Cotton Plant

[Petee]

I got some Cotton seeds a few years ago and have grown them for sale every year without saving one for myself.  This year I saved one and got Cotton.  It's so interesting to see how it develops into something resembling a giant green acorn and then and then pops out a cotton boll.

 

Sorry it's not such a good picture but hopefully Christmas will have a new one for me!

[Cardinal Fan]

Wow, that is very interesting. I have never seen a cotton plant.

[wonderer]

wow that is amazing

[jettavwdrvr]

Awesome cotton plant!  My boyfriend's mother's land butts up against a large cotton field (Cameron Cotton & Seed Company) for as far as the eye can see.  When the cotton is "ripe" and we drive down to see her, it looks like the town got a few inches of lake effect snow!!  It's so fun to make balls of cotton or save some of the seeds.  

 

Petee - make sure you don't get attacked by boll weevils!!  

 

 

 

 

Since cotton is such a cash crop in my neck of the woods, here are some interesting facts:

 

In 2006, SC planted 266,000 acres of cotton and harvested 420,000 bales from that acreage.

 

During the Civil War, the Confederate government banned the export of cotton, hoping to produce a cotton famine in England and France.

 

The only cottonseed crusher and oil mill east of the Mississippi is in Hartsville, SC.

 

1 bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds and equals...

 

    * 249 bed sheets

    * 2,104 boxer shorts

    * 3,085 diapers

    * 2,419 men's briefs

    * 1,265 pillowcases

    * 690 terry bath towels

    * 21,960 women's handkerchiefs

    * 409 men's sport shirts

    * 6,436 women's knit briefs

    * 215 jeans

    * 4,321 mid-calf socks

    * 1,217 T-shirts

    * 765 men's dress shirts

    * 313,600 $100 bills

[Petee]

Thanks for the info. There were so many things that I wanted to see or do as a child and didn't get a chance to investigate.  Seeing how Cotton grew was one, so there's another I can cross off my list!

 

The plant is going to school with my granddaughter this coming week so they can see it too.

 

:-)

 

 

[Guest curwensville]

Petee, did you ever grow your own peanuts?

[Guest snellma]

We passed many fields of cotton yesterday driving over to Jackson, SC to the Carolina Dragstrip.  Some had been picked and some were still full.  Never thought of growing it in the house

[Petee]

Actually the Cotton flower is pretty, kind of like a Rose of Sharon.  The leaves are a medium green and prone to bug infestation if they aren't happy.

 

Yes, I grew Peanuts and sold them through the BUDS gardeners too.  Again I didn't manage to save one for myself.  One member from Brockway has a farm with fabulous soil.  She said she was cleaning up the garden in the fall and noticed a peanut on the soil so she dug them up and found a whole bowlful which she roasted.

 

With proper soil management and growing information there's a lot more plants that can be grown here.  It's important for our kids to learn that and to practice it.