Bast Fibers - Milk Weed

[mnjrutherford]

Flax with 9 FOOT fibers? I would really like some of that!

We planted some of the milkweed in a raised bed and it's starting to sprout. Maybe there will be seed to share in the fall for monarchs AND for fiber.... When do you harvest for the fibers?

[12540dumont]

In the winter, when the plant has turned brown.

[mnjrutherford]

ahhh... And do you need to pound the stems? Soak them in something?

[12540dumont]

m, Check U Tube, I saw a video of it there. Way better than I can explain it!

[mnjrutherford]

Perfect! Thanks!

[bunkie]

Hey Jo nd Holly, thought you might find this interesting...

www.granny-miller.com/equipment-for-processing-flax/

[MikeH]

PFAF's list of fibre plants - www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=48. I had a go with some New Zealand Flax seeds that Richard sent me but couldn't get them to germinate.  I decided to stick to Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) which is a hardy perennial. There's a good USDA backgrounder - plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_apca.pdf but some of the best info including videos is at primitiveways.com/hemp_dogbane.html.  I'm hoping to replace all that twine we buy with a home grown roll your own solution although I suspect that it's a ton of work.  We've already replaced those green bamboo stakes with willow rods. We never run out of them. In fact, the more we cut them, the more we have. 

[Joseph Lofthouse]

richardw: I think that the annual flaxes are about 97% self-pollinating... You can tell by looking at the flowers. If the anther's are wrapped around the style, then it's a self pollinating variety.

[richardw]

Might you NZ native birds like Tui, korimako, tauhou and others must do a fair amount of pollination as flaxes produce nectar. I'll have to take notice of the flowers this summer.

[steev]

I find many varieties of NZ flax at the green dump or thinning clumps for clients; yesterday took a load to my real-estate patron's house for re-use, having reduced a huge clump at a house to go on sale Monday; the way Winters are warming, I think it's time to put some on the farm.

[richardw]

They dont do so well if its too dry, tend to still small (metre tall), with ample water they can get 3m. Would you have enough water for them steev

[steev]

I'll see what happens once the rain comes; anything planted before that tends to croak if it has any size, irrig or not; I'd only be recycling what would otherwise go to the dump, so a cheap trial.

[prairiegarden]

Something that's been used around the world is stinging nettle. Supposedly the Salish used it for cordage, in the Himalayas they weave with it and some guy in Britain made a whole set of clothes ( everything from the skin up ) with it. You can use the leaves for cooking or compost ( chickens?) and the pith can be used for paper making. The videos on you tube show for making it up for weaving or knitting the material is retted like flax, another shows using the fresh fiber for making cordage from mature stems. So another option.

[richardw]

Nasty stuff to handle though

Try using this variety en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtica_ferox when it comes to its sting its the superman amoung the nettles

[prairiegarden]

There's apparently quite a variation between varieties, the sort we have around here is moderately innocuous, I don't even bother with gloves. Supposedly when the plants dry down for the winter the stings no longer have the formic acid but that's info from the internet so take it for what it's worth. In any case, long sleeved gloves are handy for people who are more susceptible.