I kept them in the greenhouse until there was a wet patch on the horizon and put them into the paddock a few days before. I watered the be-jaysus out of them in the first few days and then let nature do the rest.
Yay for wet winters!
The compostable pots were pretty cactus by this stage (moisture and microbes at work) – but held it together pretty well.
When they went into the ground I didn’t decant them – just mooshed the bottom of the pots to open them up and put them in that way. I have no authority on whether this was a scientifically sound way to do it – but I figured it might reduce the transplant shock (plus made it easier for me).
I’d already prepped & mulched the soil with plenty of organic matter because it’s pretty much the easiest way to increase the water holding capacity. I then topped up with an ungodly amount more mulch – straw in this case.
They went in the soil in May – and it’s usual for them to look dead & dormant over winter during their first year.
We’re just getting to the end of Winter now – so stay tuned to see if they survive 😳
