Hi, friends! I’ve been asked by a few folks for an update on the fiber garden. The above video shows what it is looking like. If you haven’t followed the new Youtube channel yet, please head on over and subscribe. We just switched from a personal Youtube to a brand account, so if you were following the old one, you won’t get new video updates!
Flax is looking great. Almost all of the flowers are spent. Once the stalks are about 2/3 brown, I’ll harvest. My cotton plants got started a few weeks late, so they’re still looking small. I’m hoping they’ll have time to produce bolls, but we’ll see. These are long-staple white cotton plants.
My madder is growing well. We’ll have a solid crop in the next two years. And I’ve had lavender growing. I add it to sachets to keep fiber pests away from my fleece. There’s a fifth cotton plant hidden among the lettuce next to the lavender. It is in a slightly shady spot, so it is smaller than the others. I’ve also got mint galore which I sometimes use for dyeing.
The plant I accidentally left out of the video was the turmeric, which dyes a lovely yellow. This is in the small pot next to the ginger and madder. It has been slow to mature, but it has been growing.
We’ll have another update when it is time to harvest.