Woad Uses Beyond Dye What Can Woad Be Used For In The Garden

Medicinal Woad Uses Medicinal woad plants have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine because of their antibiotic and antiviral properties. There is some evidence that woad is also medicinally active against fungal infections, cancer cells, and parasites and reduces inflammation.

How do you use woad?

There are several ways of dyeing with woad.

You can dye with freshly picked leaves.
You can extract the dye to store as a powder.
You can make a fermentation vat.
You can store it as a liquid.
You can use the exhausted leaves to make a pink dye.

How do you plant woad?

Sow seeds thinly space in March in seed trays. Cover lightly with soil and keep moist. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant them outside, leaving a foot of space between each. Woad likes an alkaline soil, so an application of lime, one week prior to planting, will give them the proper soil pH.

What is the difference between woad and indigo?

Indigo produces rich blue colour. woad was a plant of the temperate zones which produced dull blue colour. indigo was a plant of the tropics which produces a rich blue colour and was preferred over woad by the cloth dyers.

How do you dye fresh woad leaves?

Take the leaves from the base of the plant and then cut them into small pieces. Submerge the torn or cut leaves in a stainless steel pan of water and bring up to a temperature of 175F (80C). Simmer for about 10 minutes. Cool the woad dye down as quickly as possible, so that the leaves don't breakdown too much.

Is woad a hallucinogen?

"The blue part of the Woad is not any sort of hallucinogen, despite lore to the contrary. The raw sap crushed from fresh Woad leaves sometimes causes surface skin numbness, slight dizziness, and in certain bloodlines, a vague impression of less danger or more confidence.

What Colour dye does the woad plant yield?

Learn more about the Woad plant (Isatis tinctoria), a famous natural dye and source of natural indigo dye, used for several thousand years (see woad history) in Europe and the Middle East. Woad dye extraction produces natural indigo dye from the dark blue-green, spinach-like woad leaves. Buy woad pigment here.

Is woad a perennial?

Dyer's woad is an erect biennial herb that grows to four feet tall. It can also sometimes act as an annual or shortlived perennial.

How do you identify woad?

All leaves have a prominent cream colored mid-rib extending the entire length of the leaf, and a bluish-green color. The leaf color and prominent mid-rib are good identifying characteristics of dyer's woad. The weed has a thick, fleshy tap root that penetrates down to 3 feet into the soil.

How do you harvest woad seeds?

Harvest the pods when they are dry and purple. Store the seeds in the pods. The pods contain a germination inhibitor. Remove the seeds from the pods before planting.

What does indigo mean?

Indigo is a deep midnight blue. It is a combination of deep blue and violet and holds the attributes of both these colors. ... Powerful and dignified, indigo conveys integrity and deep sincerity. The color meaning of indigo reflects great devotion, wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartiality.

What is woad used for?

Medicinal use of Woad:

The leaves are antibacterial, anticancer, antiviral, astringent and febrifuge. It controls a wide range of pathogenic organisms, including viruses. It is used internally in the treatment of a wide range of disorders, including meningitis, encephalitis, mumps, influenza, erysipelas, heat rash etc.

Why Indigo was considered better than woad in textile industries?

The textile industry in southern France, centered in Toulouse, was devoted to woad -- until the 16th century, when indigo was introduced from Asia and, literally, blew it out of the water! ... Indigo has the most concentrated levels of the blue pigment, which is why it's preeminent among its competitors.

How do you dye wool with woad?

Dyeing Techniques

The fermentation removes the oxygen from the vat making the woad soluble. Wool or fabric is dipped into the vat, left for a few minutes, and then removed. At first the wool is pale yellow, but with exposure to air, the colour gradually turns to green and then to blue.

Did Vikings use woad?

“All the Britons dye their bodies with woad, which produces a blue colour, and this gives them a more terrifying appearance in battle.” Vikings may have learned of and adopted this tactic during the period of their invasion and subsequent immersion in Britain, though I haven't seen evidence of this.

Why did the Celts paint their bodies blue?

So, where did the idea about the Picts painting themselves blue originate from? Julius Caesar once noted that the Celts got blue pigment from the woad plant and that they used it to decorate their bodies. ... It has also been theorized that the real use of woad was perhaps intended to heal the scars after the battle.

How did Celts use Indigo to decorate their bodies?

When the Romans invaded the Celtic tribal lands, they saw Celts wearing blue body art. Ancient Celtic people stained their skin blue with dye made from plants that contained the indigo molecule. ... Begin by creating the indigo vat.

What does woad mean?

: a European herb (Isatis tinctoria) of the mustard family formerly grown for the blue dyestuff yielded by its leaves also : this dyestuff.

What Colour is the dye made from woad?

Isatis tinctoria, also called woad (/ˈwoʊd/), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem. Woad is also the name of a blue dye produced from the leaves of the plant.

Is woad a Scrabble word?

Yes, woad is in the scrabble dictionary.

Does woad grow in Ontario?

Woad was brought to North America by the early European settlers. Seeds were imported from Britain for household use. In the 1830's, woad was listed in the seed catalogues in Ontario, as the plant was common in household gardens.