I have at least 3 yucca stems to harvst this fall.
When should I take then for use in fire bow or hand dril?
Here in the N.E. they seem to be turning brown and drying in the Aug. sunshine.Been very dry here this year.
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I have at least 3 yucca stems to harvst this fall.
When should I take then for use in fire bow or hand dril?
Here in the N.E. they seem to be turning brown and drying in the Aug. sunshine.Been very dry here this year.
I'd like to know too, I noticed ours starting to dry out as well.
There are a few here that are ready for harvest. The rule I use is that it should snap off easily at the bottom. Most others will be a few more weeks before they are dead and weathered enough as some still have fruits hanging.
snap it off by bending it over toward the ground. Be careful not to get stuck as you try to break it off as close to the plant as possible.
August and September, I find "fresh" ones.. ones that are still a little green, late september through december you'll find the driest, and deadest ones.
I hope my explanation helps you guys out. It's a waiting game, or like a treasure hunt. It will be almost brittle, but not rotten. It will snap off easily from the plant when it's time. If you grab one and try to break it off and it doesn't want to cooperate, give it another week, maybe two.
patience and attention.
Like I said, many are ready here now, many more will be ready in a few weeks, and by mid-winter, pretty much all of them will be ready or rotten.
I harvested fruits about a month ago.. just for future reference.
Thanks for the info,YCC.I probably should have got some stalks early this weekend.It's been awfully dry here most of the summer.Yesterday we got a deluge as well as today.
I tried a new yucca spindle this weekend.. it was a little TOO weathered..
It should dent with your thumbnail.. not crush. Beyond that, as long as it isn't still green, you should be good to go.
This particular one basically ground to dust without making enough friction to kick out an ember. One of the "elements" we need to keep in check ;)
It's been raining here for 3 days now.But,it's a good thing as it was really too dry here in the N.E.One thing I noticed about the stalks(3 of them with stalks)is they seem to be very tapered.We have about 6-7 total for ornamental plants.Seems that any that don't get a substantial amount of sunlight don't produce a stalk.
I just might have to move 3 of them,but they have a very deep root system.
I had found a patch that was very overgrown. They were the mound-lily species, but work great for cordage, which was what I needed at the time.
I chopped them down with a machete, brought them home and stuck them in buckets full of water. After a few weeks, they had sprouted roots from the main plant stalk. They are VERY resilient plants, so I wouldn't put a whole lot of worry into moving them. They seem to be pretty hard to kill. Get enough of the root that the plant will still have some "feeder roots" and I think you'll be fine.
My co-worker has a very "woodsy" yard, large canopy of trees, etc. and his never seem to get blooms either, so it must have to do with available sunlight.
On the other hand, the ones down at the WMA which are also under canopy, bloomed well. This one got so heavy with blooms it fell over!
this is the one I call "beargrass" or Y. filamentosa because of the fibers that "fray" along the edges of the leaves. This stalk was almost 7 feet tall!
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSCN4671.jpg
I find that mound-lily doesn't produce a very long stalk. I mostly use the "beargrass", "Adam's Needle", spanish-bayonet for fire. I'm not sure the exact differences in them, as it seems ambiguous, since those species are all good for cordage, and spindles. One seems better for soap than the others, but like I said... not sure which is which.
The longer stalks can go from almost zero at the top, to an inch wide or more at the bottom of a 6 foot stalk.
Many of the yuccas here have now lost their seedpods and the green stalks are turning brown. Found several yesterday that were almost ready to be picked. Keep your eyes peeled!
Also of note is that many of the lower leaves are turning yellow, which means they are shedding old leaves and making way for new growth in the spring. Harvest the yellowing leaves for cordage. They will be the least intrusive to the plant itself.
One of the best plants the good lord has ever graced this place with. Lets see some pictures of you guys harvesting stalks and leaves!
Thaks for the info,YCC.I'll see if I can get a picture in a little bit.It's 90 degrees here today.We're suppose to have hot humid weather all week.A little odd for the N.E.
But,like they say"if you don't like the weather here........wait a while".
I have 3 stalks I can cut.They are deep brown and hard as bone.Leaves are stll green on the plant though.
Yesterday I cut a nice long peace of Mullien to try for a hand drill.
Had to make a thumb thong from raw hide and used a white cedar fire board.
I think the fireboard was too thick as it's the same one I use for the bow drill.Got lots of smoke but didn't for a good coal.Just letting my hands heal a bit.
I'll see if I can get a picture of my primitive tool set as well.I often start fires using the Egyptian drill with a shoe lace as well.
Snapped a few pictures late yesterday afternoon while I was grilling.Never did get them downloaded to the computer.I'll put them up later when I get home.You're right,I have many yellowing leaves at the base of some plants.
Is it ok to wait to take the yellowed leaves till I'm ready to try cordage? Or can I harvest them and store them whole in a dry area?
I believe that the species is filamentosa, commonly known as Adam's needle.
They will dry and deteriorate either way. I have some that have been in storage and they are much harder to process adequately than the "fresher" ones. If you could go ahead and pick and process them, they would store indefinately and only need a little damping back (or what the heck a good dunk in the water) and they'd be ready to twist.
First off,need to say,just got my first hand drill fire at 5:10 est.
I used a Mullien spindle and white cedar fire board.The same that in the picture with the thumb straps.(blister pictures to follow).
YCC,I only plucked one stalk and it's pretty tapered and crooked.
The other two were still green at the base.
Anyways,I noticed these near by and might just try a tea from the roots.
I have a very large one in the back yard abd there's little ones around the base.Sassi.....never tried it.
in the third picture above, the one in back looks straight enough. fourth picture might be too long and crooked for a hand drill, but, cut into smaller sections, has some promise as a bow spindle. the one in the first picture looks pretty good to me. I'd use it for something!
A little off topic, but wait until the leaves start to yellow and fall off. that means the sap is down and the root will be more flavorful. I don't know if you like root beer, but it tastes like flat, unsweet root beer. I like it without sweetener. The leaves make good smell too when burned. It will take a few roots to make any quantity of tea, and you want small plants like the one pictured there.
Where you uproot one, two more will grow in it's place, so no need to worry about overindulging from that aspect.
I should mention that the plants contain saffrole. you might want to look that up.
I have my eye on a few sassafras at moms house that would be just right for spindles. Gonna give them a try later in the season.
And last but not least, Congratulations on the fire! Doesn't it feel amazing! I sure would have liked to see the smile on your face! Well done!
Oddly enough I'm beginning to get better at the hand drill than the bow drill.
I'm finding the simplicity of the hand drill makes it easier to practice.Just grab the drill fire board and I'm good to go.Yesterday I tried a dried out dead piece of poplar for the fire board.
Had a coal in about 45 seconds.Just not sure if I'll ever get the floating hand technique down.So I'm still using thumb loops.
you can uses sassafrass for a hand drill spindle?
I'm not sure about that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Survival Guy 10
I just took that picture as I was planning to make some tea with the saplings.
There's a list somewhere here that has all the good,better,best woods to use for spindles and fireboards.
What are the fruits good for?Quote:
Originally Posted by your_comforting_company
I'm kinda wondering what the fruits are good for also, I just discovered how versatile the yucca plant was and made a few ropes out of my plant at home. The root has soapamine(I think thats what it's called) so you can use it to wash yourself.
By the way it's my first post on this site.
saponin. But yeah, you can use it to wash yourself.
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