Let’s revisit the madder root. The photo above shows the nice dark tomato red I got from the large madder roots. The left two are from the big roots, the right two are from the smaller roots. I can see why one should be patient and let the madder root grow for at least 3 years. This crop was right at 3 years old. I dug a 4 foot by 4 foot area and separated the roots. I still have some madder exhaust on hand to use with some wool.
A nice contrast color for the persimmon, oak, acorn and weld yellows and browns. Almost time to weave…..
debmcclintock 
Beautiful rich red! I will definitely wait until my roots are as large as the big ones you dug. Might take me longer, as I live in Canada, and your growing season would be longer. Thanks so much for sharing your photos – just lovely!
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No problem, I think the most important thing to remember is to create a map of your garden so you can remember which section was planted when….guess what I did NOT do…so I’m sorta guessing in my digging. BUT they are all within a year of each other so I can’t go wrong if I wait until next year to dig again. I just could not wait and wanted to see exactly what direction my colors would go. Our water has heavy, heavy limestone so my color is already preloaded with calcium. Lucky in that respect. Happy madder root growing!
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Oh, you’ve gotten me where I live when it comes to fiber. Once upon a time I dyed my own but when I found a vendor with wonderful colors I stopped so I could totally focus on weaving. I have tremendous appreciation for you who create such wonder from natural sources.
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Thanks, I am a split personality. I do enjoy the dyepot and find that I spend way to much time there than at the loom. But I’ll eventually circle back to the loom. I am totally amazed at the colors I am getting here in the Texas Hill Country. My goal is to figure out a repeatable palette that I can depend on (as much as you can depend on repeatable natural colors). Once that is decided I’ll get back to the loom!
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