Main Discussion Area > HowTo's and Build-a-longs
Plant String Build Along
swamp monkey:
I see questions about plant strings on PA’s website from time to time and I thought I might give back a little by posting my process for making plant cordage and my experience. It may prompt others to share their experiences and have one solid thread full of good information in the “How to” section.
In my area of US we have access to dogbane, stinging nettle and milkweeds. I use common and marsh milkweed due to their fiber length but far prefer marsh milkweed over common due to ease of obtaining fiber and strength. Any botanical text can give you ID specifics on these plants and others in your area such as yucca which makes good cordage for strings.
swamp monkey:
Collection:
Dogbane lives in a variety of habitats and once you learn to identify it you will find it all over the place. It is best collected November to March.
Stinging nettle is a floodplain resident. It should be collected after the first frost and before much rain falls on it. This does two things. First, it lets the plant go to seed and second, it wilts some of the stinging trichomes that cause our skin to itch so terribly. You can touch the stalks and leaves with the palm of your hand with no ill effects. However, if those same plant parts touch the back of your hand or your arm you will itch for 20 minutes. Trichomes convey an acid that irritates the skin. Palm skin is too thick for the trichome to penetrate and cause stinging. Any doubts? Then wear gloves. In Missouri that time frame gives me about 2-3 months to collect the stalks before they begin to decline due to rotting. Be sure to remove the leaves before bundling.
Milkweeds should be collected in autumn. Make sure they are dry.
Use a pocket knife for all of these plants or some hand trimmers to cut your stalks. Bring a short hank of rope to bind your “bundle of switches” when you are ready to move on.
Store in a dry location for a few weeks to ensure they are completely dry.
Ethics: All three plants are perennial and have the active growing part of the plant near the base of the plant. Thus, last year’s stalks will simply rot in place. So you can collect 100% of the stalks after the growing season, without damaging the plant. However, I find that some insects do bore into old dogbane stalks. This encourages me to leave a third of the stalks where they stand in any location to ensure whatever it is doing the boring, can complete its life cycle. We are not the only ones who can use these plants!
swamp monkey:
Making cordage:
The process for dogbane and milkweed are identical. I will use dogbane for the demo. Then I will describe differences for nettle. Stand by for news as I take some pictures of work this weekend.
I will use a wooden mallet, a "stalk splitting knife", and plenty of time.
raghorns:
Sounds great...I'll be watching
swamp monkey:
Crushing the stalk: I use my wooden mallet (don’t covet my mallet fellas, envy looks bad on ya) to gently crush the stalk. Easy does it on this. Getting carried away will break fibers. You just want this crushed open not pulverized.
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