Damn good, Scott! I have been battling Napier here in Hawai'i for 7 years. I know see that I am the idiot, not the Napier grass! Thanks, I'm going to run out tomorrow morning and start using it to improve my system rather than continually cutting it back with the weed whipper.
I LOVE your material Scott... you really have got this technique.... Thank you for opening the course to me. I'm in Kenya and this is exactly the stuff I need to be listening to...... INTERESTING also , I didn't know mombasa came after napier. It won't grow here, but the napier is growing a lot. So I figured by Mount Kenya it's too cold for the mombasa grass. Can you explain to me how mombasa grass is a succession to it? I didn't know that biomass rows ever did anything but continue being biomass rows unless you put a veg line in the middle of them. My napier grass is very very prickly, I noticed you just picked yours up with bare hand. Is that super napier with less scratching? I'm so happy to be experimenting and taking the syntropic stuff to the next level. It was the most successful project I did here so far, and I did it on contour with runoff water from the road! Someone here told me I was a genius for using it as mulch because I must have noticed the bugs don't get on it and it keeps them away from plants, I had no idea actually lol! I told them thank you for teaching me that
They are fantastic if you have couple of sheep that produce meat lambs annually.. This napier grass is enough along with some fruit tree trimmings to have a forage for sheep.
ive been working syntropically with this amazing plant since 2007, after several years i learned that the machete is a much less efficient tool for its management than a hand sickle, i use the japanese style serrated sickle common here in hawaii, called 'kama' , the cutting action is much more focused n controlled n requires less energy than swinging the machete. i use the kama for ~90% of my work as it is small, lightweight, and can cut small woody branches, rarely ever use a machete anymore, the other ~10% tool use is divided between my felco hand pruners, larger loppers, and pruning saw. sequestering any developed or developing cane is crucial to success, i am usually converting fields where the grass has been growing unregulated for years so theres lots of cane, i pile it on cleared areas or build biomass berms with it, when its concentrated and mostly removed from soil contact its easy to remove any fresh sprouts emerging from the nodes, it soon becomes inert and breaks down to available nutrients while maintaining structural integrity for a couple years.
The napier grass will be gone by the time Mombasa is needed. Mombasa is slightly higher succession than napier grass and is medium strata where napier grass is emergent
Hello! Greetings from Guatemala. Thanks for this valuable information! I have four acres of this elephant grass, but I have no cows or anyone to give it away or sell it to. It has behaved for years as an invasive species, it covers more and more, it almost covers the entire terrain. Additionally I want to convert this area into a cultivable area for other various edible crops. How can I eradicate this grass? Thanks for any advice you can give me.
I get Napier grass cuttings from plants growing feral around the place. As of yet, there are no sources for Guinea grass seed, but stay in the loop on our network that you are a member of and keep an eye out, that's where it will be shared
Hi Scott, thanks for sharing! Did you plant the Napier within a tree row, or next to a tree row in your system? We are trying to incorporate Miscanthus giganteus in a similar fashion and are wondering wether to put it in with the tree rows or to grow it alongside the tree rows. Thanks!
Grasses win through fire, and trees win through shade, so by cutting down the canes and reducing their height, you are reducing competition with the trees. Grasses are the new kids on the block, having evolved in Africa about 65 million years ago vs trees 360 million years ago. It’s been suggested that it was the development of grasslands that enabled our long-ago ancestors to climb out of the trees and walk in open spaces during the day as we could sweat, and the predators couldn’t.
Damn good, Scott! I have been battling Napier here in Hawai'i for 7 years. I know see that I am the idiot, not the Napier grass! Thanks, I'm going to run out tomorrow morning and start using it to improve my system rather than continually cutting it back with the weed whipper.
I LOVE your material Scott... you really have got this technique.... Thank you for opening the course to me. I'm in Kenya and this is exactly the stuff I need to be listening to...... INTERESTING also , I didn't know mombasa came after napier. It won't grow here, but the napier is growing a lot. So I figured by Mount Kenya it's too cold for the mombasa grass. Can you explain to me how mombasa grass is a succession to it? I didn't know that biomass rows ever did anything but continue being biomass rows unless you put a veg line in the middle of them. My napier grass is very very prickly, I noticed you just picked yours up with bare hand. Is that super napier with less scratching? I'm so happy to be experimenting and taking the syntropic stuff to the next level. It was the most successful project I did here so far, and I did it on contour with runoff water from the road! Someone here told me I was a genius for using it as mulch because I must have noticed the bugs don't get on it and it keeps them away from plants, I had no idea actually lol! I told them thank you for teaching me that
Your channel is very underrated you should have many more subscribers
They are fantastic if you have couple of sheep that produce meat lambs annually.. This napier grass is enough along with some fruit tree trimmings to have a forage for sheep.
yes it is a very under-utilised plant
ive been working syntropically with this amazing plant since 2007,
after several years i learned that the machete is a much less efficient tool for its management than a hand sickle,
i use the japanese style serrated sickle common here in hawaii, called 'kama' , the cutting action is much more focused n controlled n requires less energy than swinging the machete. i use the kama for ~90% of my work as it is small, lightweight, and can cut small woody branches,
rarely ever use a machete anymore,
the other ~10% tool use is divided between my felco hand pruners, larger loppers, and pruning saw.
sequestering any developed or developing cane is crucial to success,
i am usually converting fields where the grass has been growing unregulated for years so theres lots of cane,
i pile it on cleared areas or build biomass berms with it,
when its concentrated and mostly removed from soil contact its easy to remove any fresh sprouts emerging from the nodes,
it soon becomes inert and breaks down to available nutrients while maintaining structural integrity for a couple years.
Dang I just bought the non serrated type 😢
Great information, beautiful presentation ❤ From Kerala, India
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤
This is very informative, thank you
Question 2: could I alleviate the problem of nodes resprouting if I flail mow it to mulch? Then perhaps rake it top one side
Yes, the flail does shatter the canes, but it would pay to keep an eye out and pull anything if you see it beginning to sprout
Just remember too, that if the plant is developing canes, it is moving into senescence and it's growth curve is slowing
What strata does elephant grass occupy? Thanks Scott
Emergent
Scott, would you say Mombasa grass is similar to start with ? Ive also discovered Giant Miscanthus and trying that out.
Mombasa is medium strata and higher succession, plus it doesn't repropagate from stem sections
Very nice information. Will you integrate Mombasa grass along with Napier grass?
The napier grass will be gone by the time Mombasa is needed. Mombasa is slightly higher succession than napier grass and is medium strata where napier grass is emergent
I am curious about mombassa moving in after napier. Is it a higher succession grass? We have both
@@Norbingel you can have both, but Napier is emergent and will get shaded out, but Mombasa is medium, so will persist longer
Hello! Greetings from Guatemala. Thanks for this valuable information!
I have four acres of this elephant grass, but I have no cows or anyone to give it away or sell it to. It has behaved for years as an invasive species, it covers more and more, it almost covers the entire terrain. Additionally I want to convert this area into a cultivable area for other various edible crops. How can I eradicate this grass? Thanks for any advice you can give me.
Shade is how you move it out. It will perform strongly in full sun but it will foster the growth of trees with correct management
@@syntropia_regenerator thank you very much for your answer!
Scott do you have source for Napier and or guinea grass seed? I tried Barunbrug but no luck
I get Napier grass cuttings from plants growing feral around the place. As of yet, there are no sources for Guinea grass seed, but stay in the loop on our network that you are a member of and keep an eye out, that's where it will be shared
Hi Scott, thanks for sharing! Did you plant the Napier within a tree row, or next to a tree row in your system? We are trying to incorporate Miscanthus giganteus in a similar fashion and are wondering wether to put it in with the tree rows or to grow it alongside the tree rows. Thanks!
Alongside for sure
@@syntropia_regenerator Thank you!
There are lots of variety of Napier. Advice which one is suitable for..
I use what grows wild in my area
Doing god’s (nature’s) work Scott 🌞🤙
Is it different from giant king grass?
same stuff
Grasses win through fire, and trees win through shade, so by cutting down the canes and reducing their height, you are reducing competition with the trees.
Grasses are the new kids on the block, having evolved in Africa about 65 million years ago vs trees 360 million years ago. It’s been suggested that it was the development of grasslands that enabled our long-ago ancestors to climb out of the trees and walk in open spaces during the day as we could sweat, and the predators couldn’t.
Where do you purchase napier grass seeds in Australia
I use cuttings
@@syntropia_regenerator thanks
Sanretar Gccoo