Dyer’s Woad

Isatis tinctoria
Also known as woad

$5.00

In stock

Description

Before having a kid when I had lots of “free time,” I experimented quite a bit with natural dyes, both from garden grown and wild harvested plants. It was relatively easy to find plants that made yellow, green, pink, purple, brown and gray colors, but blue was extremely rare. I tried growing Japanese indigo, but I didn’t have much success. Germination was low and when they did come up, they never got big enough to harvest for dyeing. Then I remembered about woad. The name was so peculiar, it stuck with me. A flower gardener once told me about their use in Europe as a dye plant before indigo became popular, and the more I read about it, the more it made sense for our garden. As a member of the brassica family, woad is hardier and better suited for our cold climate.

Sure enough, woad took off in our garden with ease. They’re tall, robust plants with masses of yellow flowers that attract pollinators. Each plant offers 3-4 rounds of harvest of leaves during their two year life cycle. I tested them in very difficult positions outside of our deer fence in poor soil and they performed well, especially if kept well watered. They now self-seed so I no longer have to plant more.

I’ve read from various sources that woad can be “invasive” in the west coast though I personally have not had this experience in our garden. Like other brassicas, they like cool temperatures so if I stop watering them in the summer, they begin to wane. They’re easy to weed out of unwanted areas in the fall or spring. I thin them to encourage larger plants, but other than that, very little maintenance is needed.

Note: We cannot ship dyer’s woad seeds to Oregon or Washington due to noxious weed laws.

Details

Lifecycle: Biennial
Hardiness zones: 6 – 9 (USDA)
Habitats: Woodland, cliffs, and cornfields
Plant size: 2 – 4 feet tall
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Moist, sandy
Water: Moderate
Seeds per packet: 100+ seeds

Seed Starting

Direct sow 1/2″ deep in spring or fall. Space plants 1 – 2 ft apart.

Cultivation

Woad thrives in part shade, but will produce a more vibrant dye if grown in full sun. Keep the soil moist during the summer months and mulch lightly around the base of plants. In its second year, it will reach 2-4 feet tall, and fill out with masses of bright yellow flowers very similar to mustard. By late summer, the flowers will into turn long clusters of purplish black seeds.

Harvest

Woad leaves are used to obtain a blue dye.  Leaves are usually harvested in the spring and summer of the first year, then again in the spring and summer of the following year before they go to flower, for a total of 4 harvests during the plant’s 2 year life cycle. Each subsequent harvest will have less pigment concentration. Most sources use the leaves fresh to create a fermented dye vat similar to indigo, but the leaves can also be pounded, rolled into balls, and dried to be stored.

Propagation

Woad is best propagated by seed and self seeds readily. Allow the plant to go to seed (2nd year) and let seeds drop naturally to replenish the patch. Thin seedlings to about 1 foot apart for larger plants.

Seed Saving

When the seed stalks are completely dry they can easily be threshed by stripping seeds from the stems and saved. Winnow lightly to remove undeveloped seeds (lighter seeds that blow off).

Additional information

Weight0.007 lbs
Dimensions4.5 × 3.25 × .05 in

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Dyer’s Woad”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *