I spent some time yesterday researching the seedling appearance of the herbs I planted back in the spring, to try to get some semblance of an idea of what I have.

Turns out, a few of the plants I was babying were weeds from the bagged soil.

But as far as the actual herbs go, it looks like I have 1 Sea Buckthorn, possibly some soapwort, what may be skullcap and 4 very healthy-looking madder seedlings.

I just replanted soapwort and madder, so I could end up with very large amounts of both…and they’re both vigorous invasives, as well.

So…why did I plant invasive weeds on purpose? Because they’re useful, of course.

Soapwort is what it sounds like: it makes soap. Which is fantastic. The plant is high in saponins, so when boiled for half an hour and strained, you have a lovely gentle soap that is used by museums on extremely old fabrics that can’t handle harsh cleansers. It makes great shampoo and body soap, and if made in stronger concentration, it can also be used as household cleaner. Free invasive plant matter + free water = unlimited supply of free soap.

I also know how to make lye and tallow soap with animal fat and wood ashes, but lye soap is not ideal for all usages, and tallow isnt always available. Another option is always a good idea.

Madder: madder is a dyeplant. The above-ground parts of the plant don’t look terribly impressive. There are several weeds that look similar. Cleavers. Bedstraw. You probably have something similar in your yard somewhere. But the roots are where the magic is. The roots are orange and fleshy. When 3rd-year roots are cleaned, chopped and boiled, they create a deep red dye. British Redcoat red, to be specific. Madder has been used since medieval days to achieve rich red tones. Given that I have hopes of eventually producing my own cloth from wool, flax linen, nettle and possibly hemp, rich dye plants are very welcome.