How to make a walking stick from cabbage
There's a type of cabbage that grows thick, woody stalks, and in the Channel Islands there's a tradition of making walking sticks out of it.
Instructions from Countryside Publications:
The specific type of cabbage you need goes by a variety of names: 'cow cabbage,' 'Jersey cabbage,' or 'walking stick cabbage.' And yes, you can eat the leaves of this cabbage.
More info: wikipedia,
Instructions from Countryside Publications:
To get good straight stalks of the proper diameter for walking sticks you must strip off the lower leaves at regular intervals. If you get much wind, stake them. The plants are shallow-rooted, like corn, and are easily blown over. Purposely bending the young plants over and then later staking them straight will cause a natural crook in the stalk. This crook then becomes the handle to the walking stick. This type of stick is much prized in England, and fetches a better price than straight sticks.
If the leaves are left on too long the stalk becomes too thick for a proper walking stick and it will often branch out, trying to form limbs. Ideally, you need to remove the lower leaves when the stalk is slightly larger than walking stick size--about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. You can expect about 20 pecent shrinkage when dry. I think a diameter of about an inch is ideal for a walking stick...
If the leaves are left on too long the stalk becomes too thick for a proper walking stick and it will often branch out, trying to form limbs. Ideally, you need to remove the lower leaves when the stalk is slightly larger than walking stick size--about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. You can expect about 20 pecent shrinkage when dry. I think a diameter of about an inch is ideal for a walking stick...
The specific type of cabbage you need goes by a variety of names: 'cow cabbage,' 'Jersey cabbage,' or 'walking stick cabbage.' And yes, you can eat the leaves of this cabbage.
More info: wikipedia,
image source: Grow Your Own Monsters, by Nicola Davies and Simon Hickmott
Comments
Google "Gavin Munro" -- he made a name for himself growing furniture. By grafting and tying young willows to forms, he got them into the solid shapes he wanted. It took six to nine years to grow a chair or table. Expensive, but a good step above flat-pak chipboard furniture.
Posted by Phideaux on 07/09/22 at 11:51 AM
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Category: Vegetables