hello,

My name is todd mauritz and i work for a nursery in Chile and im in the process of starting 5 acres of ornamental grass production. Our climate is that similar to zone 7, the soil is well draining and sandy. It recieves full sun. The varieties that i wish to grow are:

Festuca glauca var azule

Pennisetum villosum

Pennisetum alopecuroides `blanco`

Stipa tenuissima pony tails

carex buchananii

cola de zorro

papiro egypt and enano

panicum (florist switchgrass)

However, i do not have a lot of experience growing ornamental grasses. We are also trying to start this two months before our winter here. I need to design the production layout: what kind of irrigation to use (i think half of the land will be done by drip irrigation and the rest by flood, canal, irrigation), plant spacing, how many people i will need for this, etc. I have a degree in horticulture from Oregon State, however i am young and have been presented with this amazing opportunity...however i feel that i might be in over my head. Im having problems just finding a place to start. Any suggestions would be well recieved...especially about plant spacing (all grasses will be field grown) and the quantity of staff i will need. We are currently cleaning the land, adding organic material, and add fert (10-10-10) at a rate of 1lbs per 100ft. We will be ready in about three weeks. The cola de zorro will be done by division, the rest will be done by seed. I would like to keep grasses with similar growing characteristics close together. Help?!