From seeds to blue, grow Indigo & Woad with the Indigo plot 2025, online

Grow at home a small Indigo and Woad garden as part of community of Natural dye plant growers, learn to create colour with your plants
About this Event

This is a workshop about growing and using blue pigment yielding plants, that is Japanese Indigo and Woad in your own space. Most of the sessions will be remote online live with me on zoom.

You do not need to have any skills to take part as we will cover both basics about both growing and dyeing. But you need to focus to grow, your plants will need a lot of care for a good level of success.

If you live in the UK I will post out to you some seeds (50 Japanese Indigo and same of Woad) if you live overseas I will do my best to share some source for finding seeds locally.

Please forward by email your postal address after booking if you live in the uk in order for me to ship out your seeds in March 2025.

I am based in Scotland and I will follow the growing season. We will discuss how to judge your plants and decide when they are ready if you are in a different area.

From April to end of June we will have monthly zoom catch up about your growing. Both at the end of July and August we will have online events/workshop to learn how to get and use the blue from your plants.

All sessions will be recorded and available for two years. They will come together with basic instructions.

I can not garantee your success in getting blue, it will depend on your plants and your understanding of the method used.

We will communicate online via a FB group to share our experience and interact with other growers. You dont have to use FB but no other mode of communication for informal chat will be offered.

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Elisabeth is a natural dye artist, based in Glasgow, Scotland. She grows and teaches how to dye with Indigo and Woad. She opened "The Indigo plot" a natural dye garden in the grounds of the Glasgow Botanical garden in 2021. From there she runs a sustainable dye program, educating the public to make the connection between plant and colour.

I n 2021 she launched her program of "home growers" for wannabe dyers at home, sending them seeds for the blue dye and liaising with them during the growth season to help them trouble shooting. For that she uses regular zoom sessions. For those interested to go the extra mile she shares extractions and direct fresh leaves techniques via instructions and video material. All material is available for one further season.

To take part you will need some ground space or large planter pots, access to water. If you don't have a garden you can grow in tubs. In time a list of what you need will be sent out. There will be regular contacts from April onwards.

W e will use zoom online live to connect, Elisabeth will set up meetings during which catch up and share experience. She regularly will send notes and questionnaires.

E lisabeth will share information prior to planting and share web based write related to her own dye garden on the project fb page and via blog posts. You will be encouraged to join the FB group and post your own progress.

When the crop is ready you will be invited to learn how to use fresh leaves indigo to create colour on your fibre and how to extract an Indigo vat via a zoom online live session.

You will receive guidance to grow, harvest your plants by written instructions and live recorded zoom catch up and you will be given instructions about using Fresh leaves Japanese/ Woad Indigo to create colour. (iced and salt methods)

We will make a Woad vat direct from pigment, We will extract pigment for making some watercolour, We will extrat Indigo pigment for making paste. We will learn to vat this and also keep it. We will learn to vat the iced extraction and other methods.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL HELP YOU GROW AND BOTH EXTRACT AND USE COLOUR BUT THE RESULT REALLY IS EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT YOU PUT INTO IT... THERE IS NOTHING MYSTICAL OR MAGIC IN GROWING INDIGO IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT AND DEDICATION ... YOUR PLANT IS THE MASTER AND WHEN IT IS READY YOU HAVE TO BE AVAILABLE. BE READY TO HAVE A WATERING SYSTEM IN PLACE FOR THE SUMMER IF YOU WANT TO HAVE SUCCESS. ANY PAST FAILURES ARE USUALLY LINKED TO LACK OF COMITMENT FOR WHATEVER REASON.

During the session I will be sharing opportunities to other vats making like Fructose, Ferrous and Hydro... In 2025 I will introduce a fermentation vat from a recipe i am studying when visiting South East Asia.I will be sharing vat making from dry leaves Japanese Indigo.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE GROWING TO LEARN AND EXPERIMENT. YOU WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH COLOUR TO SET UP A FACTORY DYEING PLACE... Your plants will help you creating samples of dyed fabric.

Y ou dont need any perticular experience to take part or a large garden as Indigo can be grown in pots small quantities. You have to remember though that you will need to water regularly during the summer, make sure you have back up when you will be away...

F or any questions please come back to [email protected]

This class will be available in 2025 and participants from that year will quality for an authomatic follow in 2026 at no extra costs.