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: 

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