I never picked cotton...

Goosegirl wrote:

littlejo wrote:I wil try to get a pic of the field in bloom, then get 1 of the field after the herbicide.

It's a shame, but I presume? that it is washed out of the cotton? Maybe at the gin?

Jo

Don't count on it - washing just to remove the herbicide would add another costly, time-consuming step that is unlikely to be included. Now I know why some products are labeled "organic cotton"! I may just start springing the extra bucks for them!

GG

Pesticide free cotton ..... impregnated with carcenogenic colouring dyes ???????

Yup plantoid - that's about it!

When we handweave our products, I'm always careful to let our customers know that our vendor had dyed the yarns for us. They are not organic or natural. I don't want anyone to be decieved.

I do weave with organic yarns, but my customers strongly prefer BRIGHT colors - which are only available as dyed yarn.

Gosh, I guess we just have to not worry about it! We have to wear clothes! Either made with oil products or doused with defoilent herbicides, then dyes that could cause don't know what. We can at least try to grow some decent food to eat.

Jo

Littlejo,

You are so right.

But, I don't believe this is something new. Even the pilgrims used carcinogenic dyes and fabric treatments.
It's my belief that we just need to be informed shoppers and gardeners!

I got a bloom!

I didn't know it was going to bloom, I just thought the boll formed in the leaves (square) and then when it got big enough it would pop open with the cotton, like the cotton was the bloom.

how cool josh!!

hugs

rose

Ah, it's been a long time since I've seen that! One of my jobs was to pull a few plants from different parts of the field and take them back to the lab for analysis...not chemical analysis, but physical examination. I would measure the plant, count the nodes, measure the space between the nodes, the distance to the first flowering branch, count up the squares, bolls, flowers, etc, and enter everything onto special forms and graphs. They had a computer program, but no one had ever learned to use it and this was 1994-1996, so about the only thing the computer saved you from was doing the math yourself, and it wasn't hard math, especially with a calculator. Oh, the memories!

P.S. The data I collected helped them see what if anything needed to be sprayed on the fields. The plant analysis was a nice break from the daily tasks of checking/recording bug trap counts.

I believe the 'cotton boll' is the seed pod and the fruit of the plant, which forms after it flowers.

Jo

littlejo wrote:I believe the 'cotton boll' is the seed pod and the fruit of the plant, which forms after it flowers.

Jo

The cotton is looking good about 3-4 foot tall, a lot of cotton bolls on the plants and still blooming.

looks good Josh...as usual!! LOL Your stuff is always so grrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeen and lush!!

As a spinner, I am expecially excited to see how your cotton develops. Next question: so, what are you going to do with the finished cotton? Nonna

Such interesting information Gloria!

Elliephant that sounds like it was a fun job!

Beautiful plant, bloom & pod!

This has been fun to follow this post!

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:As a spinner, I am expecially excited to see how your cotton develops. Next question: so, what are you going to do with the finished cotton? Nonna

My mom knows a lady who spins, she is going to show me how to spin it, and when I do it, I'll try to get a video. The lady showed my mom how to spin the angora rabbit wool and sheep wool together using a drop spindle, and my mom has tought me how to do it..think of it as a survival skill an educational experience. The lady said the cotton would be harder to spin, but I'm still going to give it a try. She also said the brown and white cotton grown in the same spot would mix and make the white not as white, but I don't know if she meant the cotton this year or cotton from seeds I'll get from the two cross pollinating. She was excited about the green cotton and wants some seeds.

Good for you, Josh. Like when I taught my two sons "survival cooking." They went for that, rather than calling it home ec. Now grownups with kids of their own, they both can sling hash with the best of them. (In fact, one has become quite the gourmet chef, with a kitchen I truly envy.) Good luck on the drop spindle for making cotton yarn. There's a good reason it's called a "drop spindle." But i'll let you find that out on your own. Being in the Pacific Northwest, don't think I'd be any better at producing cotton than getting peanuts to grow, so I'll watch your production, applauding all the way. Nonna

Josh,

Your mom's friend is correct. Cotton will be much harder to spin than angora or any wool type fiber because the length of each fiber (staple) is MUCH shorter. The shorter the length of the staple and the less "fuzzy" it is, the harder it is to keep it from slipping apart when you're spinning.

From your photo, it looks like you have carders a ditz and a standard low-whorl drop spindle that probably weighs over an ounce.

Ask your friend about spinning with a "supported spindle" called a takli. It looks like yours except it's smaller and has a little bowl that you sit the end of the spindle in so it won't fall to the floor. It's specifically designed for fiber that is slippery and has a short staple length. Using a supported spindle is a LOT easier for cotton than the one you have.

Irene Schmoller is a friend of mine and is the owner of Cotton Clouds yarn company. Here's a video of her talking about spinning on the takli. http://www.cottonclouds.com/extras/tips.asp?step=display&htid=6

Good luck!
Gloria

Thanks Gloria for the info! She makes it look so easy!

Here is a video of me spinning some sheep wool and my angora rabbit wool on the drop spindle, I'm not real good at it.

Josh wrote:Thanks Gloria for the info! She makes it look so easy!

Here is a video of me spinning some sheep wool and my angora rabbit wool on the drop spindle, I'm not real good at it.

I love hand spinning but hand carding is a chore. Your doing great! Keep practicing and enter some in yarn in the Fair next year!
OH, I love it when you post your homemade videos, keep up the great work Josh!!!

Good job Josh!!!

Learning to spin from a drop spindle isn't easy - although when you get the hang of it, it's really wonderful. You'll find that all of a sudden you just "know" how.

If you don't mind the critique, I might suggest that you use the same hand consistently to draft and the other to spin the whorl. It should make it easier for you.

Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see the spun cotton.
Gloria

I bet one could make a takli from a metal washer, a crochet hook and a rubber band to hold the washer in place.
The trick with spinning cotton is to support the spindle and add like 4 times the twist you did with the wool.

I am loving seeing the pictures of the crops progress.

IV"E GOT COTTON!!!

Today I went out to check on the cotton and I have two that have busted open!!!!



It looks like I'm going to have a good amount out of my SFG cotton field!

I'm walking in high cotton!!

I know exactly the excitement! I'm an ol Long Island, NY gal, so cotton in my front flower bed here in Ohio was incredible to me. I put a bunch of it in a baggie and brought it to work, like adult show and tell. Everyone oohed and aahed over it and took it out of the bag to touch it, it was funny.

I remember getting a branch of cotton from my Uncle's farm and taking it to Fairfax, VA for show and tell at school. 1955

Kay

That's so cool Josh! Very exciting, can't wait to see how much you get.

You know, I had a look the other week to see if I could get my hands on some seeds here so that I could grow some to show my boys, but no luck so far. Will just have to show them all of your pics!

I've picked some of my cotton, I have some white and brown open so far. The green cotton should open soon, they are a much bigger boll than what the others are, so I'll keep you posted when those open up.

I ordered a cotton spinning kit from cotton clouds
so I could learn how to spin the cotton that I grew in my SFG.

It's kinda tuff learning how, but once you get the hang of it it's now to bad. I made a video of me spinning cotton, I'm not real graceful, but I get it done
You spin the spindle, pinch it, and pull the cotton.

I'll keep you posted as I get more cotton.

You're a pretty amazing human, Josh. I'm constantly blown away by the things you are interested in and do.

I couldn't listen to the vid as I'm at work, so what are your plans for your spun cotton? Can you knit or weave, or will one of those be your next endeavor?

CC