From the sheep pastures to the gardens to the dye vat, participants at a recent OAK Field Day had a glimpse into Hill and Hollow Farm’s process of creating botanically-dyed farm yarn.

In 1998, Robin Verson and Paul Bela purchased 60 acres of Kentucky land that would become Hill and Hollow Farm, with intention to create a life around producing food, living simply, and enjoying their shared interests. Twenty years later, their farm and family are deeply rooted and have more than doubled in size. Their 50-member CSA maintains a loyal following and provides consistent income, allowing them to explore new products, projects, and markets to keep things engaging and fresh. For the past dozen years, their farm work has included sheep and wool production, more recently complemented by growing specific plants for dyes.

“I’ve been sharing the message of ‘local products’ and ‘local markets’ for years and years,” Robin explains, “so it only made sense that I would seek a local source for dyeing our wool – growing, harvesting, and producing that dye on the Farm just makes sense!”

Robin and Paul manage a herd of 50 Jacob's sheep, a breed they selected for temperament and fiber quality. Grazing on Certified Organic pasture, this herd provides the wool that Robin and Paul shear, process, and sell as lambskin, roving (unspun strands of fiber), dyed and undyed yarn, and finished woven/knitted products.

“With Kentucky’s climate, we have a limited demand for wool products,’ Robin admits, “but sites like Etsy (and other “cyber-fiber” communities) help broaden our geographic audience.”

Creating unique fiber products and marketing local “farm yarn” allows for additional market possibilities, as do shearing and dyeing events, which Hill and Hollow has hosted on their newest property, the Hill and Hollow Farm Stay, complete with a Certified Kitchen, Certified Organic pastures and dye garden, and a future lodging site.

“In addition to being a non-perishable product which can be stored indefinitely,” Robin explains, “the seasonality of the botanical dye production comes at a time when we have a more flexible schedule and allows us to host dyeing events where people can actively participate.”

Similarly, the Field Day participants were welcomed to the Farm Stay with an invitation to help strip indigo leaves, in preparation for the dye vat. The Japanese indigo (polygonum tinctorium) is a non-tropical, tender annual which Hill and Hollow grows on roughly the same schedule as tomatoes (~March 15 start seeds, ~May 15 transplant). Japanese indigo-dyed yarns vary in color: the first dip into the dye vat is a rich, dark blue; second dip results in a medium blue; and the third dip is pale blue. Wild-harvested goldenrod and farm-raised marigolds and hollyhocks complement the blues with reds, yellows, oranges, and greens.

“Harvesting the blue” is the way Robin explains the timing chosen to cut, strip, and process the indigo leaves into dye - when the plant is at its ripest, just prior to flowering and seed production (~Aug. 7). Reaping ~1.5 pounds of leaves per plant allows enough dye for ~1 pound of fiber. Robin boils the leaves (until “antifreeze color,” when the bluish liquid has a green/yellow cast to it), pours the liquid from bucket to bucket to oxidize it, and then adds ammonia to remove the oxygen, enabling the dye to adhere to fiber. When fiber is pulled from the vat, the dyeing solution re-oxidizes as soon as it hits the air and becomes indigo blue.

Over the years, Robin has added indigo seeds and plant starts to their available products, as she’s learned the difficulty of acquiring quality indigo plants.

“Buy botanical dyes and dye plants from someone who actually uses them to dye,” she recommends, “so you know you’re getting a quality product for your investment.”

She and Paul also recommend learning to shear your own sheep, which they demonstrated for the Field Day participants. This allows the sheep farmer save a little in the financial investment to the final product. Sending fleece to the mill to be washed, carded, spun, plied, skeined, and combed costs $25/pound for a finished yarn. Shearing on the farm also ensures the quality of the fleece – a high quality product is essential in this limited marketplace, as is an early investment of time to find a market prior to spring shearing season.

As the dye cooled and Robin moved forward in the dyeing process (including a great indigo dye on an OAK t-shirt!), Paul led the participants on a bonus tour of the Hill and Hollow pastures, high tunnel and greenhouse, and gardens, wrapping up a fantastic overview of a successful and diverse organic family farm in Kentucky.

Wool, Botanical Dyes, and Value-added Fiber Marketing Field Day