HOMEGROWN, HANDSPUN COTTON

I STARTED GROWING COTTON six years ago. I’d just begun spinning wool and was looking for fibers that I could grow and harvest myself. I was especially interested in a fiber that wouldn’t require purchasing several expensive tools at the outset, before I knew whether or not I wanted to continue to work with that particular fiber. I discovered naturally colored cotton in a seed magazine, and I wondered if the hot summers in Kansas would be enough to sustain a plant I’d always thought preferred more southern climates. I planted the cotton seeds after the last frost in spring, and the plants grew rapidly, taking advantage of the summer heat with only minimal watering once they were established. By fall, I had dozens of bolls developing, and many opened and dried on the plants before our first freeze. I’d successfully grown cotton!

WHEN TO PICK

Once the cotton bolls open and dry on the plant, the fiber should be cloud-like and “blooming” from the dried bolls. Some bolls will even open after