Sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata)

Sweetgrass

 Sweetgrass is well known to many indigenous people in Canada. The fragrant grass can be used for baskets, smudge, medicine, or as a scent. It is beleived that the smoke from sweetgrass purifies thoughts and the environment, eliminating negative thoughts. It can grow up to half a meter long or more. The seeds are small and are often infertile, and rarely germinate to create new plants. The stems of sweetgrass grow horizontally under the soil which creates dense patches of grass. These patches can be manually divided up to produce new plants, this type of reproduction is called creeping. Sweetgrass can be found near rivers, lake edges, and wet meadows. It is bright green at its harvestable stage, then depending on when it was picked and dried it turns straw coloured. Sweetgrass is one of four indigenous sacred plants (tabacco, sage, cedar, and sweetgrass). The significance of sweetgrass varies for different communities. It is believed in some nations that sweetgrass is the sacred hair of mother nature and is often braided. Each section of the braid represents something, mind, body and soul is one believe and another would be love, kindness and honesty. There are many nations who have different representations. 

Our Initiative

We plan to Grow sweetgrass, then transfer it to the wetland to try and create a dense population of the grass.

Why?

• Sweetgrass is becoming scarce in New Brunswick, we want to reintroduce sweetgrass to our area by planting it at the MUS wetland.

How?

• We obtained sweetgrass plugs and planted them in wooden stand up planters. We used soil and fertilizer, along with bloodmeal and bone meal. We water when needed. When the sweetgrass is ready for transfer we will transfer them to spots in the wetland that have been approved.

Progress

• July 17, 2023

• July 26, 2023

•  August 10, 2023

• August 22, 2023

• September 5, 2023

• September 12, 2023

• September 18, 2023

•  October 14, 2023

Harvesting

• Harvesting is done later in the summer time, the sweetgrass will be bright green when harvestable. When harvesting, it is better to cut the grass close to the ground instead of fully pulling up the stem. Fully pulling up the stem will damage the root system, which will inhibit growth. In indigenous culture, taking more sweetgrass than needed is unacceptable as well as damaging the clump during harvest. Some believe that when one takes something from the Earth, like picking sweetgrass, an explanation of why and how it will be used is required to the spirit. This explanation is usually accompanied by an offering of tabacco in return for the generosity showed by the Earth.