PaperMaking from Plants:

Wild Carrot Paper

A Carrot, Daucus carota sativus, had over wintered and was a 18" bushy thing. I snatched out while weeding before realizing what it might be, but the fragrant roots were small and white.

I cooked it in washing soda, blendered it and got a very green yellow or pale green paper. I like the paper, less coarse than dandelion, but crispy like dandelion. Made the few sheets that I could, letting the pulp dry on moulds.

This was far larger and more expansive than any I've seen at a fruit stand or supermarket).

So, in addition to collecting cornshucks from grocers, add carrot tops for an easy lovely paper.

Green Paper

From Gin Petty, papermaker extraordinaire, other sources for plant fibers that make green-green paper: Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), gill-over-the-ground (Glechoma hederacea), wild garlic (Allium vineale), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli), common violet leaves and stems (Viola sororia), spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) and Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense).

All of these, with the exception of gill-over-the-ground, will make a decent paper without the addition of any other fiber.

Gin's excellent papermaking journal is at: http://www.ginpetty.com/my_stuff/journal/


Pulp on, people!



On Casting| On the Critter| Making Big Paper|Sources on the Net|Creators on the Net|Mail Order|Reading|Making Paper Overview|Paper Bowls|Mold Making| Hand Papermaking WebRing| Making Paper From Hostas and Teasels|Making Paper From Arugula|Dracaena Paper|Burdock Paper| Cattail Paper|Grass Paper|Queen Anne's Lace Paper|



BirdHouse 2, made for Habitat for Humanity by Akua Lezli Hope,2002.