Blessings at the New Moon – March 18, 2026
Growing Cotton in Zone 6
One of my many garden experiments this summer will be attempting to grow cotton. Every year I pick some different or unusual plants to grow that I’ve not tried before. Cotton grows in tropical and sub-tropical zones so I’d never thought much about it, as I am in Denver’s Zone 6.
But I’ve started to spin cotton along with my other fibers. My fascination with spinning garden fibers began a few years ago with flax. But there is a bit of a rabbit hole with spinning and dying fibers, especially now when you can find so many fiber artists on You Tube. I was lured by a video of someone spinning cotton to try it myself. The ultimate goal will be to spin and then dye the fibers with botanical dyes (also from the garden).
The Plan
Cotton is different from the other fibers I am spinning. Flax, nettles, and hemp are bast fibers which come from inside the stems of plants. Cotton is the fluffy fiber that surrounds the seeds of plants in the Gossypium genus. They are all part of the Malva family which includes hollyhocks and okra.
Most varieties need a minimum of 150 days to produce a crop which would mean they’d just be squeaking by in Denver. But my plan is to start seeds early in the house and then transplant to outdoor pots that I can bring into the house when the weather turns cold in the fall. I will be happy if I get a small amount of my own fiber.
I ordered my fiber from Cotton Clouds, Inc., and there was an option to also order “raw” cotton with seeds still intact. So I am hoping those will germinate. Cotton Clouds, Inc. is a great place to find organic cotton and information on how to spin.
I also found seeds at Tradewinds Seeds . This is a perennial type of cotton that can be grown as an annual. This variety is not usually
grown for fiber, but I’m simply experimenting to see what happens.
Mindfulness Reminders from Cotton
When I first began spinning with flax, I was curious how and why people had discovered flax and other bast fibers which are hidden in the stems. I assumed that cotton (if it was available) would be the obvious choice. Once the plant matures, the fiber is right there for all to see.
But now that I am actually growing flax and spinning both flax and cotton I see things differently. After a long winter, wild plants like flax and milkweed begin to fall over. The stems crack and reveal the bast fibers. If someone carefully breaks off the hard stems, they’d be left with long fibers that as soon as you twist them a few times become very strong. That had to be an important early discovery to anyone paying attention. They would have noticed the functionality for nets and cordage immediately.
Cotton on the other hand, especially wild cotton, would have had a very short fiber length (known as a staple). The fluff from cotton would have been soft and attractive but getting that into a workable fiber would have been challenging. Additionally, I’ve read that wild Gossypium had significantly less fiber than domesticated crops. What to me seemed like an easy fiber to spin for our ancestors would actually have been much harder. It is a reminder that we often don’t know what we don’t know about plants, people, and the world. We need to work hard not to drift into filling in the blanks with assumptions.
Another mindful reminder from cotton is understanding the sheer amount of labor that our ancestors engaged in to create fabric, clothing, ropes, nets, and other tools they needed to survive. I often think of this when I am spinning which for me is a fun stress-relieving activity. For our ancestors not that very long ago, this was a task that was endless.
I intended to write much more about cotton – but I’m just returning from travels and so this will do for now. More to come.
About this Blog Post & and Qigong Practice
This post is part of my lunar blog series. I post each new moon as it is a great time to begin projects and set intentions with the increasing light. Topics are related to related to plants and ideas featured in my book, Growing Mindful. . Other topics are related to mindfulness, gardens, qigong, and intentional living. For more details and a list of past lunar blog posts, click here.
About Qigong – I lead qigong at Bluff Lake Nature Center in Denver on the last Sunday of each month. You can find the schedule in announcements on the home page. I have also partnered with other graduates of the IIQTC (Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi) to offer virtual HeART of Body Compassionate Self Care Practice Circles based on qigong and tai chi. Check out the information here: Global Healing Circles or contact me if you need more information.
