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(Rubia tinctorum)
Madder root takes at least three years of cultivation from the time of planting to the time of harvest. Three years of tending to the crop before it can be harvested. I planted this crop by seed in the spring of 2022 and hand dug the roots this past spring. Madder is a traditional ancient natural dye. Many 5,000 year old specimens of madder dyed textiles have been discovered throughout the Indus Valley, ancient China, and ancient Egypt proving madder to be one of the most colorfast natural dyes of all time.
For beautiful shades of light pink use ground madder root at 6% WOF, and for deep shades of red use at 100% WOF. The ground root does not need to be soaked overnight, simply add it directly to the dye bath and slowly bring the heat up to 180°F. For best results do not exceed 180°F or the red color will be damaged and become brick red or brown. If your water is not rich in calcium you will achieve better results by adding 1 tsp. of calcium carbonate to the madder dye bath.
Resources: Madder pink and red color formula recipes in my book Farm & Folk Quilt Alchemy
Grown, harvested, and cured by Sara here in southwestern Colorado on Ancient Future Farm. Our family has been tending this land and soil with regenerative growing methods since 2005. Our soil is nurtured through extensive cover cropping and our crops are fertilized with compost that we make right here on site. We never use synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or fungicides.
Each packet contains 100 grams of ground madder root.
(Rubia tinctorum)
Madder root takes at least three years of cultivation from the time of planting to the time of harvest. Three years of tending to the crop before it can be harvested. I planted this crop by seed in the spring of 2022 and hand dug the roots this past spring. Madder is a traditional ancient natural dye. Many 5,000 year old specimens of madder dyed textiles have been discovered throughout the Indus Valley, ancient China, and ancient Egypt proving madder to be one of the most colorfast natural dyes of all time.
For beautiful shades of light pink use ground madder root at 6% WOF, and for deep shades of red use at 100% WOF. The ground root does not need to be soaked overnight, simply add it directly to the dye bath and slowly bring the heat up to 180°F. For best results do not exceed 180°F or the red color will be damaged and become brick red or brown. If your water is not rich in calcium you will achieve better results by adding 1 tsp. of calcium carbonate to the madder dye bath.
Resources: Madder pink and red color formula recipes in my book Farm & Folk Quilt Alchemy
Grown, harvested, and cured by Sara here in southwestern Colorado on Ancient Future Farm. Our family has been tending this land and soil with regenerative growing methods since 2005. Our soil is nurtured through extensive cover cropping and our crops are fertilized with compost that we make right here on site. We never use synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or fungicides.
Each packet contains 100 grams of ground madder root.
