The Duck Report - a little summer update
More about hot farming in August.
Duck Report 49 19th August 2021
I started my indigo dye yesterday and today I checked the bath which is a lovely dark blue. I also checked the temperature and we are at 36.5C which is just over 100F, so this seems to have been the problem in the past. I have a bath in the studio with a heat pad under it keeping it warm.
Duck Report 50 21st August 2021
Yesterday was very hot and humid which upset Roxie Rocket Ship and the kids. She insisted on lying on her back with all four feet in the air which makes finding the milk bar very difficult when you have yet to open your eyes. (blythe note: poor puppies looking for milk...) The noise level rose to a level never heard before, which swiftly brought me to lock Rox out for the afternoon and peace reigned.
Harley has taken to eating vegetables from the garden. While we pick he eats and seems to like carrots, squash and yellow beans. (blythe note: I've seen him do this. He's always a gentleman about it, but there's no getting away from the fact that the longer you're out there, the more of your veggie haul he's snarfed.)
I have just removed the indigo stems from the water and added the lime. My ph. the level is now high the way it is supposed to be and the water is blue/green and smells. I plan on leaving the bath until tomorrow and hope we have nearly clear water and blue sediment. I used a grout mixing tool on my drill to aerate the water and I think this will improve the process.
I have noticed the bird poop on the deck is now blue/purple, which means I had better get out and pick grapes before the birds eat them all. This will be my next job if I can manage in the heat. Today is not super-hot but the humidity is very high and makes even walking around a chore.
Duck Report 51 23rd August 2021
We have success with indigo!! I thought as I scooped off the water that I should have no sediment at the bottom, but all is well and I have very dark blue sediment straining through the cloth. I now know you need a lot of indigo material to produce a small amount of dye, but it grows so easily and well that is not a problem. It does smell pretty bad while fermenting and the smell is very hard to get off your hands. Batch 2 is going in tomorrow.
I braved the humidity and picked wild grapes yesterday so now I have to boil them. This year’s crop is spectacular as I only had to pick the driveway grapes and most of them are so high the birds will have them.
Duck Report 49 19th August 2021
I started my indigo dye yesterday and today I checked the bath which is a lovely dark blue. I also checked the temperature and we are at 36.5C which is just over 100F, so this seems to have been the problem in the past. I have a bath in the studio with a heat pad under it keeping it warm.
Duck Report 50 21st August 2021
Yesterday was very hot and humid which upset Roxie Rocket Ship and the kids. She insisted on lying on her back with all four feet in the air which makes finding the milk bar very difficult when you have yet to open your eyes. (blythe note: poor puppies looking for milk...) The noise level rose to a level never heard before, which swiftly brought me to lock Rox out for the afternoon and peace reigned.
Harley has taken to eating vegetables from the garden. While we pick he eats and seems to like carrots, squash and yellow beans. (blythe note: I've seen him do this. He's always a gentleman about it, but there's no getting away from the fact that the longer you're out there, the more of your veggie haul he's snarfed.)
I have just removed the indigo stems from the water and added the lime. My ph. the level is now high the way it is supposed to be and the water is blue/green and smells. I plan on leaving the bath until tomorrow and hope we have nearly clear water and blue sediment. I used a grout mixing tool on my drill to aerate the water and I think this will improve the process.
I have noticed the bird poop on the deck is now blue/purple, which means I had better get out and pick grapes before the birds eat them all. This will be my next job if I can manage in the heat. Today is not super-hot but the humidity is very high and makes even walking around a chore.
Duck Report 51 23rd August 2021
We have success with indigo!! I thought as I scooped off the water that I should have no sediment at the bottom, but all is well and I have very dark blue sediment straining through the cloth. I now know you need a lot of indigo material to produce a small amount of dye, but it grows so easily and well that is not a problem. It does smell pretty bad while fermenting and the smell is very hard to get off your hands. Batch 2 is going in tomorrow.
I braved the humidity and picked wild grapes yesterday so now I have to boil them. This year’s crop is spectacular as I only had to pick the driveway grapes and most of them are so high the birds will have them.