Thank you for this series. I've just collected and processed lots of typha for cordage and baskets, so will use my wastage to give this a go. I guess I could leave the leaves in water for 2 or 3 weeks and wouldn't need to use the lye?
Hello. Nice video. Can u tell how " Gel" Is collected from Cattail... Medicine use of cattail.... Lastly can it be used as packing material & commercial substitute of wood for burning purpose Thanks
Jim, I'm trying to find a better answer to plastic or purchased paper pots for potting up peppers and tomatoes, and I was pleased to find your video! I heat with wood, so I'm wondering if I just cook the cut up cattails long enough in a pot on the wood stove, would that break apart the cells and release the fibers enough to use in pot forms for paper pots? I'm thinking of trying old clay pots as forms, as they suck up moisture and could be set in the sun to dry.🌞🌄🌱. Working with nature is the way to go, thank you very much for the video! (I might try boiling the cattails with alkaline wood ashes, then neutralizing the mixture with vinegar once the lignin has been solubilized and can be washed out)
Yes the cat tail paper should work just fine for that purpose. If you have other scrap paper to throw in the blender with the cattails that can also work.
Perhaps it makes no difference in this application (It typically does in soap making) But what type of lye is this? Potassium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydroxide? Both come as a white pellets or powder so its hard to tell just from looking at it. I've recently learned that cattails have a high content of potassium which can be collected from it's ashes, so I'm interested in trying them as a substitute for the hardwood ashes typically used to make 'traditional' lye water solutions, effectively diluted Potassium Hydroxide. Would be really cool to be able to use cattails as one plant that can be eaten year round, used as heat and then be able to make both soap and paper from; with almost no waste.
Hi Sadie, that's for the comment. Yes, I have used the fluff for paper. It is much more delicate and demands less boiling in lye. If I boil it too long it all passes through the screen. Have you tried it.
