Vetiver grass + ducks + bamboo + water = Duckponics Raft System planted with Vetiver for Phytoremediation of duck waste (Ducklings have been busy pulling the plants out, they seem to have found a food source in the soil the slips were transplanted in.) Finally got enough Vetiver grass to start a nursery. I'd been looking for vetiver to stop the erosion problem I have that keeps getting worse with each flash flood. According to the Vetiver for Farmers pdf I came across on vetiver.org, the idea is to plant the Vetiver slips out on an average contour, 4-6 inches apart, and after a few months they fill in the spaces and form a sediment and debris-collecting hedge above ground and a soil-holding, netlike root system below with one sixth the tensile strength of mild steel. Vetiver roots have been known to grow up to 6 meters deep, with most of root mass in the first meter. On a recent project I was involved in, we used vetiver grass as the main biofilter plant for the phytoremediation of compost leachate occurring with the flash floods. We planted 2000 slips across the leachate flow, and placed four vetiver rafts in the resting pond. While working on site, the idea of a Vetiver nursery powered by duck and fish poop somehow occurred to me. Why not? I mean, let's stack some functions here. How about a floating duck house that cleans the water beneath it, protects the ducks and grows an astounding amount of vetiver biomass at the same time. And why not add a net cage under it and put tilapia in there? So from one easily made bamboo raft, I could harvest protein in duck eggs and fish; vetiver tops for nesting material and/or mulch; and vetiver slips for planting out on contour to stop erosion. As if that weren't enough, I could also harvest the roots--steam distillation makes essential oil of Vetiver. I jumped in the car and sped to my local bamboo forest. Before I knew it, I had enough locally sourced bamboo to put a raft together. I released the vetivers' root systems before placing them so they'd grow out into the water and not think they were still in a baggie. Then I just wedged the Vetiver plants between the bamboo poles, hoping that would be enough to get them to stay. And I put a duck hut on it for protection from harsh sunlight, hawks and owls. So, I still have to add the fish cage underneath, and once I get the fish in there, it'll be time to let the system evolve...I was thinking a second raft with Cat Tail bulrush plants growing on it would be a good idea--and a shady spot for more fish.
What an interesting idea! Its too cold for vetiver where I am so I havent bothered to learn about it,but.....I'm pretty sure you should pullout the plants that are lying in the water. I do wish I had a local bamboo forest though.
Thanks, the Vetiver plants you see floating were pulled out by the ducks, but I'm putting them back in the raft later today. (One of my friends who works internationally with Vetiver.org says that ducks love the Vetiver grass so much because it's perfect nesting material. Which means I'll probably have to tie the grass slips in place with a biodegradable rope like hemp rope and by the time the Vetiver roots have wedged their way into the raft, the rope will have degraded.)
Great idea. Have been thinking about adding floating vetiver to my ponds here. I wonder if your bamboo poles will stay rogether long enough for the vetiver to take hold....
quick update: Ducklings being very mischievous! They keep pulling the Vetiver grass out of place. I've decided to use it in a biofilter setup comprised of flexible drain tubes at a slight angle to return the water back to the pool. I'll put Vetiver along the tube every 4in or so. That's the plan anyway. I've already bought the water pump and will be ordering in a flexible solar cell to run it. The solar cell will go on the duck hut roof and the pump will hang under the raft.
And the poles are holding together well; I used polyrope to tie them into a raft. I think Vetiver in your location would do great! Especially if you're not raising ducks! I'm working on another project where we're using Vetiver rafts to clean water in a resting pond. It's doing great on the rafts. It will work my friend, you should give it a try!
I have 5 year old vetiver around the first pond which has kept that water amazingly clean (now drinkable) and I believe it also helps retain water as during the 2 major, recent droughts the pond still had from 1 to 2 meters. The trimmed slips are good fish food and mulch. Rainy season every year I pull new slips (very easy) and plant more along the edges of the farm:fence lines, roads, canals, etc...I just recently found out a French company makes a Vetiver perfume, but there are 2 varieties of vetiver, one fragrant, the other not.
Ok so the vetiver grass didn't stay in place. Each time I would put it back, the ducks would have it out and strewn around on the water before I turned around. I'm going to take those vetiver slips and grow them in flexible tubes tied to the pool's inner wall and pump the pond water slowly through them. A biofilter setup. That should clean the pond water really well and grow more vetiver for me to use on other areas of the farm. Besides the Ducks vs.Vetiver issue, the system itself has done well: The ducks live on the bamboo raft and take cover under the huts when a hawk comes into view. The pool wall itself protects them from ground predators. So the ducks are doing great. And man, they eat A LOT!!