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[AcaciaAve]

For those of you interested in cultivating the grasses or finding wild populations this week is pivotal for sequencing a fall harvest schedule.
I see heavy clouds in the sky today and have been transplanting what little of my Phalaris farm that is left. When transplanting and dividing rhizomes I have been clipping them down near their base so as to ensure vigorous new growth. Also, I have clipped my homegrown P. Arundinacea 'Yugo Red', Aquatica, and non-cultivar Arundinacea down so the remaining stands are ranging from a few inches to a foot tall.

For transplanted plugs:
Since you hopefully have already clipped the excess grass down near the base, you have already taken care of one of three cuttings you'll be making.
When the rain nourishes new spikes of Phalaris to rebirth, allow initial growth to reach a foot or so. If rain is minimal, water your plants incrementally once or twice a week. You should be allowing a few dry-spells here and there to stress the plant, therefore stimulating accumulation of secondary metabolites. You will notice the plant's foliage and stalks reddening or turning purplish and overstressed leaves turning straw/strawberry hay colored. Meanwhile, you should be applying a nitrogen fertilizer such as Ammonium Sulfate or dilute Urea in weekly intervals(or when you water the plants). This should take around 3 weeks. So it will be early September when you are ready to make your second clipping though this amount may be stored in a freezer or discarded and reapplied to the stand as self-mulching. Near the end of September is when your final clipping will occur(This is the harvest of the Second New Growth)

Untapped plants:
Coming back from summer dormancy, your grass may range from completely dried out, yellowish green, silvery blue, or green and hints of strawberry hay colored foliage.
When you sense the first rain after a long period of heat and dryness, clip the plant down to where 1/3 of the plant remains. You should be watering the crop at the same time. Allow this first regrowth to reach a foot or two in the three weeks after. Rain and cooling environmental factors should return this growth rate to normal. (Worm tea helps). In the meantime, you should be applying a nitrogen fertilizer such as Ammonium Sulfate or dilute Urea at weekly intervals(or whenever you water your plants). When this new growth is ready, simply cut it back to where you originally made the first cutting. Freeze or discard this amount. Allow the grass to regenerate for another three weeks, repeating your fertilizing regime. This will be your final harvest for the season, then constituents will decline rapidly in concentration. (Third regrowth will do though you'll notice diminishing concentrations).

Notes:
If plants experienced full Sun during the summer, you may move the plants to the shade to begin managing production of the medicine. This will ensure steadier increases in what you want, though growth will be much slower. Adjust to allow 4-5 weeks in between harvests. This will make it later in the season so I would recommend beginning now and not procrastinating with the path of the grass.
Now is optimal time for germinating seedlings for a late October harvest...

This is all I have to say for now, updates may be added.
Open to suggestions or others' experiences; post 'em here.

AA

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[Egon]

Thanks for the tips, Acacia.  I am super-excited to start growing grasses.

[AcaciaAve]

There is much uncertainty and disagreement over at the nexus' "Phalaris: The Way of the Future" thread.
This should help those beginning with grasses to achieve the highest medicinal standards; or at least get a feel for everything.
No promises and no guarantees.
A little time and patience pays off. And there are more lessons to learn from these plants than being under the influence of their constituents.
Grass guides and carves our paths.


Two words:

AMMONIUM SULFATE

Use it!

The rain is here.

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[AcaciaAve]

Just a note-

if you're looking to establish a more hardy patch of grass with larger roots then I would recommend clipping the flower stalks when they appear.
Keeping the grass short and allowing the plant to focus on rhizome growth acceleration will provide you with a much stronger and hardy plant in the years to come.
Composting/Mulching the terrain your grass grows on will provide new nutrients so the grass perpetually juts out new green sheaths.
Often times if I allow first year plants to go to seed and let them be, I do not see them appear the next spring.
This happens with the more rare or exotic types such as P. Brachystachys, Canariensis, Coerulescens, Paradoxa, and Truncata.
So clipping is a must if you seek a much more healthy and vigorous Phalaris plant.

Your grass(any species) can survive the whole winter while producing new growth if maintained in the green house.
Otherwise I have seen Brachystachys, Canariensis, Coerulescens, Paradoxa, and Truncata act as annuals and Aquatica + Arundinacea as endlessly generating new growth.

First year plant growing summarized:
1. Maintain your plants by clipping/pruning any excess growth or by cutting close to the base when the flower stalks appear.
2. Water constantly and pay attention to soil moisture(it must remain wet or not completely dry out)
3. Apply kelp meal every now and again with worm/compost tea.
4. Divide rhizomes and up-pot 1-2 times per year so you have more Phalaris and it grows larger with more root space.
5. Ammonium sulfate applications after first and second growth clipping if you're doing nexus-related work with the grass.

Do all this and you should be fine.

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