Local Yarns: Growing and Harvesting Dye Producing Plants

Friday, April 3, 2015

Growing and Harvesting Dye Producing Plants

Seed "Tapes" for first graders to plant

Yesterday I presented the chemistry lesson to the first grade class: how mordants work to adhere dye to wool. The metal salt forms an insoluable "lake" with the dye molecules.

And did you know that alizarin could replace cobalt in some batteries, thus making them non-toxic?

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Goals for 2012

1) Make some videos.
2) Build a solar oven for dyeing.
3) Build a low hoop cover for the Japanese Indigo.
4) Japanese Indigo, Madder, Weld, Coreopsis tinctoria, and Orange Cosmos. Just started the indigo last week, can't find the coreopsis seeds so must buy some.
5) Mulch the Dahlias over the Winter.
6) Go to Shepherd's Extravaganza, Went to this and bought a Pygora fleece and some washed kid Mohair locks.
Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival, Missed this one.
Black Sheep Gathering. This one hasn't happened yet.
7) Joined textile collective!

Goals for 2011

1) Blue - Grow twice as much Japanese Indigo -- Did this but our Spring was so wet and cold the plants are all smaller.
2) Yellow - 10 Weld plants -- Two plants came back from last year. One vat was not too impressing. Collected seeds though.
3) Red - Harvest 3-year-old Madder Root in September -- Some fruits have formed! And have harvested 499 grams roots.
4) Orange & Orange-Yellows - Coreopsis grandiflora and tinctoria, Dahlia, Tururu Marigold -- Coreopsis grandiflora is prolific! Coreopsis tinctoria finally got going with hot and sunny weather. I'm freezing the few Orange Cosmos blossoms and drying the Marigolds. Red Gem Marigold has very small flowers so I'm collecting them each day and adding to an alcohol extraction jar.
5) Add some medicinal plants -- Echinacea, three plants no flowers yet. Elecampane, two plants with large leaves.
6) Rotate neighbor's chickens around the farm plot to keep weeds down and add nutrients -- This is working for part of the plot.
7) Hope neighbor's ducks will eat slugs -- Used beer traps and iron phosphate instead.
8) Build seedling bed cold frame -- Didn't do this, still working on it.

Goals for 2010

1. Double the cultivated area. -- In process
2. Dye Plants:
Japanese Indigo (twice as much) -- Slug problem, some have made it but I had to buy some starts from a local farmer. I'm lucky she had indigo!
Madder (add plants to make twice as much) -- Have three times as many plants! Six from a local farmer and at least twelve baby seedlings from seeds I planted.
Forsythia (get cuttings from friends) Haven't done this. Was thinking of a hedgerow on the farm plot but have heard Forsythia can get unruly. Well, I would be pruning for dye.
Dyer's Coreopsis (new) -- The slugs ate a lot of baby plants this year. One plant made it and has bloomed.
Coreopsis grandiflora -- I bought five starts from the local grocery store and am picking and freezing the flowers as they bloom.
Weld (new) -- I planted too many seeds in each pot; I'm not sure how I'm going to thin them, maybe when they are bigger. Bought six starts from local farmer. Love the color and works well with Indigo for greens.
Yellow Cosmos (new) -- Three or four survived the slugs. Finally got a few blossoms.
Safflower (new) -- Next year
3. Take 15 lbs. of wool to a local mill for carding. Waiting for it to be finished. Done!
4. Borrow drum carder to see if I want to purchase one. -- Haven't done this yet.
5. Buy a blending hackle. -- Done!

Goals for 2009

Build Hoop House greenhouse
Buy or find rain barrels -- Have barrels but no fixtures yet.
Buy soaker hoses --Done!
Plant Camas Lilies--Planted four, need to get more for next year. November: Planted 25 more purchased at the Washington Native Plant Society sale. Also sowed seeds.
Plant cover crop for compost -- done! Mammoth Red Clover and Icicle Radish.
Plant dye plants--Yes! Japanese Indigo, Peppergrass, Madder.
Learn to spin wool--Done! Now own 8 spindles and have a wheel on order.
Learn to spin flax--Done! Also planted flax. Waiting for harvest. November: Retting done and started processing. Saving seeds.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Growing and Harvesting Dye Producing Plants

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