Stewarding Sweetgrass

As I continue to prepare for the shifts both in our lifestyle (moving off grid) and in aligning my career with this off grid adventure, I have begun to shift my ranching and market gardening farm to growing medicinal herbs. I have been selecting herbs that I feel most strongly about developing a connection with, sourcing seed, and staring seeds indoors. One plant that I have a cultural and personal desire to deepen a relationship with is Sweetgrass.

Where I live, and across North America, Sweetgrass is often referred to as Holy Grass. It is a sacred plant which my nation, and other nations, have used in ceremony for generations (along with tobacco, cedar and sage). Sweetgrass is medicine for the spirit and its smoke is used to purify our thoughts and to eliminate bad thoughts or negativity. It is used as a smudge in ceremony and as each individual feels the need for its medicine.

Through the process of domesticating our wild landscapes, post of our native grasslands have been converted into farmland and the habitat of this important plant has been lost.

The decision to develop a relationship with Sweetgrass has brought about much contemplation about the way that this I can do so with the greatest benefit for not only those who are looking for live Sweetgrass plants, but also for the land where I live.

With this in mind, I have come to the one for one model. In this model, for every plant that we rehome through Two Roots (the business that I developed and will be selling medicinal herbs through) we will also rehome one plant to the wild. With this model we hope that we will be able to foster a love of the plant itself, but also a value of its important habitat.

To start my Sweetgrass nursery I have purchased live plants (which will be arriving from a few hours south of me in May), seeds, and have been offered access to some plants that are naturalized to my northern climate also. Although the live plants are a secure way to propagate Sweetgrass, it has very low germination rates when grown from seed. However, part of my goal is not only to propagate, but to come to know this plant…which in my view includes learning to start each plant from seed.

And so today, with the arrival of my Sweetgrass seeds, I welcome the role of stewarding Sweetgrass and take this step recognizing the responsibility inherent in it. I look forward to sharing the progression of this journey along each step of the way.

From my home fire to yours, hai hai.