Houston, we have a problem

I am a big believer in reusing things that I buy until they can no longer serve any function. I use kitty litter buckets to run my dye baths. We aren't going to get the dinosaurs back anytime soon to produce fossil fuels. Plastic derives from petrochemicals. Plastic also degrades in sunlight, presence of sulfur in the atmosphere (which we have here), and heat from the dyebath or freezing if I forget to bring them in overwinter. I had been checking buckets for leaks, but some are slow and surprise me overnight. And so it is that after two days preparing a carrot top dye bath, I came out to find an empty bucket. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

Dyebath One was onion skins.


Dyebath two was coffee


Dyebath 3 is Avocado peels which I did today. Much more brown than the orange I expected.


Dyebath 4 will be oregano. It's cooling now. I am so happy to have propane again! Dyeing indoors leads to allergies. The aromatics overwhelm you. No thanks, I don't need any more allergies. Propane is running about $20 a tank.


I started soaking black raspberry leaves for tomorrow. I also found an osage orange bath from last year in good shape. It overwintered well. So with luck, more colors forthcoming! Flickr has been causing me fits because the old iPad (Safari) is no longer supported. I have to trick it into giving me photos for the blog.


The holey buckets are being corralled for storing mulch and compost over winter. They are still useful, just not for dyeing. Latest garden video with more plans to grow even more food next year. https://youtu.be/N4EPAW4gF9k