I've this interest in extraction from phalaris, currently started some P.brachystachys growth
but reading a bit about phenotypes, i think being so selective about strain and cloning is hard

what about bulk? i read an article(old study) about alkaloid concentration of P.Aquatica and follows the main accepted facts about hardening/time of day harvesting and fresh leaves, the strange thing is that that claimed v high concentration in very young age of the plant(most probably because the overall mass of the plant is small then)

but i had that idea, which i'd be happy to receive your thoughts about:-
- reed canary grass is being sold in bulk and cheap
- if i bought 2-3kg of the seeds,keep them immersed in water for a day(break dormancy,and reject non-viable floating ones),then moving to large shallow pans with enough water just to cover the seeds and put into light(for germination)
- the seeds will be in shallow water and in very large density
- i will feed with liquid fertilizer for a 2-3weeks(after germination(3-4 days i had in P.brachystachys)
- try to apply water deprivation hardening, may be shade and temp. changes
- harvest what will be fresh green seedlings
- wait for re-growth and after 2-3weeks do the second harvest

i think with that we can achieve:-
1- high population means variable phenotypes
2- no need to for large space with this v large density
3- no need for long wait periods of root/stem building
4- i suggested 2-3 weeks,but i will do according to plant growth may be 10days,but generally short cycle

what do you think guys

Hey there fellow sappling, I'm an indoor gardener itching to grow something viable for extraction purposes inorder to become self-sufficient. Of course, space is my limiting factor so I was curious about your 2'nd goal on the list - " no need to for large space with this v large density" So I got to ask, how much space would we be talking about for a Phalaris setup?

I'm in the planning/idea phase, i have no exact expectation
but i have experiences with wheat i was preparing for fishing, and left over it all germinated in a very thick and dense manner
P.brachystachys is 7cm/2mm(more or less) after six days,so i expect some similarity for Reed Canary Grass, so it will be extremely dense,may be 1kg in a tray of 30x50cm

if i had some positive feedback from experienced members of the community i will give it a go and publish exact details and photos as i go with the experiment

Just curious, why would you choose Phalaris grass as opposed to something like Psychotria with a higher and less variable alkaloid profile?

I've explained that reed canary grass is sold in bulk (locally 1kg for 1.2USD),i wish i could have any other reliable plant source and for a reasonable price

Fair enough

no feedback from anybody

LMAO Sorry broski, skrew it you might as well just give it ago and be the pioneer. You've got my vote

I've already given it a go
i bought 4kg of RCG, immersed in water for a day and put into shallow panes in my balcony(a day ago)
1-i had a wrong impression of area requirement: the seed size is about 2mm, with density of 1700seed/kg that would require 4m2 if we were to put in single seed layer, i had to put it into multiple panes stacked in 2-3 layers of seed(a pane or two are more dense,4kg is a huge amount)
2-i wanted some feed back how to provide nutrients in the liquid, i did some research and supplied about 3g Urea + 1g KSO4 + 0.5g MgSO4/ Litre ( i will provide P,Ca in coffee and egg powder later)
3-now a day is gone i'm having concerns of the water molding
4-i had another concern about birds(sparrows,pigeons around),as they could have got fat on my expense,phalaralis is bird seed so far yesterday i think it passed safely
5-i should have processed seeds for foreign seeds,as i could notice it now,but hopefully will not be a big deal(if it worked at all)