clothing as mulch

[Fatchumang]

In the dvd you talk about wool clothing being used as mulch.  Is it only wool or can you use any natural fibers, specifically cotton? Great product by the way.  Count me in for wanting sequels....

[forestgarden]

Hi Fatchumang,

Yes, any natural material that will break down is fine.  Sadly enough we've used silk, cotton, burlap, and wool.  Good clothes we give away either to neighbors or the thrift shop, but especially with kids, you end up with a lot of clothes that just aren't socially acceptable and why not compost them? 

Ah yes, the sequel.  Like good food, it is going to take time, but I am working on it.  You can help by spreading the word on this DVD.  Keeping sales up to pay off the, yes, we incurred debt to pay for a lot of the production costs.  It turns out that marketing a product is serious work.  LOL.  And as soon as we get this one out of the red, I'll get more time to work on the next one.  The ideas are brewing though. 

Marjory  . 

[Fatchumang]

that's what I figured... thanks for the reply...  and I tell anyone who will listen about all this stuff!!!  God Luck!

[vicbowling]

Old clothing as mulch is a great idea - I hadn't heard of that before. I know some people use old newspapers that have been printed with vegetable-based dyes for mulch and that seems to work well. You layer the newspapers with grass clippings and leaves, add more layers of newspapers and put straw on as the top layer. That apparently really keeps the weeds down. I haven't had a chance to try this method yet but I will at some point. I really have a weed problem in my vegetable garden. I need all the survival tools and helpful advice, I can get, especially as it relates to gardening. I'm really having problems getting a good garden going but perhaps I'm just not fertilizing or watering enough.... I haven't been able to figure it out.

[Fatchumang]

The news paper method works great!  It's not invincible but I've had a lot of success with it.  I was however talking to my neighbor about the old fabric thing and he didn't think it was a good idea.  He said that he used to work in a processing plant, making things out of all sorts of natural fabrics and said that every is sprayed with so many flame retardant chemicals that many people had reactions just being around the bolts of fabric.  I'm not completely convinced that this is absolutely always true and am still willing to try it especially in the aisles.  But something to keep in mind...

[Tommy Jefferson]

I believe this is a better use for old clothes than mulching.

Some people knit, or cross stitch for relaxation.  I sit on the couch with a butcher knife and cut up old clothes, towels, and blankets into rags.  I have boxes and boxes of these rags sitting around. 

It is luxurious to grab a CLOTH rag to wipe up a coffee spill or check the oil in my car.

If you let it be known that you accept old clothes, friends, family, and neighbors will start dumping garbage bags full of them on you.  With a long, sharp knife and creative folding, you can generate a cubic yard of 6" x 10" rags in an hour.

Once you start using disposable CLOTH rags, you'll never go back to disposable paper towels like peasants use.    We haven't bought paper towels in years.  I use handfuls of rags in my garage and can't get rid of them fast enough.  The boxes are piling up.  I've started giving rags away.

100 years ago "Rag men" would drive their wagons from house to house collecting cloth for recycling into fine linen writing paper.  Modern farming and weaving technology has made cloth so inexpensive we can throw it away.

[LvsChant]

Excellent idea, TJ. I have selectively saved certain cloths for use as cleaning cloths, but not to the extent you mention. Plus, I don't throw them away after using, I re-wash and re-use many times. I'll have to re-evaluate this the next time I sort through clothing to get rid of...

[Fatchumang]

Making rags doesn't mean they can't go into the garden after they've been used.  Espeacially your just throwing them away anyway.  Well atleast the ones not used for chemicals.