Phalaris Project

[neurobloom]

I also have 50g fresh weight brachys drying up. Waiting to harvest another 50g to make a brew out of it to drink after 4g harmala tea.

This year been very rewarding for me in discoveries and it just might get lot more exciting in a week or two!

 

[dithyramb]

Here are updates from the journey.

First of all, between my and sidisheikh's experiences, the picture that all grass is at its mature potency in Spring, and is not to be harvested in winter is emerging. My few experiences from my early winter harvest made it clear that it is nowhere near the potency of my previous year's spring harvest. My experiments with phragmites also show the same pattern. DMT is suspected to be a defense against insects by some researchers, and while tropical plants may need maximum defense year round, seasonal plants need it in the warmer periods.

Another reason for why harvesting in winter is not good - the plants' health and growth is compromised. I am sorry for this...

Also about fertilizing. I've been fertilizing with manure tea carelessly as it never seemed to cause root burn. But finally it did and I believe it is because of the insane dry spell of this winter. So rain does a good job of washing and moderating the fertilizer and in its absence root burn occurs. I didn't care to water much because the soil remained moist and it was a mistake.

Finally, the grass needs to be planted with adequate space in between for healthy growth and I squeezed a lot of seeds per pot...

So many mistakes this year, so many lessons on the bright side.

All in all, it seems clear that cultivating brachystachys for more than a few doses is a lot of continual work (I didnt even mention the need to transplant it in the garden and having to continually identify and pluck weeds and diffeent grasses). I am not sure if it is really easier than cultivating other plants and I understand why not so many people are doing it.

 

[dithyramb]

Crowded sowing is probably the biggest reason for diminished seed return:

ways to increase seed production in phalaris brachystachys? - The Ethnobotanical Garden - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

 

[espurrr]

i was going to mention that last night, and also i believe theres a lot of room for improving the cultivation techniques as ive seen phalaris grasses blow up when the conditions are in their favor

loosening up the top soil with some river sand, helping the bacteria a bit by mixing some biochar, giving the plants rainwater or filtered water instead of tap, feeding them with compost tea ferments rather than something like manure tea... some of the simplest stuff that comes to mind , drip irrigation would also help

 

[neurobloom]

In my experience as Dithy mentions winter harvests are much weaker than spring harvests with brachys. I have recently tried approximately 250g fresh foliage split Into two oral doses both gave me an experience with rue however it was lot milder compared to my last year spring harvest which was mind blowing.

I also tried two extractions on brachys in winter last year with very low yeilds. I tried basing with sodium carbonate and pulled with hexane... Then I pulled with hexane mixed with olive oil...still very tiny yeild...

Doubting my extraction set up I changed sodium carbonate with lye and hexane for chloroform and I got a slightly higher yield but still far from enough extract for a smoking experience.

This winter I decided to drink the tea instead after rue and indeed it turned out to be active but I'd say it was mild even though second experience the second day lasted 8 hours with DMT like visions and geometrics.

The grass was chaotic in its visions while the rye was grounding it keeping it in the right track...I found these two opposing powers between brachys and rue to be a beautiful combination.

I have yet to experience brachys in its full power and just hope that they will regrow enough material that is potent enough in spring for a powerful experience like last year.

 

[neurobloom]

In the meantime I am more than happy with my aquatica extracts which are nothing short of amazing!

I think I hit the jackpot with this Algerian aquatica cultivar. I only have two plants from it and I never performed an extraction on it without getting some appreciable amount of very pleasant warm fluffy tryptamine soup At minimum and almost pure 5 meo once in autumn that was freaking super powerful at its strongest. I never harvested more than 400g fresh weight per extraction. Most potent extract came from the first and second regrowth in autumn which had the lowest fresh weight matching exactly the crop science literature on aquatica.

Spring might bring another peak which I have witnessed last year giving cubic crystals from hexane which have melted back quickly when trying to Scape them from the pan. At the time I had zero idea on how to properly smoke tryptamines and to this day I'm still poorly skilled at it and still smoke my extracts in a joint with tabacco as enhanced leaf to eliminate as much chance for misfire. Still a pretty wasteful way to smoke extracts but at least it does work.

If two plants gave me over 30 experiences imagine what 50 healthy strong plants could provide! And I can get this cultivar for free from an agronomic institution in like bags and bags of rhyzomes.

Sorry to highjack the oral brachys with rue topic with aquatica extracts but these are nothing short of astounding in quality and yeilds wise. Very sustainable fast growth.. never experienced any toxicity..neither 3 if my friends have. Love how it can range from mild pleasant trance to a freaking nuclear blast depending in season hahahaha.

Am surprised how easy it is to smoke these extracts and how pleasant the smoke itself is!

 

[espurrr]

enjoyed reading your experience with the aquatica Sidisheikh.mehriz

do you think its possible to obtain the seeds of this strain ? i live in iran and am interested in experimenting with phalaris this year

 

[neurobloom]

Back to Dithy topic on dividing seedlings and overcrowding. You can still grow seedlings crowded in pots to save effort ..then once they have established their roots you can remove the compact soil from the pots...while the soil is still held together by the roots and dip them into water (submerged) and start washing the roots gently with water .. a stream of tap water will work also to wash off the soil from he roots.

You'll be left with a ball of roots ...once you throw them in a pan of water they will dislodge from each other and you can prepare holes in the soil for each plant...

Gently fix each plant in its whole and fill with soil ..make sure the soil is fluffy so roots have easier time spreading deep Into the ground. ..

Plants will look like they're dying off and show signs of weakness at first few days but they will regain their health if not disturbed. Water with fine mist if possible or at least a bottle with fine holes in its cap ...add some soil layer if roots are exposed from watering. or add a layer of compost to fix the Exposed soil surface and to maintain moisture.

Select an alkaline fertile soil to begin with preferably heavy in clay that's what phalaris prefers. Acidic soils brings aluminium toxicity issues which will stunt lf not kill phalaris. A pH paper strip dipped into the wet soil will suffice to gauge soil pH. If you can't find alkaline soil..you can always amend the soil pH with calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide or wood ash though if the soil has high organic content and rich in microorganisms the pH will tend to drop again so reapplication of alakline nutrients might be necessary every few months.

For fertilization I found urine diluted 8 folds a good source. The recommended urine dilution for vegetables crops is 10 folds dilution to avoid root burn but phalaris as a grass is more efficient at sucking up nitrogen than vegetables and can handle high nitrogen concentrations like turf grass does so 8 folds dilution in volume with water is a great start.

Urine while high in nitrogen and phosphorus still lacks a in potassium and calcium .. magnesium, sulfur and some other nutrients.. to balance urine's NPK I use olive ash dissolved in urine ...before adding the ash to urine I realize that some ash nutrients doesn't dissolve well in water like calciul,. Potassium carbonates ... magnesium salts etc ...so I add a table spoon of citric acid to a cup of water and add the ash to it ...it will start fizzing releasing CO2 and producing the citrate salt of each each element K, Ca, Mg, etc... It's not only that citrate salts are more soluble but citric acid is a pretty chilator for a lot of nutrients like iron...which means the citrate salt form of iron is a lot more bioabsorbed by plants and all living organisms. Picking a handful of rusted iron nails and throwing them in citric acid will be very beneficial...

This formula is used in spirulina culture medium (microalgae farming)

In fact following organic spirulina culture medium formula that relies on urine and woodash is the perfect fertilizer.

Someone mentioned biochar (charcoal) for soil amendment... To increase microorganisms in the soil...while it does work if you add charcoal powder straight into the soil it will have negative impact the first few months as the highly porous surface area of charcoal will pull and trap all the micro organisms in the soil which are the primary source of nitrogen in the soil thus trapping it into charcoal devoiding the soil from nutrients...until the charcoal porous surface has been plugged enough with micro flora that it will stop stealing nutrients from soil...

You can avoid this by inoculating charcoal before adding it to soil by mixing the charcoal with some organic material that is fermentable like wheat flour, milk weigh, brewing yeast waste, spirulina, etc ...mix thoroughly with charcoal and sole water ...cover up and keep moist for few weeks ...now this charcoal will not suck up nutrients from soil ...and once added into soil it will benefit soil indefinitely keeping bacteria from escaping soil surface layer where most the roots are developed.

Ferrilize weekly ... don't bother to stress your phalaris if it's high yielding already just keep the soil moist all the time but not too moist to clogg the soil and suffocate the roots ...

Every now and then watering with carbonated water will areate the roots and provide them with a healthy dose of CO2 if you are planting in a small scale. But don't do it often as carbonated water is high in minerals and those minerals can accumulate and raise salinity over time .

 

[neurobloom]

enjoyed reading your experience with the aquatica Sidisheikh.mehriz

do you think its possible to obtain the seeds of this strain ? i live in iran and am interested in experimenting with phalaris this year

I think it's possible once I have enough seeds or if bring more from the same source.

 

[dithyramb]

Thanks for all your contribution and collaboration Sidhi!

Similar to your experience, the power of my brachy experiences with winter harvests were not comparable with previous spring harvested plants. I might still be impressed and satisfied because of my sensitivity. But the ego dissolution was weak and open eyed visual distortions were completely absent unlike my spring brachy experiences.

As you know I did not have luck with the two wild strains of potent aquaticas that I found. One was insanely potent with DMT but caused disturbing tyramine side effects with rue. The other had almost negligible side effects, was 5 dominant and that was intriguing, but somehow it suppressed the rue and all psychological processes, leaving you with a pleasant but ultimately not useful 5 meo expansive emptiness. The latter (5 dominant) strain seems likely to be of the same character if ingested alone, but the first strain could possibly be healthy and interesting without maoi as a smoked extract. I don't know if I will ever have a space in my life to explore aquatica again.

For ayahuasca analogues, brachy is the best phalaris candidate. Spirit-wise it is reminiscent of Chacruna and this is unique among all the grass species I have experienced, all being of a very different character. Unfortunately it is not perennial and also grows less vigorusly than aquatica. But the cultivation technique can be mastered and it could have a lot of potential with dedication and patience. I actually ran into a field full of brachystachys almost as tall as my height many years ago when I was not ready to start exploring it. It was probably on steroids because of artificial fertilizers. It's a glimpse of what is possible.

I am not really sure how well this years cultivation is going. I don't remember blades drying out last time as is happening this year despite enough watering. I initially thought it is rootburn from too much manure tea but I don't think so anymore as it has been a long time since fertilizing and after so much rain the drying continues. It is not too bad, but still it is present. So here is my last cultivation's grass in March. Phalaris Project - Ayahuasca - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus It appears as a success and I don't know if I will reach that this year. Last time I had used soil from under an oak tree as suggested for nutrient density by a local farmer. This year I just used soil from an alfalfa field that could be considered high in clay. Also last time it rained a lot and this year seems to be perhaps the dryest for the last 100 years. I am considering collecting rainwater now. Also, nettle tea is a popular fertilizer rich in many minerals, and I just found out it is also rich in nitrates. Will give it a try. Finally, last time the grass was in a greenhouse but this year is so warm I did not feel the need to do it but probably it will help if I do.

The effect of rainwater is seen almost instantly. The grass becomes erect and grows considerably by the next day. Rainwater is said to have up to 4.5mg/L of nitrate. So it seems that giving the grass a little nitrates is more effective than giving it a ton of nitrogen in other forms.

Just read alfalfa is also rich in nitrates! How ironic that I have not been aware that I planted the brachys among a sea of fertilizer!

Wow, another bonus: alfalfa has triacontanol, a plant growth promoting hormone.

And then there is horsetail found abundantly in the local forests, it's tea said to boost plant health and growth also.

Alright, I have a new formula and I am set to go.

 

[dithyramb]

Now I am leaning on the reason for drying off blades to be the cold lows during the night. Greenhouse coming soon to test it out.

 

[neurobloom]

My brachys germinated a few days after yours and some of them are already shooting panicles...some of which have just started shedding seeds.. I never seen any yellowing though. I guess it's the warm winter of the north African coast the reason.

Cansriensis also started growing panicles. This phalaris species is the most effected by disease which I believe correlates with its low or complete lack of alkaloids.

Aquatica on the other hand dosen't seem to mind the warm winter and keeps on growing without growing panicles.. they only go to Anthesis in mid spring.

One interesting fact about brachystachys I learnt recently is that they can have two reproduction cycles in one season if conditions are right.. that is some of brachys seed bank in the soil will germinate late in winter for another round of growth after first growth dies off.. am starting to see more and more seedlings emerge these last couple days all at once.

Am in a dilemma with my brachys sending out panicles.. wondering if I should harvest them now while they have just started moving to Anthesis stage or wait till spring to haven't for higher alkaloids. What if I wait by spring there will be very little biomass left and they will be mostly panicles?

I think growing them in greenhouses will increase temperature and alkaloids countent. Higher Temperature in the range of 21 to 26 has been proven to increase alkaloids production in field experiments in Australia.

 

[dithyramb]

Sorry for your brachys' early flowering... I'm guessing if they go through the entire fall-summer cycle they will produce more total biomass because of size. Or perhaps they are able to grow very fast in Spring after late winter sowing, who knows.

The wild ones I found in or around fields were all very tall with panicles almost as long as aquaticas' longest ones and much fatter. They were all sparsely positioned... In other more wild habitats they were pretty small.

I gave them a lot of nettle tea for the last two days. It hasn't been raining for a few days and they look fine. Just brewed up some alfalfa tea. The growth hormone prospect (along with nitrates and minerals) is pretty exciting. The hormone is said to not be soluble in water but there are a lot of reports of using alfalfa in tea form successfully for enhanced growth... There could be something else going on with the alfalfa tea.

And yes the enzymes in grass work more with higher temperatures, that is in line with my experience and discovery. It's also why spring is when the alkaloids peak.

 

[endlessness]

dithyramb or others participating/reading this thread, thanks for sharing all this knowledge! I'd love to test phalaris extracts to help the community learn more about the phytochemistry of this genus. Let me know if you have samples you can send in for lab testing, feel free to pm me.

 

[neurobloom]

I pm'ed you

 

[neurobloom]

Little update

 

[neurobloom]

Spring starts late February where am from so I'm already late. I'm lucky if they grow big enough rhyzomes to make it through summer drought.

Will most likely need to rescue them in summer with some water but that will break dormancy and decrease alkaloids in autumn.

The longer the summer dormancy the higher the Tryptamines will be in autumn especially 5 meo. (At least according to Australian researchers).

As shown in the pictures I decided to uproot all my brachystachys and cansriensis (the two handfuls in the bowl pic) as they were competing with my aquatica for sunlight and nutrients.

Sadly I decided to give up on brachystachys. It's counter productive to rely on a phalaris species that only yiels in spring and also ba slow grower but can easily choke aquatica.

Aquatica in the other hand seems to yield good amount of extract every couple to three weeks for one user from only two plants and it doesn't matter if it's fall, winter or spring it always yields something interesting .

This whole time I been experimenting with aquatica I only had two specimens which have been enough to help me and 3 other friends to get well aqainted with the extract . Now I divided one of them to 30 more clones.
In case the clones didn't survive I still got one specimen intact.

 

[Soloist]

I have a small assay planned for this coming weekend, about 6-7grams of first growth(after dormancy) P. arundinacea big medicine . I plan on mixing with Passiflora incarnata foliage(about 6 grams)and rolling it in sacred lotus petals to smoke under the full moon setting over the ocean.

I don’t expect much, maybe even nothing from the Phalaris, but just in case I get lucky, what would the duration of effects from smoked phalaris be?
Need to plan accordingly and drive home safely..

 

[neurobloom]

I'd hate to be pessimistic but most likely nothing but big lungfuls of harsh smoke from 7g. straight grass won't cut it. You need to extract in order to smoke it. I have no Idea how much starting fresh weight you need in order to extract something usable from big medicine but I use somewhere between 200 and 400g fresh blades per extraction for aquatica.

It's a game of patience. Leave the grass to grow then multiply by making New clones from rhyzomes. Don't harvest too early or you will stunt the grass growth.

Effects from a smoked phalaris extract can range from 5 mins to half an hour depending on how much extract you smoked and the extract alkaloid profile.

 

[Soloist]

Thank you.
Yeah I don’t expect much, but imo it’s worth a try as I have read some subtle experiences from leaf material on erowid. I’m okay with subtle.
Once spring gets closer I’ll plant the rhizomes outside and letting it do it’s thing expanding for a while before I go anywhere else with it.