Moonshining Cotton

Here is the catch to the title: you've heard of the bollweevil maybe?
Well, they take this little creeper pretty seriously down here, and rightfully so.
Seriously as in, any grower of any cotton must register with the state (or so I hear...).
Thankfully, to my defense (of illegally growing cotton??), we've had an abundant fire ant problem for years here, who happen to be one of the weevil's natural (and therefore my beneficial) predator.

I'm learning there's always a lot to be learned.

Here is the setup, begun (a bit late in season) on 25May2010.
I picked these seeds by cleaning some already picked bolls from a local friend+(fellow?)fiberfarmer.
They are naturally coloured; she has white, vanilla, light brown, and even green and blue (which, contrary to their dyed counterparts, actually 'richen' in color with age).
They are also heritage cotton-the real stuff- not the type that's been altered and probably patented to cater to industrial mechanisms (more on that later).


We also have a barn of 7 horses behind us (no, not ours..), so I grabbed a shovel and bucket and made use of their pasture leftovers.
(The second bucket is resultant of personal leftovers-mostly citrus peels, tea and coffee.)

Mixed with the local sandy soil and some water for a concrete-ish soup (yes-the peels went in 'whole' like that).


I also have been in a coconut (I know, not necessarily seasonal/regional..) frenzy, and this helps the garden; Coir (coconut fiber) can be found in a variety of consumer products, but also helps manage moisture in the garden.I've heard it costs some money too, so I kept and shredded mine, and laid it in the trough several centimeters below seed-level.

Lent 'fence', in a taste different than mine; the poor things are jammed up against the side of the garage which gets strong afternoon sun.