So has anyone tried cotton?

epsilon · April 20, 2014

I was at the local farmers market the other day and one of the stalls had a selected amount of seed from their garden, one of the varieties available was cotton, needless to say I now have an envelope of cotton seeds sitting on the table.

Does anyone have any advice, knowledge or anecdotes for the stuff?

The packet says, it'll grow anywhere a dandelion does so I take it I'll just put it into the dirt directly next month.

I figure the worse that can happen is that I have "organic" cotton and sell it to some of those hipster kids who want to make their own yarn.

Gaston

RootLoops · April 20, 2014

all i know about cotton is if you can get it to grow tall you're doing something right. but new races of cotton are probably(i don't know for sure but all the cotton here is short) bred to stay short for mechanical harvesters, though back in the old days cotton could get six feet tall or more if you had good soil. that's why they say you're walkin in high cotton when things are going well for you, short cotton would have denoted hard times.

i guess that doesn't help you at all lol, at least it bumped it one!

gssgarden · April 20, 2014

Believe it or not, my daughter grows some every year for fun! It only gets around 18 in. tall though.
One little cotton ball will get you over 25 seeds!! Easy! It a bit of a pain to get them out but thats what her little fingers are for.
I usually just stick it in somewhere in the garden and it does it's own thing.

We picked it up from a field in southern NC and put it in every spring. It has to be sown in the ground. No starting it inside first.

Greg

kurt · April 20, 2014

I grow it as a ornamental and conversation piece.Also the balls(minus seeds)I put in the first aid kit(construction) and the wife uses it with a makeup remover.It is a fun plant,white flowers,then a space plant venus flytrap foilage that envelopes the flower after it turns color then a pod developes into a cotton ball which emerges one day(kinda explodes).I have Egyptian cotton that gets up to about 5 foot.40 to 50 pods per plant and about 4months from start to finish for me.

kayrobbins · April 20, 2014

It is not legal to grow cotton in Florida if it is not commercial. The state came up with this because of the boll weevil. But they did not follow through to let seed companies know they should not sell it to Florida We did get a permit to grow it at one of the demonstration gardens and after having to deal with the state inspectors, it just was not worth it.

April 20, 2014

Other than an ornamental it does not have any real usefulness. You could spend an hour getting the seeds out of one ball. No one I know would spend that kind of time to get little bit of thread to spin.

Penny · April 22, 2014

Hmm, this thread got me thinking....I received some in a trade maybe 5-6 years ago, totally forgot about it, does anyone know if it would still be viable?

Tormato · April 22, 2014

An old thread, here...

www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27195

I trialed it once, and had perfect weather for it that year. I stumped all of the Master Gardeners I knew, when showing them an unopened boll and asking them what it was.

Gary

epsilon · April 22, 2014

Well I guess cotton balls for fiber arts are out, unless I can get myself a cotton gin to process the stuff.

Well, it's always nice to have conversation pieces.

April 22, 2014

Makes great compost material.

Worth1 · April 22, 2014

Did you know cotton comes naturally in many colors other than white?

Before the invention of the cotton gin cotton cloth was considered a luxury and only the rich could afford it.
Most people wore wool.
The only good weavers were in India for many years.
They had laws in England stating that you had to be buried in wool to try and protect the wool producers there.
The land owners were the only people that could vote so the only way commoners could get anything done in their favor was to riot.
Cotton has a long and interesting history.

Worth

Darren Abbey · April 23, 2014

I've grown cotton in Minnesota. The growing season is just long enough, if you pull the plants to let them finish drying while hanging in a garage/basement.

I've been thinking of making a hand-cranked gin to separate out the seeds.

salix · April 25, 2014

Not sure that the above link was the one intended. Being technically inept and not knowing how to add a link, I can tell you that there is a short thread on the Fruit, Flowers and Ornamentals forum started by 'uno' on 3 June, 2013.

Tormato · April 25, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tormato

An old thread, here...

www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27195

I trialed it once, and had perfect weather for it that year. I stumped all of the Master Gardeners I knew, when showing them an unopened boll and asking them what it was.

Gary

Correction...

www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27915

**coronabarb** · April 25, 2014

Sounds like a fun thing to grow. I like quirky or different things.

April 20, 2014	#1
epsilon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Desert CA Posts: 400	So has anyone tried cotton? I was at the local farmers market the other day and one of the stalls had a selected amount of seed from their garden, one of the varieties available was cotton, needless to say I now have an envelope of cotton seeds sitting on the table. Does anyone have any advice, knowledge or anecdotes for the stuff? The packet says, it'll grow anywhere a dandelion does so I take it I'll just put it into the dirt directly next month. I figure the worse that can happen is that I have "organic" cotton and sell it to some of those hipster kids who want to make their own yarn. Gaston

April 20, 2014	#4
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,501	I grow it as a ornamental and conversation piece.Also the balls(minus seeds)I put in the first aid kit(construction) and the wife uses it with a makeup remover.It is a fun plant,white flowers,then a space plant venus flytrap foilage that envelopes the flower after it turns color then a pod developes into a cotton ball which emerges one day(kinda explodes).I have Egyptian cotton that gets up to about 5 foot.40 to 50 pods per plant and about 4months from start to finish for me. __________________ KURT Last edited by kurt; April 20, 2014 at 10:33 AM. Reason: Afterthought info

April 25, 2014	#13
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	Not sure that the above link was the one intended. Being technically inept and not knowing how to add a link, I can tell you that there is a short thread on the Fruit, Flowers and Ornamentals forum started by 'uno' on 3 June, 2013. __________________ "He who has a library and a garden wants for nothing." -Cicero

April 25, 2014	#15
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	Sounds like a fun thing to grow. I like quirky or different things. __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

April 20, 2014	#2
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	all i know about cotton is if you can get it to grow tall you're doing something right. but new races of cotton are probably(i don't know for sure but all the cotton here is short) bred to stay short for mechanical harvesters, though back in the old days cotton could get six feet tall or more if you had good soil. that's why they say you're walkin in high cotton when things are going well for you, short cotton would have denoted hard times. i guess that doesn't help you at all lol, at least it bumped it one!

April 20, 2014	#3
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	Believe it or not, my daughter grows some every year for fun! It only gets around 18 in. tall though. One little cotton ball will get you over 25 seeds!! Easy! It a bit of a pain to get them out but thats what her little fingers are for. I usually just stick it in somewhere in the garden and it does it's own thing. We picked it up from a field in southern NC and put it in every spring. It has to be sown in the ground. No starting it inside first. Greg

April 20, 2014	#5
kayrobbins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 820	It is not legal to grow cotton in Florida if it is not commercial. The state came up with this because of the boll weevil. But they did not follow through to let seed companies know they should not sell it to Florida We did get a permit to grow it at one of the demonstration gardens and after having to deal with the state inspectors, it just was not worth it.

April 20, 2014	#6
dereckbc Guest Posts: n/a	Other than an ornamental it does not have any real usefulness. You could spend an hour getting the seeds out of one ball. No one I know would spend that kind of time to get little bit of thread to spin.

April 22, 2014	#7
Penny Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 948	Hmm, this thread got me thinking....I received some in a trade maybe 5-6 years ago, totally forgot about it, does anyone know if it would still be viable?

April 22, 2014	#8
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	An old thread, here... www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27195 I trialed it once, and had perfect weather for it that year. I stumped all of the Master Gardeners I knew, when showing them an unopened boll and asking them what it was. Gary

April 22, 2014	#11
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Did you know cotton comes naturally in many colors other than white? Before the invention of the cotton gin cotton cloth was considered a luxury and only the rich could afford it. Most people wore wool. The only good weavers were in India for many years. They had laws in England stating that you had to be buried in wool to try and protect the wool producers there. The land owners were the only people that could vote so the only way commoners could get anything done in their favor was to riot. Cotton has a long and interesting history. Worth

April 23, 2014	#12
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	I've grown cotton in Minnesota. The growing season is just long enough, if you pull the plants to let them finish drying while hanging in a garage/basement. I've been thinking of making a hand-cranked gin to separate out the seeds.