woad seeds

How do you grow woad from seed?

Sown the seed, thinly spaced, in shallow drills directly outdoors or in seed trays. Lightly cover with soil and water well. Easy to grow, Woad germinates in 1 to 2 weeks. Thin or transplant seedlings 30cm (12in) apart when they are large enough to handle.

Is woad a hallucinogen?

"The blue part of the Woad is not any sort of hallucinogen, despite lore to the contrary. The raw sap crushed from fresh Woad leaves sometimes causes surface skin numbness, slight dizziness, and in certain bloodlines, a vague impression of less danger or more confidence.

How do you make woad?

Creating Woad Dye

Woad plants are ready for harvest in the summer months. Take the leaves from the base of the plant and then cut them into small pieces. Submerge the torn or cut leaves in a stainless steel pan of water and bring up to a temperature of 175F (80C). Simmer for about 10 minutes.

What plant does woad come from?

Isatis tinctoria, also called woad (/ˈwoʊd/), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem. Woad is also the name of a blue dye produced from the leaves of the plant.

Is woad the same as Indigo?

Woad was, and still is, the native European source of indigo blue dye. ... This is confusing as the blue colouring matter in woad is the same as the blue colouring matter in “indigo”, but the dye is much less concentrated in woad leaves, which is why “indigo” eventually largely replaced woad in Europe.

Does woad grow in the US?

Habitat and Ecology. Native to southeastern Russia, dyer's woad (Isatis tinctoria) is now invasive across the intermountain West of the US.

Did Vikings use woad?

“All the Britons dye their bodies with woad, which produces a blue colour, and this gives them a more terrifying appearance in battle.” Vikings may have learned of and adopted this tactic during the period of their invasion and subsequent immersion in Britain, though I haven't seen evidence of this.

Why did Celts paint themselves blue?

So, where did the idea about the Picts painting themselves blue originate from? Julius Caesar once noted that the Celts got blue pigment from the woad plant and that they used it to decorate their bodies. ... It has also been theorized that the real use of woad was perhaps intended to heal the scars after the battle.

What is a Woad warrior?

Woad warriors are brave fighters - and mad. They disdain armour and most cloting, preffering to paint themselves with intricate and stylised magical designs in woad (a blue dye) to deflect enemy blows and missiles.

What Colour dye does the woad plant yield?

WOAD (Isatis tinctoria)

It is closely related to broccoli and cabbage. Both indigo and woad provide us with a beautiful blue dye. The chemical which gives the blue dye is called indigotin.

What does woad mean?

: a European herb (Isatis tinctoria) of the mustard family formerly grown for the blue dyestuff yielded by its leaves also : this dyestuff.

How do you dye wool with woad?

Dyeing Techniques

The fermentation removes the oxygen from the vat making the woad soluble. Wool or fabric is dipped into the vat, left for a few minutes, and then removed. At first the wool is pale yellow, but with exposure to air, the colour gradually turns to green and then to blue.

Is Dyer's woad poisonous?

Although dyer's woad is not toxic, it is unpalatable to livestock.

How do you identify woad?

All leaves have a prominent cream colored mid-rib extending the entire length of the leaf, and a bluish-green color. The leaf color and prominent mid-rib are good identifying characteristics of dyer's woad. The weed has a thick, fleshy tap root that penetrates down to 3 feet into the soil.

What does woad look like?

Woad (Isatis tinctoria) is an erect biennial that grows to between 1-3 feet, sometimes up to 4 feet in height. Its leaves are bluish green overlaid with a powdery white fluff. The leaves are narrow and lightly serrated to wavy.

Why Indigo was considered better than woad in textile industries?

European cloth manufacturers therefore had to depend on another plant called woad to make violet and blue dyes. Cloth dyers, however, preferred indigo as a dye because indigo produced rich blue color, whereas the dye from woad was pale and dull. So, it was very profitable for them.

How do you make natural blue dye?

To make a blue food dye, slice up red cabbage leaves and boil for 10-15 minutes. Strain out the cabbage, reduce the liquid until it is thick and syrupy (the cooking liquid from a whole cabbage will reduce to about a quarter of a cup. Now you have an intensely purple syrup.

Did the Celts paint themselves blue?

Ah, the Celtic tribes – they painted themselves blue with woad and ran naked into battle.

How do you kill Dyer's woad?

Cutting off the blooms before they turn to seed will minimize the spread of woad. Sowing weed-free seed and feeding livestock with weed-free hay can also help reduce the impact of the plant. In some situations, repeated tilling of an area is an effective way of getting rid of woad.

Where can I find woad?

It has been cultivated throughout Europe for hundreds of years, and there were important woad-growing regions in the UK during the medieval period. Native to the steppes and deserts of Central Asia, it is also found throughout south-east and central Europe.

What Colour is Wode?

Learn more about the Woad plant (Isatis tinctoria), a famous natural dye and source of natural indigo dye, used for several thousand years (see woad history) in Europe and the Middle East. Woad dye extraction produces natural indigo dye from the dark blue-green, spinach-like woad leaves. Buy woad pigment here.