#milkweed

[dorkvania]

Butterfly Repopulation Station in Portland

Free seeds, information and also a patch of milkweed for Monarch Butterflies

#butterflies #monarch butterfly #milkweed #native plants #rewilding #biodiversity

[headspace-hotel]

I love how there is really no wrong way to do the really old and universal crafts practiced by humans. Some arts take a lot of technical skill and you need to buy equipment, but with stuff like fiber arts, you can just redneck engineer some simple paleolithic solution with a stick or a rock and your own body and obtain materials from common plants around you, and yay! You can start making stuff!

Anyway, milkweed seed fluffs can be spun into yarn?!?!

#plants #milkweed #i have never done this before ever

[unidentifiedmammal]

breaking open dried milkweed stalks to collect their bast fibers.

i pounded them with a makeshift billet against a smooth surface to break them similar to how ive broken brambles before, and then snapped the pith in order to get only the outer fibers.

At this point i had a bunch of the papery skins attaching all the fibers together, like the image just below. But peeling them off is both inefficient and can lead to breaking

in order to get rid of the outer layer, i rubbed/rolled them vigorously between the palms of my hands, breaking it into flakes that either fell off or can be combed/carded out. it was too difficult to film but basically the same as making a friction fire (although easier for sure).

At this point i had a handful of fibers, still long but in need of combing. I have a fine-toothed comb i use for a lot of fiber stuff, and ran that through it

I'll leave the sound on this one because it's an interesting auditory experience, some might like it some might hate it. Note, be prepared to sweep afterwards!

i used to worry about combing stuff like this too much, and i sort of still am, but its important to remember that what im removing are fibers that would otherwise be too short or fragile to include in a refined long-fiber bundle. What im going for is a line flax/fluff flax-like combo; aka i comb out the short fibers and then i have a bundle of extra long ones to work with!

the result is two bundles of different textures and potential

i made a little test string with the "line" milkweed, but i have yet to do anything more with it

as for the fluff, i carded it out!

i made it into a rolag that i then spun up on my tiny spindle

I quite like it. It definitely reminds me of flax/linen, which makes sense since it's also a bast fiber. Milkweed is often known for being extremely strong; i've heard from a fiber class instructor that you can tow a car with a finger-sized rope of it

I don't know exactly what kind of milkweed this is , but i've heard swamp milkweed is top of the class for fiber. orange butterflyweed is a bit weaker than this one (which might be swamp, might not)

(Also note, if you plant milkweeds, don't plant tropical milkweed outside of its native range! it's not as good as the native ones and can even increase disease in monarchs since it doesnt die back in warm winters)

anyways, have a lil monarch caterpillar!

#crafts #fiber arts #cordage #natural fibers #milkweed #bast fibers #nature #earth skills #drop spindle #handspinning

[milkweedman]

Proof of concept thorn tool. (Much better versions of) these are known throughout prehistory and were used to process plant fibers. I didn't know if they'd work well enough on milkweed to bother with, but now I have tried.

I probably need at least 30 thorns, and definitely longer ones. I was collecting and storing some in my rollator bag, and I think they might have been falling out because I definitely picked way more. But even like 7 or so very short ones bound together (badly) with flax was still, in fact, a far more effective tool than just my hands.

I only processed one milkweed stalk, since it was getting dark and this tool does absolutely suck, but I got it from whole rhetted stalk to fiber in about 10 minutes, and I think I could easily do 2 or 3 stalks at once and it would take the same.

I first smashed the stalk with a hammerstone against a wooden stump to get the hard pith out. The stone on wood technique is new to me but very effective. I'd been trying stone on stone (lack of available tree stumps to work on) and it hardly gets the pith out at all. But stone on wood is super effective as well, definitely will keep doing that.

After removing the pith I combed it repeatedly with the tool. This was made difficult by the fact that the tool was constantly wiggling around and falling apart. But it quickly stripped the outer layer off the fibers. Previously I had been rubbing them between my hands, which was very very slow and tended to damage the fibers. I got the idea from Sally Pointer's videos, but I think milkweed might just have too thin an outer layer ? Or some other reason (or maybe I was doing it wrong, but I don't see how as it is just rubbing). So the tool worked much better and faster. It did produce a lot of tow, although better technique and a better tool will probably help with that.

The line fibers

The tow fibers (top--I didn't have the energy to clean them up, but these should be spinnable as a rolag once I do)

Also tried a little cordage. My twist ratio was way off, which is a new cordage problem for me. I was curious how it would work up, but I don't plan to continue it. Not sure what to do with the rest of the milkweed though. I'm not very confident about spinning it, although maybe if I processed it more I'd have a better chance. At the moment it feels very rigid...not like the flax or hemp I've used.

Anyway, I need to go back to the hawthorn trees I found in the winter and look for new thorns I guess, although it might be too early. I really want a better tool so I can process the mountain of milkweed stalks before I move.

#milkweed #fiber processing #sorry for the bad pictures it was night when i finished #prehistoric fashion #(thats just my prehistory tag but also if i can spin it it will be prehistoric fashion so) #bast fiber

[entomologize]

Monarch and Milkweed designs by Jamie Hoffman. Sweaters knit by MiaYarnGoddess and Knitosophy.

#monarch butterfly #milkweed #pollinators #knitting #insects #sweaters #cozy #knitblr #ravelry #fiber art

[the-bramble--patch]

Happy solarpunk aesthetic week! Sorry I'm a little bit late to the party haha, it's been a busy week making Christmas presents. I want to show y'all my milkweed yarn!!

I've been working on it on and off since August, spinning it with just my hands like cordage. If I had to guess, it's maybe 35 feet of yarn? My final goal is a skein, so 360 feet, or like ten times what I have now. It might take me a bit but I think it's doable!

In terms of strength, it's not the strongest but I think I could knit with it. Here's a lil video. I can pull on it and it holds its shape. It's very soft and a bit stiff.

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can make out of it!

#solarpunk #solarpunk art #my projects #solarpunk aesthetic week #plants #milkweed #milkweed yarn #mine

[alleghenyfeverdreams]

Milkweed seed pin, 2023

#milkweed #wind dispersal #embroidery #milkweed seed #botany

[marmosetpaw]

#warrior cats #wc designs #milkweed #thunderclan #early settler #outside clans #queen #dawn of the clans #moth flight's vision

[calicoarthropodcrafts]

milkweeding

Found a brilliant jumping spider who I couldn't get good pics of.

This red milkweed beetle fell on its back to escape me. Look at it all scrunched up.

Here's a selection of milkweed fellows

and here are the bees (and one COCK CHAFER)

Mite on a buttercup

#milkweed #bugblr #entomology #cool bugs #i love bugs #cute bugs #arthropods #beetles #insects #jumping spider #Spiders #Spider #Cute spider #Bees #arachnids #mites

[harriertail]

is this the enemies to lovers everyone keeps talking about

milkweed design from @marmosetpaw

#with some adjustments but rah the monarch look is heavyy #this is the ONLY enemies to lovers i will ever care about fuck everyone else #warrior cats #dawn of the clans #dotc #milkweed #leaf #clover #thistle #warrior cats designs

[solarpunkani]

Milkweed Lovers Everywhere, Heed My Warning

By all means let me know if I'm wrong here, but if I'm not wrong then we're looking at a serious (at least to me) problem.

I've been trying to stray away from Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) and towards more native species in my area--things like swamp, sandhill, etc--and Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) fits in that category for me. It's hard to find native milkweed plants in stores--even places I've gone to in the past that had a handful of native species are currently only selling Tropical Milkweed. Even still, I know that there's been a good bit of buzz around growing native species, and some stores I've visited have said they're trying to find vendors with native species--they're not only selling Tropical for lack of trying.

So imagine my surprise--and delight--when I go to Lowe's and see Asclepias tubersoa blazoned on a plant label!

And imagine my surprise when it's being sold right next to Tropical Milkweed and looks almost identical to it.

I was immediately suspicious--especially considering the red flower buds on the 'Butterfly weed'. I've grown Tropical Milkweed for several years, and while it's been awhile since I've seen a Butterfly Weed plant outside of a photograph, these definitely didn't look like what I'd seen. Not to mention, I'd only heard of Asclepias tuberosa flowering in orange or yellow--not red. Of course, at the same time, I'm not a professional botanist, and a quick google search did declare that butterfly weed can grow in red (though the images all look like asclepias curassavica to me...).

(Image from the Native Plant Database. Looking at this picture, I should've realized where this was going sooner...)

So I did the reasonable thing and bought two of them. I figured if the red buds somehow turned orange and were actually Butterfly Weed, then I'd be perfectly satisfied. If they turned out to be Tropical Milkweed, well, I simply would give them to my neighbor who's fond of them, or find something else to do with them.

(I feel the need to emphasize; there are a lot of people online who are in the 'if you plant tropical milkweed you're a horrible person and intentionally killing monarch butterflies' camp. I am not one of them; it's not invasive in my area of Florida, it just takes a little bit of extra managing in terms of cutting it back in October/November.)

I ended up in the same Lowe's again today, shopping for my mom, and took a peek at their plant selection. Lo and behold, I found the Butterfly Weed, and...

This sure does look like Tropical Milkweed to me, and to others in my gardening server, yet it's still labeled as 'Butterfly Weed.' Also, I didn't see any Tropical Milkweed on any of the shelves--at least, nothing labeled as Tropical Milkweed. Instead, all I saw was Tropical Milkweed disguised as Butterfly Weed.

This is, in my humble pollinator garden enthusiast opinion, a problem. At best, Lowe's--or the company they source their plants from--is mislabeling their plants on accident. Which could cause problems if people are buying the plants and putting them in a place that's not quite the right condition for them, or create severe disappointment if someone's excited to grow the native Asclepias tuberosa only to end up with something else entirely. At worst? Lowe's--or the company they source their plants from--are aware that people want to grow native milkweed and are either unable to or too lazy to grow them, and would rather try to get away with selling Tropical Milkweed--which has been growing increasingly controversial in some gardening circles--and still reap the benefits and profits of selling native milkweed species.

However, I'll be real? I'm not sure what exactly to do about it. So I guess I'm just letting everyone know; if you see 'Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)' in your local Lowe's, at least double check. Otherwise, you may plant Tropical Milkweed/Scarlet Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) instead.

#milkweed #gardening #flowers #pollinator gardening #pollinator garden #Lowe's #tropical milkweed #butterfly weed #asclepias curassavica #asclepias tuberosa #outdoor gardening #flower gardening #ani rambles #out of queue #idk how legible this post is but I hope its at least SOMEWHAT legible yknow?

[rabbitinthemeadow]

The lingering silence in November // Part 5

November 2nd, 2022

#nature photography #plants #milkweed #photographers on tumblr

[textless]

There doesn't seem to be an official Top Five event for 2023, but it's Gray-Card Memorial Top Five season anyway.

Since there are no rules, not that there were many rules before, I'm doing two sets this year. These are five of my favorite photos from around home (Cochise County, Arizona) that were posted in 2023.

Tailed Orange (I think) with rabbitbrush

Junior the cat in a sunbeam

Flower crab spider with milkweed vine

Black swallowtail caterpillar

Orb weaver and marigold

Happy new year, all, and good wishes for 2024.

#top five #gray-card memorial top five #happy new year #2023 #photographers on tumblr #textless #amadee ricketts #butterfly #arizona #macro #tailed orange #cat #gray #spider #flower crab spider #flower #milkweed #camouflage #caterpillar #insect #black swallowtail #dill #orb weaver #marigold #orange #yellow #stripes #new year #2024 #in the yard

[headspace-hotel]

I've begun to get curious about milkweed fluff after gathering lots of milkweed seeds. According to the internet, milkweed fluff isn't sturdy enough to be spun into yarn by itself, but some have experimented with blending it with other things. It also makes a good stuffing for pillows.

Stuffing you buy at a craft supply store for sewing projects and the like is usually 100% polyester. If plant fluff could be made into a useful material, that would be neat.

#milkweed #plants #crafting #yarn

[blinkpen]

it's like i'm luring you in with those little strawberry grandma candies then strapping you to a chair and making you eat your vegetables which you didn't know could be oh so delicious when someone actually knows all the fun and flavorful ways to cook the damn things

#mog art #artists on tumblr #oc babble #milkweed #higgs #zoetrope #charlie k #jaren #trying to get into the habit of including image descriptions now #the fact my default shorthand name for their ship is HiggWeed which sounds hilariously awful #blood cw

[goodthingstoknoww]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8JE22dj/

#gardening #guerilla gardening #spirit bomb #seed bombs #milkweed #monarch butterfly #archive #tiktok #diy