Last Spring I enthusiastically planted 100 woad plants to become an intrepid woad farmer. All was going well and the plants were looking wonderful. Unfortunately I was so busy doing 101 other things that I delayed harvest. It then rained and rained and then rained some more. Our wheelbarrow rain gauge filled twice, that's a lot of water. Three days it rained without stopping. Our road flooded and my precious woad plants were mostly underwater. This plant has many survival mechanisms, to the extent that it is banned in some areas of Northern America but it does not cope with living under water.💦
The remaining plants numbered less than 20. Clearly not enough to satisfy my delusions of grandeur but still... it was enough to dye some yarn. So here it is added today 600 g of 4ply Corriedale. Plenty enough for a beautiful sweater, with a story as an added bonus.
I will write more about Woad again at a later date as it is a fascinating plant with a long history.
Nga Mihi
Rosemarie