Journal on the land

Vetiver & Biofuel

2009-11-07T12:49:00.003+01:00

On the 27th of August 2009, 150 years have gone by since the beginning of the oil era. Given the great availability and low costs, oil has given to its producers an enormous power which concerns avery aspect of occidental living and more.

With it, fertilizers are produced and with those supermarkets are kept open and people fed, medicinals, mobility, lubricants and on the top shelf energy, which allows the cold chain, food conservation and tap water. In other words has detached the human being from natural competition in its environment.

Whichever opinion is reported by the media, studies in depth of the matter have shown that the peak of the oil production has been, or is about to be reached.

The world as a whole burns daily some 85 million barrels of oil, given the barrel 200L and future trends leave little doubt: the sooner we kill the dependence from the drug, the better off we may end up as a whole, point is: how much of our lifestile will be able to mantain in the transition?

One Thursday, as usual I bought the Nòva 24 paper and I found myself smiling reading an interesting article concerning the danish Novozymes company: whithin 6 monts it will start the commercial distribution of a new product, made up by a combination of enzymes which promises good savings in the production of biofuels starting from cellulose: actually starting from agricultural scrap (third generation).

This solution allows to definetely detach the production of biofuel from edible goods which (besides ethical concern) has in the past affected the price of alimetary goods, especially in the south of the world.

In past times, I pointed at this type of solution (which is not a novelty), but this biotechnological application promises huge savings on the actual industrial process.

I'll take a furter step in suggesting a combination of applications that can be put into place at any scale level: to produce biomass starting from wastewater using vetiver plants:

It is of public domain the capability of the vetiver plant to live and thrive in swampy areas; quickly absorbing great quantities of N P and K, heavy metals, Hydrocarbons, etc. in the biomass above and below the terrain; notorious are also the applications on wastewater depuration which involve the use of Reed Beds: low cost systems which allow the transit of wastewater and its depuration, or floating pontoons sat on lagooning ponds.

Allora mi domando: perchè non combinare le due cose?

dovunque esistono acque di scarto diventa automaticamente interessante la produzione di biiomasse: bacini di lagunaggio, impianti di depurazione, fognature consortili e comunali; le industrie inquinanti, tutti avranno la possibilità di riconsegnare acque pulite all'ambiente e guadagnare molti soldi laddove in bilancio erano previsti alti costi: tutto ciò è talmente ovvio che immagino sarà inevitabile.

Speriamo bene!

Then the question I ask is the following: a huge mass of wastewater needs to be recycled and can be used as growing media, a great mass of biomass is derived from this action and can be converted in biofuel.

Why not combine the two issues?

The economic result of this combination presents an interesting potential for all councils, industries, land owners: when water will be paid by the liter and the fuel will rise again at an unsustainable rate, I'm sure that this will be then considered a very interesting idea.

Jeremy Rifkin's Third Industrial Revolution

2009-07-17T11:00:00.002+02:00

Visit Third Industrial Revolution

Vetiver and mass production, second update

2009-07-12T11:09:00.002+02:00

As promised here goes the third update regarding the

in vitro (Tissue Culture) of vetiver plants.

For the benefit of who hasn't followed the ongoing study

so far, here is a quick resume:

One of the most formidable obstacles to the spreading of the

Vetiver System, is not so much the price of the live material

used to bring to safety the territory, which is higly competitive

with other solutions (rigid structures) but more the high cost

of the skilled and non skilled workers needed to physically

plant the hedgerows and the availability of the material itself.

Say for example the energetic application: biofuels and

thermic power generation: if we imagine an hectare of plants

we will have to think to 100m rows by 200 rows, 50 cm space

between them 30 cm between plants: that makes a single

row 20 Km long formed by almost 67000 single plants.

If a single person can plant daily 1500 common nursery plants,

the need for workers goes up to 44 days/man/Ha.

The costs of this option are NOT SUSTAINABLE.

Furthermore, the average nursery plant does not have a

standard dimension and it is very difficult to mechanize

its planting.

This are the reasons that convinced me to find a professional

partner to produce high numbers of standard plants

suitable to mechanization to cut labour costs to a tenth

and reduce considerably the cost of the live material itself.

And here are the results so far obtained:

the head researcher of the production lab has confirmed that

the in vitro growth proceeds with a surprising rithm and

in little time we will be able to transfer a first lot of live

material in the greenhouse to harden: probably within July

a first consignment of 100 - 200 plants will be transferred in

Sardinia to be devised in the field. At this point it will be easy

to follow the growing speed and to document it.

More to follow.

Vetiver System - part 1

2009-07-12T09:23:00.002+02:00

It has been a while since the last time that I recapped the

properties of the vetiver plant and the applications of the

Vetiver System, this goes especially towards those who

tuned on this interesting world, only recently.

One of the distinctive properties of the vetiver plant is

the root system: it is infact of massive proportions and

it developes only vertically; the incredible number of single

roots that developes are extremely fine: the average

thickness of the single root is measurable between 0,2

and 2 mm and the depth that this root system can reach

is up to 5 - 9 m. A good point to this particular type of

root is that it penetrates the soil strata wrapping the

obstacles and filling the gaps not causing any tension

or stresses to the subsoil, thoug not causing any movement

that can result in rock fall or instability of the overall slope.

The depth reached, also, is the main cause of the plant

survival in the dry period; infact humidity is always present

in the deeper strata of the soil.

The verticality of the developement also implies that the

competition for nourishment and moisture is simply not

present and does not regard adjacent crops or native

essences.

The proven sterility of the vetiver (Monto or sunshine var.)

make sure that it can be introduced in any environment

without any risk of genetic pollution.

The physiology of such plant is applied in the Vetiver System

with the aim to bring to stability almost any slope at risk

applying some simple rules: we need to create barriers

so it is important to allign the plants when planting, in

such way to obtain quickly formed hedges.

The plants will have then a density of 7 - 10 plants in the

meter. The hedges will have to be lied on the contour

in such way not to offer to rainwater any possibility of

finding an escape.

The result will be that water will penetrate in the subsoil

along each hedgerow and there will be no more sediment

flowing or erosion to modify the slope.

In a few monts then, when the plants can be considered

fully grown and the hedgerows well formed, we can assume

that the risk of instability is considerably reduced (up to 40%

increase of the shear strenght factor) thanks to the gripping

action of the root system, and above soil, a very efficient trap

eliminates any sediment flow.

The prevention of diffused erosion is furthermore the first

step towards a new type of agriculture, made of ecological

understanding and profit together, that prevents loss of

soil and fertility, pollution of watertable and food chains.

The slope then is transformed: no more only a risk, but

a safe factor that can be used to bring advantages:

the hedgerows infact infiltrate the rainwaters which are

naturally stored in the deep layers; all this water, subtracted

to a potentially destructive action in its waterways when

rains become exceptional, can be recovered in the acquifer

furter down the track, and in places like Capoterra, in

Sardinia (9 dead this year, two more in year 2000), this

application might sure be appreciated.

More to follow.......

Photo courtesy of The Vetiver Network International

Vetiver Multiplication, a word of advice.

2009-04-12T19:46:00.005+02:00

The conduction of the vetiver nursery, makes arise some necessities: the first is to obtain good quality live material free from weeds and runners, the second is to have compact plants, easy to cut and uniform all the way through.

Vetiver grows through basal buds, its growth starts from the formation of the gems around the outer ring of the planted material.

Planting vetiver material, the main concern will have to regard the dimensions of the live material: when the number of tillers is too great, problems will arise in a second moment. Especially if the planting operation is conducted in the winter time.

The live material will pass its energy to the root system favouring the formation of a deep root system that will give indipendance to the plant in the dry season.

After that, it will die.

This energy, also, will give in the spring time a new breed of basal buds around the outer ring of the material planted in the first place.

Within a couple of years, the dead material at the center of the plant will rot and if the live material was too big in the first place, the plant will be empty at its center and runners will colonize it. In the long run other essences will shade the plant and this will die.

Therefore: it is a good rule of thumb not to transplant direcly big clumps but always divide them in 3-5 tiller propagations which will grow well even if transplanted in the winter time, avoiding then to have an empty plant like the one in the picture above.

Recycling water "Own Means"

2009-04-04T12:42:00.005+02:00

The place where my vetiver plants grow is virtually surrounded

by farms and farmers that, despite any legislation on

the disposal of nitrates, dispose of the wastewater simply discharging it in

holes in the ground, or better in ditches.

Given that here the irrigation water costs 150€ for 45 days

by the single hydrant (as a result of an effective

privatization action conducted in recent years

in a bipartisan fashion by any government and

by each regional authority), I have decided to proceed

as usual with "Own Means" to dispose of some pollution

that ends up at sea (very close to the land in question) and save

some money which, these days, for sure, will find better use elsewere.

The ditch bottom retains a good 50 cm of water

(for a flaw of execution) until at least July,

I therefore devised a two stages system, able to filter the suspended solids.

The first stage consists of a gravel filter contained within a

concrete pipe that sat abandoned for years in the nearby field;

a submerged pump draws the water through the gravel which, this way is kept free of algae and

mucilages present in industrial quantities,

thus denouncing the strong presence of nitrates and phosphates.

The second stage is built with a modified pump pressure aid with

two check valves, a couple of fittings, and filled with quartzite to operate

a more accurate sand filtration of water.

The chemical quality of water of course does not change,

the plants take advantage of the nourishment excess

and the excess of such irrigation is released in the watertable after

a vertical filtering operated by the plant itself.

A double goal is so achieved: intercept pollution and save money.

Not just a pretty face....

Single Tiller: More propagation methods

2009-04-04T11:06:00.003+02:00

The practice of burning, misused in the last decades, is useful in

small omeopatic doses to help with the preparation of new areas to cultivate

or to experiment with new techniques (this is the case).

If done on a large scale it results in deforestation and has certainly negative

ethical connotations, but sometimes the old Neolithic cultural wisdom is definitely practical!

Here's the idea: I'll try out the Thai technique of multiplication in order

to obtain strips of plants, ready for planting in unstable slopes that require

the standard density of 10 plants per meter.

Using a draining nursery liner,

I shall escavate a 20 cm deep and 2 meters long depression to be lined (the length will be variable)

This space will be filled with 60% peat, sand 39%, slow release fert 1%.

The single tillers are generally a byproduct of plant division, they will be prepared as in the photo above

and placed in the bed every 10 cm, each planted line will be divided by the next with wood.

A dripping line will be placed along each row to ensure that the cloth does not produce

excessive dehydration due to the separation from subsoil and consequent elimination of the

capillarity effect.

Furthermore, with burning I've also easily gained a place to put a 1000L tank for fertirrigation.

In the coming days we will see the progress of the work.

More to follow

Biomasses, Shell Believes in it!

2009-04-04T10:54:00.001+02:00

Over the past 5 years Shell has invested 1.7 billion dollars in

renewables, and specifically not in wind power or solar, but

in biomasses in order to find a viable alternative to oil and

continue to produce fuel for internal combustion engines.

I drawn this information from a short article appeared on Wednesday 18 March

on the Corriere della Sera (the major italian paper).

I quote:

"More specifically looks at alternative fuels to petrol,

second generation fuels derived from biomasses, ie

cellulose and non-cereals. It will have to mean something! "

I do not love Shell or the world they represent, it must be

noted that where they invest their money, probably, that will be

the most likely future field of development.

Vetiver and mass production: Update

2009-04-04T10:44:00.002+02:00

Today I received the periodic update about the in-vitro propagation protocol of vetiver:

here's the news: there were no major problems with bacterial or virus contaminations

and only in one case

a re-sterilization was necessary, the buds extracted started to grow and

perhaps a month the proliferation phase will begin, followed by the greenhouse hardening of the first plants.

Soon a first batch of plantlets Will be produced in order to perform a field pilot test,

maybe at the end of spring.

Perhaps then, at the end of summer we will have obtained some genuine data on this promising chapter.

Many thanks to Romano and all the people involved.

Giulio Tramellino Prize, 2nd edition

2009-02-11T20:32:00.002+01:00

It has come to an end the 2nd annual prize "Giulio Tramellino" that sees 100 plants ready to transplant for the best idea / project amongst the readers.

This year the winning project sees a dinamic couple that will fix up a slope and in a second moment will set up a biomass production and nursery for plant sale.

Biomass transformation in energy will be performed with the pyrolitic process or with the Steam Explosion .

This will be the first biomass plant in Italy to work with vetiver biomasses.

Many congratulations to the winners...!

Controlled Production

2009-02-11T20:07:00.006+01:00

A simple way to produce plants in little space, out of the ground and starting from single shots, it is that one that uses pvc drain pipes, allready showed in a past post.

The expense is not extremely low, but the materials can be reused many times.

In the following shots, I show all the constructing details. Please note the green bottom and the wire that embraces it, it is used to recall the rootmass and the soil included into the pipe and to ease the extraction directly into the furrow.

The operation is needed to start from single shots, avoiding that, if planted in open beds, the vegetation covers them and chokes them.

The pipes

are set in the winter and the furrow planting will be at the end of the summer

Hydrogeology, more emergencies are ready to start

2009-02-11T19:35:00.002+01:00

Nearby Acquappesa, Cosenza province, half way between Paola and Diamante, another disaster is ready to take place: signals are clear and a geologist's video denounces it in advance, just to make clear that the local authorities will do nothing to prevent it.

In the mean time between Rometta and Rometta Marea, an entire section of the Provinciale 56

has collapsed following heavy rains, the amount of the damage is of many million €, in a while we'll be spectators to the usual phenomena of the responsability search, while emergency funding will put everyone together.

Meanwhile, not even the dead is safe in the last journey, nearby Fagnano Castello, still in Calabria

region, the local cemetery has badly collapsed with the entire slope.

Compromised Hydrogeology

2009-02-11T19:22:00.005+01:00

The process of desgregatio of the italian territory seems unstoppable:

in the past two monts we've had:

9 dead in the Cagliari area

3 dead in Calabria

5 dead in Sicily

It is diffused opinion that the funding for preventing emergencies is unsufficient, whilst emergency funding is widely available.

More than other ignorance is widely diffused: there are methods that involve a low level funding and a high result.

Emergency funding, in Italy, have the peculiarity to be available readily and without too many questions, yet again, local authorities are not capable to provide for themselves.

SEASON'S GREETINGS TO THE DECISOR!

2008-12-25T20:14:00.003+01:00

If anyone missed out on this one, I'd like to relay it: on the news, in the past days, a watercourse happended to become suddenly a river, it seems to happen quite often lately. This time it claimed three lives.
I'd like to underline, as the video clearly shows, that this has happened for the ignorance of the minimum basic safety rules concerning hydrogeological scenario, the total ignorance of bio-ingegneristic methods that save money and lives, costing only a fraction of the cement that is also prone to be washed away by the force of the waters, all this in the complete impunity of who is called to operate decisions who affect people's lives not knowing or worse, knowing and not caring.
Merry Christmas!

MALA TEMPORA!

2008-12-25T19:30:00.005+01:00

All it takes it's an half hour storm, that's enough to put at risk people and property, nowadays. It can all be washed away by a little drain that becomes river in a second.
This is what happened recently in Sardinia, five lives drowned by the flood caused by insufficient drainage capacity of the catchment and by foolish cementing of an area at risk.
Afterwards the usual lamenting of the survivor and the damage count.

In the photos, the destructive potential of an innocent watercourse when 100mm of rain fall in half an hour.
It happened behind my house, in Cugnana, next to Olbia: the river has destroyed the IMHOFF septic tank and stormed into the house, pushing its content throughout the floor up to 50cm. About 30,000€ damage.
Fortunately no one got hurt this time.
More shots of the same happening.

ROWBAGS

2008-11-14T13:01:00.004+01:00

One day in September, a few years ago, I needed to move

a few clumps of vetiver from the nursery to another location;

I couldn't finish the work in the immediate so I abandoned

the clumps in the parking area.

A couple of weeks later, when I put hands in the matter

again, to my great amazement, I wasn't able to pull the

clumps from the ground because those had stricken roots

in the mean time and formed a solid block with the

compacted ground.

Today I review that incident with the certainty that I found

the keystone to introduce vetiver hedgerows to the public

authorities who act to safeguard the hydrogeological stability

in the interest of local inhabitants at any level.

Here is the Idea:

Let's take a common jute bag used to produce the typical

sandbag, let's fill it with sand a little slow release nitrogen

fertilizer, make a few holes along its long axis and place

in it a row of bare root vetiver propagations.

In no time the plants will strike roots which will escape the

jute bag from the bottom (for this it is advisable to place

them on concrete or plastic).

They can easily be produced in nurseries at any latitude.

In the production period, it would be best to keep low the

aerial part and often prune the roots in order to promote

new tillers and new root growth.

Drip irrigation in hot weather would be needed.

When ready, the bags, can simply be alligned on the ground

on contour lines, along their long axis, to form the much

debated hedgerows without moving a single stone or plough a single centimeter of land.

Total planting cost: ZERO

This rowbags can also be placed on top of other common

sandbag walls or barriers forming in little time some strong

levee banks at very little cost and effort.

All the rest, given the instrument, is a bio-engineeristic task

for a specialistic team to design; here some examples:

- embankments set in order to favour the formation of

sand barriers in rivers at risk,

- active defenses to slow down and direct the flow of

floodwaters,

- immediate action (but built to stay)to spread heavy rainfall

in the catchment and prevent flashflood.

With a little fantasy anyone can imagine the huge potential

of this idea, or not?

And many thanks to Nicola for his giving graphic shape to

my thinking.

ETHIC CODE OF CONDUCT

2008-11-07T10:00:00.003+01:00

With this document, I intend to clarify the

intentions that move the work of Vetiver

Sardegna.

In the past 20 years, in Italy, the technology linked

to the use of vetiver hedgerows has been

used by few people that used it up for personal

gain only, not spreding the knoledge of it nor

giving out propagation material.

On the contrary, Vetiver Sardegna operates

for the capillary diffusion of the technology

through mass communication (web) with

the clear intent of making aware of the great

simplicity of application to everyone, and the

production of propagating material to the

lowest possible price with the aim to heal

the territory in a definitive way in order to

prevent possible disasters in harm to people.

The research conducted by Vetiver Sardegna,

at the present without any funding at all, goes

in the direction of constantly improve, and

progressively make more accessible, the use

of this technology to private citizens on their

land and public offices, through the use of local

labour to generate a further benefit to the area

of application.

This logic, goes further than simple economic gain,

though necessary, and puts back in the end user's

pocket, any saving obtaind by the research on

production and planting methods, for the final

aim of spreding the same technology at any level

in the country.

Vetiver Sardegna's work is inspired to an "Open Source"

model and by the consciousness of multiple benefits

that the territory receives by it and by the quantity

of human lives that can be saved through the correct

application of VGT technology.The implementation

of mass scale economies, is the medium through which,

in the future, it will be impossible and non economical,

a new kidnapping of this technology for private gain.

Marco Forti

Vetiver and mass production

2008-11-06T08:57:00.004+01:00

In order to shoot dead all the obstacles that can arise and the difficulties to the spreading of the Vetiver technology, and in order to make more accessible to everyone and more competitive the hedgerow system, from today, vetiver Sardegna has begun a new path of studies: the in vitro production.

The final aim is to reduce as much as possible the cost of the single plant and uniform all propagation material to a standard that makes easy the use of mechanized planting.

With this method we will obtain to reduce the main economic obstacle to the spreading of the vetiver system: the cost of labour and propagation material.

Next season will be used to asses the costs and devise a method to mechanize the planting of hedgerows, plus a comparison with other methods of environmental protection.

Yesterday, 5th of November I have signed a preliminary agreement with one of the biggest nursery production sites; their work is mainly in the fruit tree production, I have found some very good allies, in love with their work and their mission, that will make possible this great project to come true.

Next spring, after a preliminary period of study of the material, we will asses together how beneficial this method will be to our work.

Vetiver: production cost control

2008-10-27T10:54:00.006+01:00

In order to speed up the production process in open air conditions, I've come up with an interesting solution to cut down maintenance and fuel costs relative to the first period of establishment of the new plants:

In my opinion, the best moment to set out with a new nursery is winter: the new plants work below the field and develope new roots that sink deep in the soil in order to resist and thrive

in the next hot season, guaranteeing moisture and growing potential to the recently planted rows. Than the spring comes and together with it, rains and mild temperatures that give the go to all the field vegetation, including graminae weeds which tend to choke the new vetiver plantlets.

In the summer period the graminae flower and die down, while the vetiver strikes new tillers from the base of the plants and mantains its green colour throughout the season until the following winter.

If the plants set out in the winter period do not have a sufficient number of tillers to start with, they will not have the strenght to overcome the weeds in their first period of life in the field and they will need several seasons to reach the point in which the graminae in the field will be shaded out and pull back from the vetiver base.

BUT, if the first growing period is conducted under controlled conditions, away from the agricultural site, the first developement will not be stunted by the weeds

in the following spring period and if the final row planting in open field happens in a second moment, when the spring boom is allready finished and the graminae are allready dying down, we will achieve the following results:

- we can produce much more plants starting from tillers instead of planting material of 3-5 tillers,

- we speed up the growth of the new plants by controlling easily their developing

environment,

- we save a lot in fuels and labour by not having to free the nurseries from weeds,

- we speed up the following planting in open field.

Naturally, since plants do not sink their roots directly in the field in the winter period, the new rows, set out at the beginning of summer, will not sustain the heat and

thrive through the growing cycle.Will then be necessary provide the new rows with drip lines.

This is how to produce vetiver plants from single tiller instead than 3-5 tillers planting material, cutting on labour and fuel costs:

- In a pvc pipe 120-125 mm diameter, we remove some three cm of it through its length with the help of a circular saw

- we place lids at both ends of the opened pipe

- we place a u shaped metal wire, connected to a metal plate sitting next to a lid, inside the pipe to ease the extraction of the grown plants from the pipe,

- we fill the pipe with soil, sand and slow release nitrogen fertilizer

- we insert a flat drip line in the pipe.

When we are ready to set the plants in open field, after we have prepared the planting site and did a 30 cm deep furrow, we remove the lids and we extract the plants directly into the planting line pulling both the pipe and the metal wire in opposite directions.

We close than the furrow with spare soil using a hoe and set a drip line all along the newly planted row.

The pipes and the wires can be reused a number of times and there is no waste of non recyclable materials.

Another advantage is that we concentrate a very large amount of new plants in small confined, controlled spaces.

Vetiver Sardegna, new site

2008-10-17T20:05:00.004+02:00

It's now on.line the new site for Vetiver Sardegna

Contents will start to be added within a little while.

At the moment the hoe sets the pace.

Suggestions and comments are as usual most wellcome.

Biofuel news

2008-10-02T16:10:00.002+02:00

On the Sole24 Ore an interesting article has appeared last week:

It concerned new methods of transforming biomasses in 2nd generation biofuels therefore from non edible biomasses.

This the content: a new high efficiency industrial method has been devised by Wisconsin-Madison University to transform cellulose molecules in biofuels using a new concept cathalist: the platinum-rhenium.

With successive reactions, different biofuels can be obtained: gasoline, diesel, jet fuel.

After the Sole24 Ore, also the Espresso spoke about it.

Emission Impossible

2008-09-26T11:25:00.004+02:00

The Sole 24 Ore, yesterday Thursday 25th of September 2008, in the Nòva publication with the paper, a pearl of the editorial arena, had on the front page an interesting article: Guido Romeo wrote about the state of the art in the main fields of renewables: wind generation, solar, and geothermic: even though this are not my fields of election, some deep concepts caught my attention:

"Eco compatibility is the occasion to develope an Eco Design intended in a wide way, like a new economic sector, more dinamic and competitive because less dipendent by traditional production factors(...) intelligent webs of productive systems are capable to use one another's waste to thrive, and this thanks to research."

This is the most encouraging thing I've heard by an economist in a long while...and again:

" This is the philosophy of the ZERI (Zero Emission Research and Initiative), a network launched in 1994 by the economist Gunther Pauli, that has promoted many projects especially in the south of the world.(...) At Turin's Politecnico University, are active some Design masters which share the ZERI's principles in order to have architects and engineers growing into it.

Fritjof Capra, founder of the Center for ecoliteracy at Berkeley, California: "The applications of what I call Leonardo's eco design are extremely vast because are based on the comprehension of natural phenomena "

Capra states the necessity of facing the energetic issue and the environmental problem in an integrated way looking at the earth system as a whole, just like Leonardo would have done, but applying the most advanced technologies and knoledges of our time.

Of course, if the legislator would take note of this thoughts, our work would be greatly helped...

Vetiver biomass: second milling test

2008-09-13T10:45:00.004+02:00

This second test was conducted with a forage mill:

as obvious, the machine is too small to chop large

quantities of biomass, but was the only one of

that kind available at the time; there are much

bigger ones. What really counts is that the chopping

is performed on the horizontal axis as compared

to the insertion direction of the biomass.

This fact guarantees a much stronger coherence

if compared to the previous test.

The result was much more satisfactory than the

previous one; next year I'll chop a large quantity

of leaves and stems with a much larger mill. also

the timing of the operation will be an interesting

data to account for.

Vetiver biomass: milling test

2008-09-13T10:27:00.007+02:00

First milling test performed in order to obtain

heater grade chopped biomass:

Just about 30 Kg of biomass have been transformed.

The objective is to find a tool (power or engine) that chops

leaves and stems down to the correct size for burning in an

automatic biomass heater.

The point is, besides the size, that the product has to be

coherent.

No further operations will have to be needed afterwards to

preserve economicity.

The result of this first test is not completely satisfactory

because the product presents different sizes. To achieve

a better result, sieving is necessary in order to discard

oversize material.

The problem starts with the machine's work: the chopping

is done on the same axis of insertion of the biomass: this

makes also the machine prone to choking. The final product

is part pulverized, part oversize.

Let's move over.

Biomass Calculation

2008-09-12T20:25:00.004+02:00

I consider concluded the drying period of the biomasses obtained from the first cut performed at mid July. The total weight of all the biomass cut in the three test sites sums up to Kg 15.

The total length of the hedgerows considered for the tests are in their second year vegetation, are conducted with no irrigation or fertilization and were cut at 30 cm height, the total length of these rows was 6m.

Therefore the weight per meter of dry mass is 2,5 Kg.

If we apply this data on an hectare consisting of 200 rows, spaced 50cm

and 100m long the total weight per hectare of the

dry mass obtained is 50 Tonnes.

Infrastructure protection

2008-09-10T20:44:00.007+02:00

Often happens that infrastructures like poles, water tanks silos, etc, sink in the soil, even the concrete base of heavy infrastructures can sink in sandy soils.

If the water tank slips sideways, it can be a costly hassle.

A very handy idea can be to insert SPINES where the need of stengthening arises.

These are derived from the flower stem of the vetiver plant. They form in the plants from the second year of vegetation.

Their original function is to guarantee the plants' survival when this is submerged by debris or soil accumulation along the hedgerows.

The nodes on the stem can alternatively generate new shots or roots depending on the humidity or light received by the node itself.

For practicity, spines are cut with a 45 degrees angle for signalling which is the top and which the bottom (otherwise they die) and to make easier the penetration in moist soil.

The best plantation time is certainly the winter time because the soil is permanently humid; no maintenance or irrigation is needed until spring.

At the end of spring, when the first shots appear, it will be necessary to cut back the weeds around the planting that can shade the tillers and choke them.

The time necessary to the establishment of this new plants is certainly longer than what's necessary to establish ordinary propagation material, but the cost per unit is one third and labour necessary for planting is irrelevant.

This could be a useful hint....

Giulio Tramellino Prize second edition

2008-09-03T13:14:00.002+02:00

For the second year in a row starts the "Giulio Tramellino Prize"

I wish to remember him putting up for grabs 100 vetiver plants to be won by the best project in any field of application of this green technology that sees me at work, with the hoe in my hand, since 1996.
I want to make this system known in Italy so that everyone will be able to see how beneficial it can be for the environment and the whole of society.
Please leave a comment or send a mail, submitting photos, drawings or any written description of what the project aim is.

Closing date is on the 2nd of February 2009

Biomass for boilers

2008-08-29T20:05:00.004+02:00

We're almost there:
the biomass cut during this summer has dried up, soon I'll drop in at tziu Piero's (sardinian honorific title for the elderly) to try out with him the grinder to be used with the tractor.
If the dimensions of the chopped biomass will be about 2 cm, than we'll have the ultimate fuel for biomass boilers.

Vetiver in India

2008-08-26T18:52:00.003+02:00

Today I report the opinion expressed by Gopalkrishanan, indian blogger, self defined:"an ordinary Indian citizen, honest, aggressive, team builder, short-tempered, God-fearing man."

It is about vetiver's capability of storing rainwater in the terrain providing a useful reserve in post emergence phase of Ragi, a millet grown as a cereal in Gundlupet, Karnataka (cut and paste to google earth).

In his Blog, he tells that, where tea is grown, the land is hilly and terraces are contained by stone revetments and no other erosion control measure is used. Costs linked to this type of containment are about 3,5 times higher than vetiver hedge containment in terms of labour whilst VGT also provide beneficial side effects like erosion control and water storage in subsoil.
Benefits also extend to productivity in the ragi cultivation by rising it 15 to 50 % and safeguarding the first critical moment of post emergence, and producing a very effective and useful barrier against weeds competing for moisture and nourishment with crops.

Gopalkrishanan also tells that vetiver in India is considered untouchable and that the indian government requested information to the chinese rail authority about the plants' application to railsides, reimporting then the technology and applying it to Konkan Railways, even though it was first born right there in India...

It also happens elsewere!

2008-08-25T17:09:00.007+02:00

I now would like to link here the others who look to spread this green technology like me, I just found this.
Let's hope to become many more soon.

Leachate in the groundwater

2008-08-22T13:20:00.001+02:00

Chatting with a friend of this matter and browsing the available material of the Vetiver Network, I bumped into this PDF document that sums up the state of the art of the research and of the realizations so far existing in Australia, Thailand, China, etc.
Leachate is the "structural evil" tightly connected with the old practice of burying the garbage in landfills. It drags with it all the worst of our lifestyle: acids, hydrocarbs, solvants, ecc. It is formed in the rotten heart of landfills and when rains fill up the containment, it spills into our dishes as steaks, vegetables, pasta, ecc.
Many studies have been carried out on the theme, but structural prevention implies very high costs, not to talk about those landfills which are not authorized, uncontrolled put in place by people without a conscience..

If prevention is costly, the cure isn't.....

4WD Ferrari

2008-08-21T18:24:00.000+02:00

A new giant leap (veeeery hard worked) is just been made:
The Ferrari is now supported by the Toyota and, finally I can plant vetiver hedgerows almost anywere with little effort.
The two machinery together make just about my age but with a little restoration I'm sure that I can do many things for a long time.
Now I'll paint it RED! Ferrari red!
Champagne!!!!!!!!!

Biomass, a month later.

2008-08-20T17:08:00.000+02:00

I want to show you a shot of the plants I have chosen to assess the weight of the biomass in one growing season; it was taken the 12 of August, 25 days after the first cut. The entire nursery hasn't received a single liter of irrigation water or a minute of rain since spring, nor has received fertilization. It is thriving on groundwater probably at 5 or 6 meters depth, and on the condensation of night humidity that the leaves drive onto the crown.
Consider also that the cut was done with a good month delay on the start of the growing season...

Vetiver in a permaculture environment

2008-08-17T13:12:00.000+02:00

I first met permaculture in 1990 in Australia; since then I often spoke about it, but never here nor in my vetiver activity context: today I would like to speak out about the contribution that vetiver can give to a type of agriculture as beautiful as the one imagined by Bill Mollison.

Permaculture needs huge quantities of mulch that often is contaminated with undesired seeds, somethimes we'll have to consider the use of sprays.
This mulch (often hay) is needed to cover the ground and protect it from the elements, and favour the developement of life underneath it.
given the durability of hay and its cost to buy or produce, havig to replace it becomes a bit of hassle that can easily be avoided.

The designs used in permaculture, often use vegetative hedges to promote the growth of precious crops: "suntraps" circular sections of windbreak open towards the sun are planted in order to maximize the available heat in the winter period. To apply vetiver hedgerows to this purpouse will generate free mulch (or energy) when the precious cultures do not need protection like the summer periods.

As known, vetiver mulch has an exceptional durability and resistance to rotting so to be often used for thatching. This can generate good savings of time, money, effort and fossil fuels for the permaculturist.

Still needs to be assessed if it is preferable to keep vetiver mulch as it is, or if a fine chopping is better.

Any contribution is wellcome.

Vetiver in California

2008-08-17T12:36:00.000+02:00

Aesthetics and environmental good joined can well go together.
Dough Richardson paints landscapes with vegetation waves and stabilizes slopes and embankments at the same time.

Landscape architects of Italy, please take note......

New start for biomass

2008-08-17T12:33:00.000+02:00

Just to keep you informed, I wish to show you the regrowth obtained in one week after the cut performed to weight the biomass.

L'orto di carta

2008-08-17T11:45:00.000+02:00

Hallo all!
Today I wish to report a new friend in the list of interesting blogs: I'm talking about Nicola that calles himself a compulsive talker, maybe he's right but it looks like he also has brains to sell!
His interest is about Permaculture.
Enjoy!

BIOMASS: first cut weight calculation

2008-08-17T11:09:00.000+02:00

After an entire month on antibiotics, finally I managed to start the long promised weight calculation of the biomass resulting from the vetiver hedgerows in the nursery.
This calculation has been conducted on non irrigated nor fertilized hedgerows cut at 30cm height.
Today's result has been obtained choosing three sections, each two meters long, far apart from each other to have the certainty of the maximum possible variety of the subsoil within the land's capabilities (acquifer depth, soil type, past cultivation's residues, etc.) averaging then the weights obtained.
The weighted biomasses (accurate to 100g) are only relative to the first cut, therefore the winter vegetation and the spring one relative to rows planted 14 monts ago, so only just adult.
The sites have been individuated in a precise way so that next cuts will only regard the single plants allready considered.
Here is the data:

site 1 - 6.5 Kg
site 2 - 7.7 Kg
site 3 - 9.8 Kg

AVERAGE 8 Kg

EACH METER Kg 4

If we imagine to have 100m long hedgerows 50cm apart, the total weight would be 80.000Kg/ha
of mixed biomass dry and green more or less at 50%

With non irrigated young plants......

Vetiver Sardegna grows up

2008-08-17T11:02:00.000+02:00

Today's news are that Vetiver Sardegna has acquired in a 4 year rent contract a new land around Arzachena (OT) for a total of 4 hectares and soon the work will be started in order to plant the first vetiver hedgerows.
The first aim is to double the vetiver production within next spring.

Seeking basin lagoons

2008-08-16T20:09:00.000+02:00

While trying to deepen my understanding of the vetiver potential to clean up wastewaters and at the same time to produce biomasses for the energy industry, I want to start a new course of studies which would imply the usage of one or more floating pontoons on any of the thousand lagoons existing in Italy, therefore I'm now seeking volounteers of any sort (private enterprises of public administrations willing to host these structures and follow them up, to cut the leaves and weight them in the growing season.

Anyone willing to contribute, can find me through the site Vetiver Sardegna or this blog.

Energy from biomasses

2008-08-16T19:41:00.000+02:00

An interesting piece has showed up on "La Repubblica" tuersday 15th of April 2008:

A research conducted by the University of Massachussets, found a method to produce 2nd generation biofuels, starting from wood chips and agricultural waste using the quick pirolysis method.
At the moment agriculture using this method could contribute in Italy, with the waste it produces, with a total of 3,6 billion liters/year of biodiesel, standing a total need for Italy of about 40 billion/year. Even if we considered half of the fuel produced as energy needed by the industrial process, we still have a theoretical potential of 1,8 billion liters/year of biofuel which accounts for just about half the goal set by the EU, and this without using a single gram of anything may ever enter the human food chain, therefore without touching the economic balances of the third world (and ours too).
This research depicts agriculture's present state, but DOES NOT consider that biomasses can be produced free by phyto depurating wastewaters: If we only considered the use of "technical plants" for the treatment of sewage in at least half of the 8000 councils present in Italy, this final data of biofuel produced would certainly be reductive

Here is the article written by Antonio Cianciullo
The technology exists, now let's find the political will to apply it....

How mines are elsewere

2008-08-16T19:13:00.000+02:00

Here goes an example of how in Australia, mining spoil is dealt with: this applies to bauxite, coal, gold and bentonite.
For the limits of tolerance of vetiver plants to acidity, alcalinity, salinity, heavy metals, etc, etc.. here are some interesting data.

Mining spoil treatment

2008-08-16T18:54:00.000+02:00

In the south of Sardinia, as in many other places in the world, mining activity generates a fabulous quantity of spoil that, accumulating in time, forms huge piles dense with heavy metals and toxic elements. The combined action of water and wind, makes these substances enter the food chain.

Vetiver hedges are capable to withstand great concentrations of the polluting elements,
as this study shows, by reducing the volatility of it and erasing the leachate sinking in the ground waters.

A different matter is to plant this huge piles,
in Venezuela, for instance they do it like this.

A good chance

2008-08-16T18:37:00.000+02:00

As often happens I relay ideas and paper articles that I happen to find about: here is a piece of the "Sole 24 ore" inserted in the Nòva section:
RENEWABLES PIVOTING THE III INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
In 2006 the investments in renewables, globally have reached 70,9 billion USD, increasing by 43% respect the previous year, and what about Italy?
With the arrival of "Industria 2015" something seems to move, but we are far away from being able to reach the goal set of 20% renewables by 2020.
Without an incentive politics open to all renewables, it will be tough; as usual we risk to sell top know how for projects to be done elsewere.

Rubia leads that path...

Water !!!!!!!!!

2008-08-16T17:47:00.000+02:00

Water all around and not a drop to drink.
It sounds like a joke but it can become the sad truth for a lot of countries in the world.
Many more, instead will have the opposite problem: shortage of food and drinkable water.
In Italy both options are allready starting to appear together in areas historically devolved to food and energy productions; first of all the Po valley.
The first hints have allready appeared two years ago in spring, for example: corn shoots burnt, rivers below minimum levels, prices at the stars. The situation hits the population in two ways: directly with income loss and indirectly, by the markets that rise prices at any crisis announcement.
Recently in Cochin, Kerala, south India, an international workshop has taken place sponsored by the Vetiver Network International of India.
Amongst the issues treated, the water conservation one, was the most important one: it clearly emerged that the vetiver hedges favour the replenishment of ground water increasing the permanence of seasonal watercourses, they also increase water quantity in area basins and strongly inhibit silting in it.

This proceedings should spring careful thinking not only on the future of agriculture, but also on the real costs of energy since a good share of the little we produce has an hydroelectric origin.

Given the actual situation, are we really sure that hydroelectric production can be considered renewable?

Wastewater, new data

2008-08-16T16:25:00.001+02:00

I had left half way the topic of wastewater carring high quantities of pollutin dissolved in it (Nitrates and phosphates).
I would like to pick it up again showing new data, more precise and useful in catering a rough idea on how to dimension the beds that dispose of this water rather than let it penetrate the water table.
Watts Bridge is a far away little community in Queensland, Australia, in there, a small avio field manages their wastewater in a reed bed vegetated with vetiver. Instead of pollute the soil, they produce biomasses.
The Vetiver Network International has helped designing the work.

Here are some numbers: the daily average inlet is 1670 liters the total length of the rows sums up to 80 meters for a total of 400 plants in 100 sq. meters.
The total Nitrogen measured at the inlet is 68 mg/l while at the end of the beds measures 0,095 mg/l
Phosphorus goes from 10,6 mg/l to 0,138 mg/l.

Dispersion wells, full tricameral tanks, careless empting of wastewaters, generate pollution in the watertable that in one way or another re enters the food chain.
Solving this problem does not necessarily have to be a cost; it can be transformed in a resource and generate income: I can't help thinking of bovine stables: they can reuse the wastewaters and lower the costs of their forage using the biomasses produced from vetiver reed beds into a feed base for their cattle, saving money used for producing equivalent weight of more costly forages.

A careful management with frequent cuts will also improve the strong taste that this forage has.

Looks like a clever idea to me.....

To see the work, have a look at this....

Cellulose, finally

2008-08-05T20:11:00.000+02:00

The energy that the sun stores in the biomasses, has a huge potential: agricoltural residues and technical plants can partially fix the great crave for energy that modern living creates.
the most immediate way of extracting this energy is certainly the old way: burning.
To dry biomasses below a certain point presents less problems in comparison with other methods.
But, burning for heating poses clear questions about the origins of the fuel we use: even though the CO2 we inject in the atmosphere by burning was allready absorbed by the plants in the first place, other kinds of molecules can be present when the biomasses are derived from water treatment, soil decontamination, sanitary prevention in mining sites. The potentially dangerous chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals cannot be reintroduced in the air; therefore we have to be particularly cautious using biomasses derived from dangerous sites.
Biogas derived from the digestion of vetiver leaves, present other kinds of obstacles: I've noticed in my field work that cut leaves are tough to rot: they dry out and stay on the ground for a long time intact, even though this mulch is perfect, this indicates that the rotting process is slowed down by some substance present in the leaves, exactly what we did not need for biogas.
But Vetiver biomasses, are composed by 45,8% of cellulose, a carbohydrate that can be treated with low heat (about 40°C) and enzymes to produce alcohol with the simultaneous saccarification and fermentation method

Good start

2008-08-05T20:05:00.000+02:00

In Sardinia we have a research center that studies biotechnological applications in the food industry, in biomedicine and the environment.
Useful trip that can be done from home.
BIOTECNE: CONSORZIO PER LE RICERCHE E LO SVILUPPO DELLE BIOTECNOLOGIE

Wastewater Treatment

2008-08-05T20:00:00.000+02:00

The Vetiver Network International has produced this very useful presentation for all those intrested in waste water treatment.

Wastewater Treatment with vetiver

2008-08-05T18:51:00.000+02:00

A reader which I'm thankful to, incites me to go ahead and deepen the information regarding waste water treatment, I see that this area is raising interest for the lesser costs than other tecniques and several benefits can be obtained at the same time...
Let's say we want to treat the tricameral effluent of a household: two methods can be used according to the quantity of water to be treated: water recycle or effluent absorbtion.
Different designs are applied: the effluent absorbtion consists in excavating a trench, cover the inside with a layer of thick insulating material, fill back in the spoil and vegetate it with vetiver plants: the available moisture is distributed by a pipe underneath and totally absorbed by the plants. There is no output.
This application allows to grow biomasses with the discarted waters that can be easily converted in energy or fertility in the fields.

The other option consists in ponds(natural or constructed) where the waste water stay for at least ten hours, this period of time is subjected to change according with the seasonal temperatures. An interesting contribution to this can be viewed here.
Naturally by applicating these principles, we are creating an eco-system where many factors will gladly associate creating nuisances and benefits: mosquitoes, frogs, fish, ecc.
In Italy waste waters are disciplined by this laws.

Energy from Vetiver

2008-08-05T18:44:00.000+02:00

Please wait.
The data I sworn to consign at the end of the present cultivation season, will not be ready this year, the nursery was moved last year and the plants are not ready yet.
Furthermore, well over half of the production was lost.
Next year I will gather.

Towards Sustainability

2008-08-05T18:25:00.000+02:00

From the "Sole 24 ore" Thursday 24th of May 2007:
A recent study of IBIMET Italian Biometeorological center of CNR in Florence has concluded that in order to maximise the CO2 absorbtion from the atmosphere, the good agricoltural practice has to incorporate as much cultivation residues as possible: this goal can be achieved using intercropping, that allow the soil to stay protected at all times by a vegetating layer, performing shallow tillings to avoid contact between organic matter and open air. This also allows to use less fertilizers.
The data shows, that with an increase of 1% of organic matter, a Ton of CO2 can be permanently sequestered, if this result was to be applied to half of the arable lands in Italy, 50% of the total emissions could be sequestered.

ENERGY

2008-08-05T18:06:00.000+02:00

The idea that I have in mind since a while, is to use vetiver to produce all heating and hot water needs for the rural household and the associated business activity in a sustainable way:

This noble goal can be achieved with the use of low temperature heating sistems posed under the floor, large heat accumulators, a technical room and an appropriate stove capable of trasforming the abundant biomass in heat.

Obviously the state of the art in environmental care is achieved when the produced biomass is cut from the reed beds that treat the waste waters of the enterprise and house or the hedges between fields..

This proper heater exists, can be fed with the usual pellet or almost any other properly dried fuel.

By designing the system for excess, you can also produce power that can be send on to the power grid.

This could be one good reason to bale veitiver.

It is not easy!

2008-08-05T17:55:00.001+02:00

It doesn't seem easy at all to bale vetiver, the need of doing it may probably go beyond building a house:
first of all the hay has to be cut and left on the ground to dry, has then to be broken up passing it over a few times, then alleys have to be lined up.
The cut leaves and stems are stiff and they finish up to clog the baler with the result of a lot of arm work to be done. the author of the video claims that with a little luck you can bale some ten meters before the baler chokes....
On the other hand a feedback comment on the video reports that some mistakes have been done and the job could have been faster without them.
More work has to be done on the field to find a more practical way to bale.
But why bale it?

New frontiers: hay houses

2008-08-05T17:39:00.000+02:00

It is nowadays frequent to encounter houses built with hay walls, Mr Werner Schmidt is an artist in the field because joints together great design and energy saving due to total insulation given by the building materials building this way is also remarkably cheaper..
A canadian, Cory Vitt, has produced, for the first time, vetiver bales and erected a wall with it, but with different tecniques than Mr Schmidt: the bales are posed together, coverd with wire mesh and plastered with a layer of cement. Here is the Photo gallery of the job, comprehensive of compression tests and final monument.
Enjoy.

News

2008-08-05T17:25:00.000+02:00

Today's news are that the University of Trieste (and specifically the center for environmental studies), has bought a number of plants to start a series of studies and field experiences to deepen their knoledge of soil remediation.
I believe this is a particularly encouraging fact that shows that times of enviromental consciousness are about to come and vetiver is starting to raise the attention that deserves.

Let's move

2006-11-24T19:37:00.000+01:00

At mid august, Domenico, the owner of the land where I keep the nurseries, asked me to move all the plants in the end section of the property, within the firsts rains and not in 6 monts as we agreed in the first place.
I thought I could expand the nurseries in that direction in time, so I had ploughed it and got rid of all loose stones.
Unfortunately it was not the time to do this operation, neither I had the money or the time to do it, but, I had to follow directions rapidly.
Fortunately I can count on a number of sincere friends to whom I periodically give massive backaches (if they will start avoiding me, I'll understand why).
Thank you Lupin!
One day of machinery, five days in five at work, and there goes the new nursery.

Some facts

2006-11-24T19:32:00.000+01:00

The two rows wich I did not care for, are dead.
This has occourred because the planting has been made in May, therefore after the spring boom, and the plants did not have enough time to sink roots deep enough to find humid subsoil (below 50cm) before this dried out definitely in the summer.
Instead, in the winter period, the soil is constantly humid and its temperature does not inhibit root growth. I deduce that in the plantings made in winter, even if the aerial part dies down, roots keep growing continuosly, reaching whithin the next dry season, deeper layers where a little moisture is always present to guarantee sustainance and allowing the developement of the root system until it reaches important dimensions in 7-10 monts since the planting allowing the cultivation in areas not reached by acqueducts.
On the contrary, plantings made in the spring-summer period, have to be watered deeply at least once for susteinance and several times in order to produce planting material.
The plantings made in the autumn period can be managed without watering, but will have more probability to develope weed infestation because it will go through both autumn and spring boom period therefore the weeds will have plenty of time to establish and grow through a complete cycle from seed to seed.

Cross check

2006-11-24T19:30:00.000+01:00

In May, in a period of warm weather, I set out to start a new nursery in another lot which I had cultivated with pumpkins the previous summer, therefore relatively clear of weeds.
I plant four rows 40 meters each, a good slow release nitrogen fertilizer in the furrow and water only while I plant. The only intervention is made in July when I deeply water two rows out of four and I get rid of the major weeds.
I leave everything as it is and I wait the end of August.
The temperature range has not been particularly harsh: we've had the african blob for a couple of weeks only at mid July.
For the rest of the time it has been rather plesant.
I observe

Surprise!

2006-11-24T19:25:00.000+01:00

During the winter, I have a pleasant surprise: almost all plants in the abandoned section which had been planted with the singol tiller tecnique (like rice), have shown up. They managed to survive despite the twitch but they did not develope a particularly strong root system.
The difference lies in the fact that when you divide a mother plant, in order to produce planting material, together with some 30cm of residual aereal part, and the few centimeters of spare roots, you transplant the true heart of the plant, the crown.
This is a woody section from which the roots depart and on which the tillers are fixed.
On the contrary, when you "sow" the tillers, no matter how many you place, the crown is absent and the plant takes a long time and a lot of energy to make one new.

Giant leap

2006-11-24T19:19:00.000+01:00

At the end of winter, with some spare money obtained with small jobs around, I buy myself a Ferrari: a rotative hoe, 12 horse power with a 80 cm wide hoe section and furrow excavator; four speed plus reverse. Cool!

I get in association with another mad one, the good Marta.
Us three, (the two mad ones and the Ferrari) set out to prepare a new nursery for a thousand new plants: five rows of more than 50 m each, spaced three meters.
We finish by the first of may, Titans stuff! Unfortunately Marta has to leave Sardynia and the new nursery at the beginning of July and goes back to Rome.

The new nursery, this time is irrigater with a very light dripping line which costs 18 cent of euro/meter and comes in large rolls of 3km.
Waterings are limited to only five in the intire summer period, and in the furrow, before planting, i put a slow release nitrogen fertilizer.This factor, of course, makes a great deal of difference and by september the hedges are fully established and is not easy to walk between them.
A great result. Grazie Martina

Improving the tecnique

2006-11-24T19:16:00.000+01:00

Spurred by the good results obtained in the nursery, at the beginning of the summer, I set out to plant a new one of 400 new plants, so I follow the same method which consists in cutting away almost all roots and the loss of the aerial part above 30 cm height.
The soil is allready hard like the granite who generated it in the firstplace, but with water and a sharp hoe, I manage.
The furrows are ready, spring boom is behind the shoulders and temperatures are definitely in line with the summer period.
This time I limit waterings since radicated plants have sustained the african blob of 2003 with ease.This second nursery did not suffer the weeds: the period of planting, the watering regime with rare but deep drip irrigations convinceme to adopt this new method.
For that year I can consider myself satisfied and I just keep listening.

First great results

2006-11-24T19:11:00.000+01:00

When the minimum temperatures rise definitely above 10°, the crusty soil,compacted by the winter rains and poor of organic matter,starts cracking all around the base of the new plants and, in a week, a new generation of tillers explodes. At least 8-12 each strip,reaching in the same time 40-50 cm high.
I couldn't believe it!
The plants I divided with the axe, had sacrificed all activities above soil level concentrating on the rooting, leaving to the spring time, after easter, the resurrection above land.
I attend them for all the spring with water twice a week and fertilizer, meanwhile weeds take their toll; spring conditions and fertilizer pushes them to come out in massive numbers and the furrows dug in september to accomodate the new nursery is now land of pioneer weeds whose seed rested dormant in the subsoil.
Frequent automatic waterings top up the mess, so whilst clearing it all up, I start making in my mind a list of mistakes
NOT TO BE REPETED.
On the contrary, instead, the single tiller plantings don't seem to produce results at all, they lie submerged by hungry hordes of twitch roots who travel in the soil like starships at near-light speed.
I decide to abandone this section and forget about it.

The propagation

2006-11-24T19:07:00.000+01:00

The first 400 propagations, made in september 2003, are planted with a hoe in lines long some 15 meters, one plant every 30cm. and watered with a good quality dripping line. Each plant counts some five or six strips.
Meanwhile in another portion of the same hectare, I try out a different planting system: I prepare a strip of land some 40 meters long, one meter wide, served by the same kind of dripping line, after preparing a sufficient number of strips, I proceed sinking them for about 30cm in number of three or four strips around the dripper; practically I transplant them in wet soil a bit like you would do with rice. (That is why the seminator)
Monts go by and in january I'm allready convinced that I must have made
some kind of mistake because the aerial part of all plants with no ecceptions turned straw colour and died down.
Not a shade of green anywere.

The boom

2006-11-24T19:04:00.000+01:00

Spring was very rainy and in april 2003 a wreckless summer blows up.
In may I start noticing some green at the base of the plants and I decide to cut them at some 30 cm height. In two weeks the plants double their diameter, and I realize that there were no reasons to fear and that erosion is facing its "end of the world weapon".
In june arrived the famous african blob of 2003: a high pressure system that keeps minimum temperatures above 30°C, whilst the top temperatures skyrocket above 35-45°C until the end of september.
Not a drop of water for the whole period was given to the plants. They didn't even turn yellow a bit, as if someone would water them during the nigh time while I cynically observed them during the day.
At the end of that month I decide to propagate half of that row, and with a spade I cut the root system 45°all around the plant, then I remove the leaves at about 30 cm; then with a small axe I divide the clumps and I plant back the new plants into the ground.
So I start the first nursery.

Now I watch

2006-11-24T19:01:00.000+01:00

Time goes by, seasons do their cycle and my plants grow;
I keep observing their behaviour with critical eye noticing the influence that soil and climate have on it: In Gallura (Sardynia north east) we have loose soils given by the granites of the area therefore sub acid, some concentrated rains in autumn and spring and drought, severe at times for the rest of the year.
It was allready the end of 2002 and further ahead lied the coldest winter of the past twenty years. It was severe, minimum temperatures dropped below zero for ten days in a row, the aerial part of the plants became a straw wig, I tought I lost them..On the other hand but, if they are not suited to the purpouse, better to know straight away.
I keep listening

In the field

2006-11-24T18:58:00.000+01:00

We're now in 2000; now the necessity that arises is:where do I put all this plants? My garden is full of pots and this plants go very fast.
Domenico offers me to put them in the end section of his land since that is often submerged and the alfalfa (medicago sativa) he grows on eight hectares does not germinate in there; on the other hand, in that same section, me and Rodrigo have been coltivating "rucola" for the whole summer.
I move them to their new accomodation and I transplant the containers to obtain a first study row of some eighty meters.
Soon the plants develope a robust root system that breaks up the compacted subsoil underneath the plough reach, so that the winter after, despite strong rains, the section is free from the usual pools. BAH!

The plants' arrival

2006-11-24T18:56:00.000+01:00

One day that I find myself in Catania in 1999, the good Sardo, goes to work with a hoe and dumps in the trunk of his car more or less70 kg of vetiver clumps Monto variety and he delivers it in the hall of my hotel (I'll never be grateful enough to him).
I load it on a mercedes taxi making in the trunk the same disaster Sardo did in the hall, and we leave towards the airport. I load the lot in the front hold of the Md80 run by Francesco "ciccio" Angeleri of the Meridiana company (a living mith).
The plants arrive in Olbia and I take them home. Soon I start dividing and I produce some 50 20x20 containers.
I start observing.

Turning point: the vetiver

2006-11-24T18:43:00.000+01:00

After several tries, and almost two years of research, I find on the web this perennial erbaceous plant that satisfies all the conditions when planted in rows.
I get in touch with the network run by a bunch of enthusiasts and I find out that at the moment the plant is being studied by the National Italian Concil for Research (CNR) at the Catania University (Sicily) in order to generate power with it.
I therefore get in touch with professor Sardo who runs the research, a tall red haired man, living memory of past invasions in his land, charismatic person who also conducts studies on salt tollerance and other factors like phitodepuration applications.
And I start hassling him.

Back to the drawing board

2006-11-24T18:41:00.000+01:00

Then I have to start again from the charateristics that the hedge has to produce: low weed potential, capability of maintaning the design, massive vertical root system, capability of sustaining all environmental adversities (fire,cold, drought, submersion, etc.) different soil pH, good palatability for ruminants.
Given theese keywords, I start the search again.

Which solution?

2006-11-24T18:39:00.000+01:00

Once decided the method, I set out to decide on the context,
I start considering hundreds of different plants in order to obtain that hedge effect that can reduce erosion. I search textbooks but soon I realize that hedges have to be composed by several kinds of plants,to obtain the beneficial effect of helping the farm economy, adaptability to all terrains and good palatability are conditions which I couldn't abide.The next problem to face is how to maintain the planting design of the hedges in time and how avoid that different species interfere with each other using as little space as possible

Leave Rome behind

2006-11-24T18:36:00.000+01:00

In december 1995 I move to Sardinia, ancient land for the ancients allready, soon I realize that there is an enormous environmental problem of erosion, loss of fertility and hydrogeology due both to deforestation, occourred in the past centuries, and obsolete agricoltural techniques. I set out to find a solution with precise connotations: to reduce erosion and consolidate while producing earnings for the farm economy.
The orientation of this search goes immediately towards vegetative barriers, for their dinamicity and their ease of moltiplication with wirtually no cost and possible multiple side income.

1995 All Starts

2006-11-24T10:34:00.000+01:00

All started in1995 when I came back to Italy after a degree in TV production in Australia at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.
The final work I presented was a naturalistic documentary and its title was: "Alternatives to conventional agricolture".
I never thougth I could find my path this way