Horseradish fiber

I learned about making horseradish cordage from Sally Pointer. She has a YouTube video that shows how to process the fresh leaves and how to make the cord.

I don’t want to spend that much time scrapping horseradish leaf spines to expose the fiber. But I do have a lot of horseradish – too much, I think – in the garden. While digging up roots this morning, I noticed the natural separation of fibers on the old decaying stems. Maybe if I just left it out all winter, I’d have a pile of almost useable fiber in the spring? Giving it a try.

If we get a bit more warm weather, I might remove the leaf material and just leave the stalks. That might make it easier to contend with the pile next spring or summer.

I think this is called winter retting. I’m new to all this, but it feels very connected to my heritage. And to seasonal cycles. Good feelings.