In The Beginning

This past Wednesday, April 24th, the indigo seed were planted.  We planted approximately 600 seed of Indigofera suffruticosa.  As you can see from the picture, the seeds are a beautiful purple color.

From all the historical research I've done over the past year, I think both Indigofera suffruticosa  and Indigofera tinctoria were grown in the Lowcountry.  The early planters called I. suffruticosa "Guatemalan" or "Bahama" indigo and I. tinctoria "French" or "Hispaniola" indigo.  It is speculated that Eliza Lucas received both varieties from Antigua.  The French Huguenot planters who had experience with growing and processing woad, Isatis tinctoria, in Europe grew both varieties of indigo in South Carolina.  The French Huguenots were very influential in the indigo industry here in the 1700's.

Back to the planting.  This seems to be the perfect place to plant indigo.  The field had been plowed earlier this year so all we had to do was break up the hard pan and pull the weeds and grass that had started growing.   The colonial planters used what they called the "pine barrens" to plant indigo and also cotton.  The pine barrens are generally higher, dryer ground where pines and oak trees grow.  Historically the low swampy, marshy areas where cypress and tupelo trees grow were drained and used to plant rice.

I had wonderful help from Thomas and Robin who are interns at Jeremiah Farm and Goat Dairy through the Lowcountry Local program.  Casey, who is the farm's owner also helped.  Casey is in the turquoise shirt in this picture.

 After planting the seeds 1/2 inch deep, we used a stick to mark each hole so we would know where we had planted them.  The seeds were watered in and then we added compost (hay and goat poo) between the rows.  This will help keep the weeds down and also fertilize the soil.  John's Island, where the farm is, has received a little rain, I'm keeping my fingers crossed we'll be getting more tonight.

Tomorrow I'm going to plant another 150 seeds.  The germination period for indigo is a little long, around 10-15 days.  So, hopefully in another week or two we'll start seeing little indigo sprouts.  I can't wait, it's almost like Christmas for me!  I'll keep you posted!