Eight Ways to Farm with Vetiver
Which model fits your farm? Each has a one-page fact sheet and a full guide.
Tap a model to jump to it. If you are new to vetiver and farm sloping land, start with V101.
V101Basic contour hedgesSVH-1 code A09 □1
Well proven: 40+ years, in all regions
What it looks like
Single-row hedges on the contour, one for every 2 m of vertical drop (about 20 m apart at 10% slope).
Choose it if
You farm sloping cropland, are starting with vetiver, or have few slips and little labor. Start here.
Vetiver needed per hectare
About 350 slips for every 1% of slope (3,500 at 10% slope).
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Mark the top line. Find the level line across the slope with an A-frame. Put a stake every 5 m and smooth out small wiggles.
2
Find the next line, 2 m vertical interval (VI) lower. Rest a hand level on a 1 m T-bar and sight to the top of a 2 m sighting pole held downslope: two readings make 2 m VI. Mark that contour line with the A-frame. Stake two lines, plant them, then move to the next line and repeat.
3
Plant at the start of the rains. Open a 15 cm furrow along the stakes (in dry areas, a deep plough furrow: the “V ditch”). Dip slips of 2–3 tillers in the root dip and plant them 10–15 cm apart, crown 3–5 cm deep, adding compost or manure at planting if available. Firm the soil.
4
Look after young hedges. Weed every week for 8 weeks. Keep livestock out for 6 months. Replace dead slips within 4 weeks. Never use glyphosate. In the first year, lay trimmings along the upslope side as a temporary wall.
5
Manage the hedges. Cut 2–3 times a year to about 30 cm, never below 15 cm, and use the cuttings as mulch. Leave one hedge in every 40 m uncut for helpful insects. Where stem borers are a problem, leave hedges tall until harvest. In dry seasons, cut back at crop planting so the first crop row gets more water.
What you need
•About 350 slips per hectare for every 1% of slope (3,500 at 10% slope), plus 10% for gap filling
•Root dip: compost, AMF-rich soil, water (about 10 batches of 20 L per hectare)
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow at planting
•About 100 stakes; A-frame; hand level and 1 m T-bar; a sighting pole 2 m high; hoe; panga or sickle; buckets
•About 12–18 person-days per hectare to establish
What to expect
•New shoots in 3–8 weeks; first cut at 4–10 months
•A continuous hedge in 12–18 months, and no gaps by 24 months
•Soil building up behind each hedge from year 2; terraces form
•With good practice, yields 40–80% higher (measured in China, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria). In dry years the first crop row may yield less; rows farther away usually make up for it
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □1 V101 and record the hedge age (A12)
•At harvest, check the crop at the hedge edge (U0, D0), 2 m, 5 m and so on out to the mid-point (M) between hedges, on both sides: uphill (U) and downhill (D)
•Record vigor, harvest, pests, and soil, and take photos C01–C06
V101EContour hedges + scattered vetiverSVH-1 code A09 □2
Emerging: being tested by GVF
What it looks like
V101 hedges plus single vetiver plants 4–6 m apart between them.
Choose it if
You want vetiver close to every crop, grow row crops, legumes, or root crops, or farm gentle slopes.
Vetiver needed per hectare
V101 hedges plus 280–600 single plants.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Plant the V101 hedges first (see the V101 fact sheet).
2
Mark the single-plant lines. Between each pair of hedges, mark contour lines 4–6 m apart with the A-frame, starting at least 2 m below the upper hedge. Mark spots 4–6 m apart with a marked rope, shifting every second line by half a space.
3
Plant one dipped slip of 2–3 tillers at each spot, in a hole 12–15 cm deep with the crown 3–5 cm below the surface, adding compost or manure if available. Make a small basin to catch water.
4
Look after the young plants. Weed a 30 cm circle every week for 8 weeks. Protect plants from grazing for 6 months with thorny branches. Replace failures within 4 weeks. Mark plants so they are not hoed or ploughed into.
5
Manage. Cut single plants 2–3 times a year to about 30 cm, never below 15 cm, and mulch around the nearest crops. Manage the hedges as V101. If you can, leave one strip between hedges without single plants to compare.
What you need
•V101 hedge slips (about 350 per hectare for every 1% of slope) plus about 280 (6 m grid) to 600 (4 m grid) single plants per hectare, and 10% extra
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow or hole at planting
•Root dip: about 12 batches of 20 L per hectare
•About 100 stakes; a rope marked every 4–6 m; thorny branches; A-frame and V101 tools
•About 15–24 person-days per hectare to establish
What to expect
•New shoots in 3–8 weeks; single plants become full clumps in about 12 months
•Hedges work as V101: continuous in 12–18 months
•From year 2, watch for differences in crops near the single plants and record them: this is what GVF is testing
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □2 V101E
•At a single plant: measure from its center toward the next plant: the edge, 2 m, and the mid-point (M)
•Best of all: compare a V101E strip with the strip left without single plants, and record root galls (B13) on beans, cowpea, or groundnut
V48Closely spaced hedgesSVH-1 code A09 □3
Established: Ethiopia, China, Thailand, 15+ years
What it looks like
Contour hedges 4–8 m apart (6 m usual), never wider than V101.
Choose it if
Soils erode badly, you grow vegetables, or plan fruit or estate trees in the alleys. On slopes over 27%, V101 becomes V48.
Vetiver needed per hectare
About 11,700 at 6 m spacing (8,800–17,500), on any slope.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Choose the spacing: 4 m for degraded soil and vegetables; 6 m for most farms and medium trees (citrus, avocado, mango); 8 m for large trees (coconut, jackfruit, timber).
2
Mark the lines. Mark the top line with the A-frame, a stake every 5 m. Measure your spacing down the slope at several points and mark each new line with the A-frame.
3
Plant at the start of the rains, as for V101: a furrow (a V ditch in dry areas), dipped slips of 2–3 tillers 10–15 cm apart, crown 3–5 cm deep, compost or manure if available. Short of slips? Plant every second line first.
4
Look after young hedges. Weed every week for 12 weeks; keep livestock out for 6 months; replace dead slips within 4 weeks. Plant trees in years 2–3, 1–2 m upslope of a hedge.
5
Manage. Cut 2–3 times a year to about 30 cm, never below 15 cm, and mulch the alleys; a handheld mechanical cutter saves labor. Prune trees so the hedges stay in light: vetiver is shaded out at about 80% shade.
What you need
•About 11,700 slips per hectare at 6 m (8,800 at 8 m; 17,500 at 4 m), the same on any slope, plus 10%; or start a nursery a year ahead with 300–450 mother slips
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow or hole at planting
•Root dip: about 34 batches of 20 L per hectare
•About 100 stakes, A-frame, V101 tools; a handheld mechanical cutter helps
•About 21–27 person-days per hectare to establish; 3–5 person-days for each cutting
What to expect
•Continuous hedges in 12–18 months; water held at every hedge after rain
•Low steps behind each hedge; plenty of mulch and forage; 50,000–100,000 slips per hectare a year
•With good practice, yields 40–80% higher; over 5–15 years the field can become a tree-based system
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □3 V48 and record your hedge spacing (A17)
•The mid-point is only 2–4 m away: record the edge (U0, D0), 2 m, and the mid-point (M)
•Compare with a nearby field without vetiver (D02–D03); for trees, tick A15 □5
VCRVetiver crop rotationSVH-1 code A09 □4
Pilot: Kenya; being tested by GVF
What it looks like
V101 hedges plus a block of vetiver rows 1 m apart on one quarter of the farm for 3 years, then moved on (12-year cycle).
Choose it if
Soil is badly degraded, nematodes are serious, or you need drought fodder or mulch, and you can plan long-term. Take care below about 700 mm rain.
Vetiver needed per hectare
Hedges about 3,500 plus about 8,300 for the first 0.25 ha block; later blocks from your own slips.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Plant V101 hedges across the whole farm (see the V101 fact sheet).
2
Choose the first section: the most degraded quarter, or a smaller part of the farm. Mark rows 1 m apart on the contour, checking every fifth row with the A-frame.
3
Plant in V ditches. Make a deep plough furrow along each row to catch rainwater. Plant dipped slips 30 cm apart in the furrow, crown 3–5 cm deep, with compost or manure.
4
Look after the block. Weed every week for 8 weeks; fence it for 6 months; sow beans, cowpea, pigeon pea, or groundnut between the rows.
5
Manage and move. Cut 2–3 times a year to about 30 cm for mulch, or every 6–8 weeks for fodder if manure goes back on the land. At the end of year 3, before the rains, dig out the block, split the clumps, and plant the next section.
What you need
•Year 1: about 3,500 slips for hedges and 8,300 for a 0.25 ha block, plus 10%; later blocks come from your own slips
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow or hole at planting
•Root dip: about 38 batches of 20 L; legume seed; fencing
•About 100 stakes; A-frame; plough or hoe; spades or forks and a machete for the changeover
•About 22–32 person-days in year 1. The changeover every 3 years is heavy work: please record the days it takes
What to expect
•Block rows fill in within 3–9 months; mulch or fodder several times a year
•About 33,000–50,000 slips when the block is dug out
•Crops on treated land can be compared with untreated sections; all four sections treated by year 13
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □4 VCR; record permanent hedges as for V101
•After a changeover, measure across the boundary from the edge: U on the treated side, D on the untreated side; write “VCR block boundary” in D01
•Root galls (B13) are the key measure; record changeover labor in D01
VFFVetiver food forestSVH-1 code A09 □5
Demonstrated: Vanya and Samar Shail Natural Farms (India), Rongo (Kenya)
What it looks like
A dense vetiver ground layer under fruit and timber trees, planted in stages or all at once.
Choose it if
Land is badly degraded, crops often fail in drought, your land is secure, and you can wait 3–10 years for full production.
Vetiver needed per hectare
As V101 or V48, or 20,000–40,000 slips for a dense layer, plus 45–70 trees.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Assess the site. Measure the slope with the A-frame and dig holes to 50 cm. Keep useful trees. Mark drainage lines: they need the densest vetiver and no large trees.
2
Plant the vetiver. Either plant V101 or V48 hedges across the farm and add trees later, or plant dense vetiver over the area (20,000–40,000 slips per hectare), leaving spots for trees. Weed hard for 8–12 weeks.
3
Plant the trees. Start with nitrogen-fixers (moringa, leucaena, gliricidia, Sesbania) 12–15 m apart, then fruit trees. Dense canopy trees such as mango need 20 m or more.
4
Keep the light. Vetiver needs sun: keep shade over it below about 50%, since it is shaded out at about 80%. Prune and thin trees, and keep 30–40% open sky.
5
Manage. Cut vetiver 2–3 times a year to about 30 cm and mulch the trees 5–10 cm deep: vetiver mulch does not take root and helps keep termites away. Use no pesticides. Expand section by section.
What you need
•Slips as for V101 or V48, or 20,000–40,000 per hectare for a dense layer; grow them in a nursery a year ahead
•45–70 light-filtering trees per hectare, plus a few large fruit trees
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow or hole at planting
•Root dip: one 20 L batch per 250–350 slips; stakes, spades, pruning tools
•Labor: hedges 12–27 person-days, or 30–60 for a dense layer, plus tree planting; about 20–40 person-days a year once mature
What to expect
•Erosion stopped within about 18 months (Rongo); papaya in years 2–3
•Understory crops in years 3–5; tree crops the main income by years 5–10; a mature food forest in 10–15 years
•At Vanya, satellite images show the land now 7.3 °C cooler than its surroundings
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □5 VFF and A15 □5 for tree crops
•Where you have hedges, measure from a hedge as for V101; in dense vetiver, measure across the edge of the food forest (U inside, D outside)
•Record wilting in dry spells (B20–B22) and the age and species of trees in D01
VPGSPlantation grid systemSVH-1 code A09 □6
Proposed: being tested by GVF
What it looks like
Hedges on boundaries and paths with short water spurs, plus single plants in a 6 m grid among the trees.
Choose it if
You have an existing coffee, tea, citrus, banana, or avocado plantation whose layout cannot change.
Vetiver needed per hectare
About 2,100 for hedges, 400–900 for spurs, and 280 grid plants.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Walk the plantation in heavy rain. See where water runs along roads, paths, and boundaries, and where it collects.
2
Plant boundary and path hedges at the start of the rains: a furrow, dipped slips of 2–3 tillers 10–15 cm apart, crown 3–5 cm deep, compost or manure if available.
3
Plant spurs close to the contour, spaced by how steeply the hedge runs: 20–30 m apart if nearly level, 12–15 m (2–5%), 8–10 m (5–10%), 6–8 m (over 10%).
4
Plant the grid: points about 6 m apart (4 m or 3 m for more mulch). Move each point a little to find the best light, and plant one dipped slip per point.
5
Look after and manage. Weed weekly for 8 weeks; keep livestock out. Cut 2–3 times a year to about 30 cm and put the mulch where erosion is worst. Add a spur wherever water still runs past. Prune tree canopies. Never use glyphosate.
What you need
•About 2,100 slips for 300 m of hedge, 400–900 for spurs, and 280 for a 6 m grid per hectare, plus 10%
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow or hole at planting
•Root dip: about 9 batches of 20 L; about 100 stakes; a rope marked every 6 m
•About 12–18 person-days per hectare to establish
What to expect
•Year 1: vetiver building roots; year 2: water spread after rain and trees starting to respond; year 3: the full system working
•Boundary hedges stop couch grass and star grass spreading into the plantation (Ethiopian coffee estates, with no harm to the coffee over two decades)
•Leave one block without grid plants to compare
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □6 VPGS and A15 □5
•At a grid plant: the mid-point is 3 m, so record the edge, 2 m, and the mid-point (M)
•Compare the grid area with the block left without grid plants: tree vigor (B10), harvest per tree (B11), root galls (B13)
KGKitchen gardenSVH-1 code A09 □7
In use: Australia, Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand, often through women’s groups
What it looks like
A hedge on all four sides of the garden, with a gate, plus about 15 single plants inside.
Choose it if
You have a home garden or small plot (20–50 m²).
Vetiver needed per hectare
About 190 hedge slips and 15 inside plants for a 7 m × 7 m garden.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Make the root dip: the most important step. Brew compost in water overnight, stir in a handful or two of soil from around old vetiver or forest roots just before dipping, and dip the slips for at least 30 minutes.
2
Plant the hedge on all four sides, 15 cm apart (a hand’s width), crown 3–5 cm deep, with compost or manure. On a slope, plant the upper and lower sides on the level and put the gate on a side.
3
Plant the inside plants: about 15, 1. 5–2 m apart, near tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, 50–75 cm from the vegetables.
4
Weed and water. Pull weeds in a 30 cm circle around each plant. Water for the first 8 weeks if there is no rain; after 6 months vetiver needs almost no watering.
5
Cut and mulch. First cut at about 6 months. Then cut three sides down to about 30 cm every 2–3 months, in turn, and always leave the windward side uncut. Lay the cut leaves on the beds as mulch.
What you need
•About 190 slips for the hedge and 15 for inside plants for a 7 m × 7 m garden, plus about 20 spare
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil (from a mature vetiver site or other perennial grass), added to the furrow or hole at planting
•One 20 L batch of root dip; about 5 L of water per plant at planting
•Hoe or trowel, bucket, cloth for straining, machete or large scissors; 1–2 person-days to plant
What to expect
•New growth in 3–4 weeks; wind protection by 4–6 months
•Free mulch every 2–3 months, cooler soil, and water soaking in instead of pooling
•More and healthier vegetables within 1–2 years; the hedge lasts 20–30 years
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □7 KG and choose one main harvest crop
•Measure from the hedge toward the center of the garden: the edge, 2 m, and the mid-point (M, about 3.5 m)
•Compare with a neighbor’s garden without vetiver; record root galls (B13) on tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant
VRTRetrofit of existing bunds, terraces, and waterwaysSVH-1 code A09 □8
Established: about 30,000 ha on bunds and terraces in south-west Ethiopia, still working after 20–30 years
What it looks like
Vetiver added to existing works: at the upslope toe of bunds and fanya juu banks, in the ditch of fanya chini and contour trenches, and on terrace lips.
Choose it if
Your land already has bunds, fanya juu, terraces, trenches, or waterways, sound or failing, and you want them to work better without constant repair.
Vetiver needed per hectare
About 4,000–7,000 slips per km of structure.
Show the full fact sheet
How to do it
1
Walk the structures in heavy rain. See where water ponds, overtops, breaks through, or runs along them.
2
Choose where to plant. Bunds, fanya juu, graded banks: at the upslope toe of the bank, where water ponds. Fanya chini and contour trenches: in the ditch, at the toe of the bank. Terraces: on the outer lip. Waterways: rows along the banks and across the channel.
3
Plant at the start of the rains. Open a furrow (a V ditch in dry areas) without digging into the bund, and add compost or manure. Plant dipped slips of 2–3 tillers, crown 3–5 cm deep: 15–25 cm apart along sound banks, 10–15 cm on terrace lips and at breaches.
4
Fix weak points first. At breaches, low points, and outlets, use earth bags and a double row of container plants. Keep waterway outlets open.
5
Look after and manage. Weed weekly for 8 weeks; keep livestock off the bunds for 6 months; never use glyphosate. Cut to about 30 cm, never below 15 cm. Keep the old structure while the hedge grows: it will not need rebuilding.
What you need
•About 4,000–7,000 slips per km of structure (4,000 at 25 cm, 7,000 at 15 cm), plus 10%
•Compost or manure mixed with AMF-rich soil, added to the furrow at planting
•Root dip: about 20 batches of 20 L per km; earth bags for breaches
•Hoe, spade, panga or sickle, buckets; A-frame or hand level to check alignment
•About 20–30 person-days per km; no layout needed, because the structure marks the line
What to expect
•A continuous hedge in 12–18 months; water soaks in faster at the toe
•Structures with vetiver stay stable where unplanted ones need repair
•5–20 cm of soil behind the hedge in 2–5 years, then a natural terrace with the hedge at its lip
Record your results on SVH-1
•Tick A09 □8 VRT and the structure type in A09R
•Measure from the hedge on both sides to the mid-point (M), as for V101
•Best of all: compare a retrofitted section with an unplanted one (D05), and record breaches in D06
All models
Plant at the start of the rains; use slips of 2–3 tillers, dipped before planting; plant 10–15 cm apart with the crown 3–5 cm deep, in a contour “V” ditch (a deep plough furrow) in dry areas; weed weekly for 8 weeks; keep livestock out for 6 months; never use glyphosate; cut at about 30 cm, never below 15 cm; keep the cuttings on the farm.
Details for every model are in the Common Technical Information (CTI) guide.
What to expect
With good practice: yields 40–80% higher (measured in China, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria); runoff and soil loss cut sharply; soil organic matter up; hedges get better each year. GVF is testing these at scale.
Record your results on SVH-1: one form per hedge or plant, at harvest.
Questions: [email protected] or the #GVF WhatsApp group. Back to the GVF page.