Infrastructure protection

Often happens that infrastructures like poles, water tanks silos, etc, sink in the soil, even the concrete base of heavy infrastructures can sink in sandy soils.

If the water tank slips sideways, it can be a costly hassle.

A very handy idea can be to insert SPINES where the need of stengthening arises.

These are derived from the flower stem of the vetiver plant. They form in the plants from the second year of vegetation.

Their original function is to guarantee the plants' survival when this is submerged by debris or soil accumulation along the hedgerows.

The nodes on the stem can alternatively generate new shots or roots depending on the humidity or light received by the node itself.

For practicity, spines are cut with a 45 degrees angle for signalling which is the top and which the bottom (otherwise they die) and to make easier the penetration in moist soil.

The best plantation time is certainly the winter time because the soil is permanently humid; no maintenance or irrigation is needed until spring.

At the end of spring, when the first shots appear, it will be necessary to cut back the weeds around the planting that can shade the tillers and choke them.

The time necessary to the establishment of this new plants is certainly longer than what's necessary to establish ordinary propagation material, but the cost per unit is one third and labour necessary for planting is irrelevant.

This could be a useful hint....