Temps here in Texas are just weird this season. Japanese Indigo seeds are sprouting early. Never have they sprouted in January.
Madder root are poking new shoots out rather than going dormant. Mid-January is just not the time for this dye plant behavior.
Being the weather opportunist I had Emerald Landscape local folks out to pull a large perennial flower bed which was past its prime, weed & layout a pad for an indigo pot work area. More to come on this pot install journey later.
After 10 years here our rosemary had gotten old and overgrown and needed to be pulled. Since John & I have also gotten older as well the day of garden muscle help was most welcome.
Since I did not have to wrestle rosemary bushes out of the ground I used this wet day to trim back madder root away from acanthus bushes and save the roots for dyeing. I hate to toss red roots. The gardeners think I am nuts.
Here are the roots after cleaning. I will let them dry for a couple of days and then cut them smaller for further drying.
The garden bed is now prepped for the 3 year root harvest. It has been 4 years since the last harvest. More to come on this harvest later. Where’s my pitchfork?
debmcclintock 
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