Japanese Indigo
Persicaria tinctoria - (90 days)
This annual herb is a relative of buckwheat, sorrel and yellow dock and has long been used for creating a delicious deep blue fiber dye from the leaves. There are numerous recipes for creating dye from the leaves-- either fresh or an elaborate fermentation processes. Pictured below are a few images from our 2019 dye batch experiments. It is very easy to grow and can yield multiple harvests of leaves over the season. Plant is frost sensitive. Space plants 12" apart. Plant produces clusters of pretty white & pink flowers.
WE RECOMMEND STARTING THIS SEED VIA COLD STRATIFICATION:
Cold Stratification
1. Dampen a paper towel
2. Place seeds on damp paper towel and fold over
3. Place the packet into a ziplock bag and store in the door of the fridge for 3-4 weeks - periodically check the towel to make sure the seeds are still damp but not very wet to ensure that the seeds do not mold
4. After 3-4 weeks, plant as usual
Packet: (0.3g = ~120 seeds)
Here is a nice tutorial about the fresh leaf dye process:
http://www.thedogwooddyer.com/blog/2014/9/27/fresh-leaf-indigo-dyeing
podcast all about the history of Indigo
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-should-know/id278981407?i=1000466611270
