Hi Friends,
For some of you who are learning to grow your own materials for basketmaking, it seems early to me, but I harvested my first pot of basketmakers sweetgrass, Schoenoplectus Pungens, that I grow at home. I live in a canopy of beautiful big conifers. Over the years we’ve emulated “bog” conditions in our sunniest spots, which means planting the sweetgrass in compost-rich soil, in large pots without drain holes, and keeping the soil well watered beginning in spring. For many years I did gather sweetgrass in the wild, with permissions and permits. But not now. There are few healthy estuaries in our area due to over-development and the impacts of modern life. Those pristine places where the rivers meet the sea that are still intact are essential to preserve, restore and maintain. There is a long list of biological functions these places perform that benefit all life forms, just by existing. On his daily walk by the creek valley next to our garden property, a dear neighbor said it best: “These wetlands are the living-breathing-lungs of this community”.
Fortunately, I was able to purchase plant starts in the 1990’s. I’m up to 10 large pots now, since each year the plants spread by rhizomes. When I’m checking to see if the plant is ready to harvest, I slowly pull upwards on one stalk. If it comes out with the root still attached, I’ll cut off the green blade and replant the root immediately, but put off harvesting, and test again in another week. If I pull up and the grass releases without any root, and makes a “POP” sound, then it’s ready for harvesting. Oh, I love that popping sound!
To help the rhizomes get established, for the first 5 years, I would harvest by cutting all the sweetgrass when it was tall and had put on some seeds. If I pulled it, like I’d learned to do in the wild, the root would also pull out. But after about 5 years in one pot I can “POP” them out and the rhizome stays in place to send up new sprouts. The advantage of pulling to harvest this three-sided sedge is that you get 3-6 more inches in length.
In late April/early May I need to build simple structures to hold up the sweetgrass as it grows. Last year I didn’t get the supports up soon enough and I learned that bunnies love to eat any sweetgrass in their reach. The simplest solution for me is to use older branches, that I can’t use in my weaving projects, using string or bonsai wire to help hold up the long sedges since, in our shady garden it grows pretty tall and will fold under its own weight.
There are some flowering parts, not many, but the grasses are getting all tangled, so I’m opting to see if it “pops’ out. If it does, then I know it’s ready to harvest, seed or no seed. These plants are in the sunniest places in our shady garden.
POPPING out Sweetgrass Here’s a live video of the way I test if the grass is ready and you can hear the Popping sound.
It is the summer solstice, and the sweetgrass here is popping right out. Only a few came up with a little shoot on the base. I just cut the shoots off and plant them in another pot I have on hand just for spreading out the new plants.
One pot is completely harvested. There are some leaves still growing that haven’t sent up stems yet. I’ll come back and harvest those late summer.
If they seem muddy, I’ll hose of the mud. Since the weather is warm and dry, I will lay them out on the deck tables for a few days to start the curing (drying) process. These first harvested grasses are 60 to 80” long. I will spread out my harvesting over the next month. I’m sure the grasses I harvest in mid July will be much longer.
After a few days, with rain in the forecast later this week, I will take a handful of about 20-25 stems and put a rubber band around the butt ends.
I have a line inside my studio that I hang the grasses from as I harvest and bundle them. You can see the length of the grass grows. Early season harvest on the right to the late summer harvest towards the left.
I’m really grateful to all of you for making the attempt to grow your own materials. It might take a few seasons to figure it all out. I’m still figuring, and the grasses are still teaching me. This is a wonderful basketmakers material that becomes quite strong once it has been cured fully, which takes about a month depending upon the conditions. When dry, it’s best to store out of direct sunlight in a well-ventilated, heated area. I will often wrap my dried grasses in butcher paper or an old sheet just to keep the dust off. Once it has been rehydrated and mellowed it’s great for twining, cordage-making, banding, weaving small work, or coiling. I save all my little cut-offs and scraps for making a nice paper too.
Happy growing and harvesting your sweetgrass!
Thank you for listening.
