is it legal....?

... to grow cotton in SC if you don't have a liscense or whatever? do you need a liscense,or need to be a farmer to grow it? i heard that there was a law in place to control the cultivation of it to keep the spread of the boll weevil or something... but anyways i really want to grow one, and idk if i can legally

I thought about growing cotton but haven't gotten around to it. You ever see a cotton field durning harvest time? It's worth seeing. You can get the seed and I wouldn't worry about the cotton police coming after you. I don't think a plant or two would be illegal. A whole field very well maybe without a permit or whatever.

This message was edited Nov 18, 2007 12:51 AM

yeah a cotton field in seed is the snow of the south. plus i heard tell that they smell awesome and know that their flowers resemble hibiscus

And what are you two doing up so late? I wouldn't think that it would be a problem to have a plant or two. Seems like I remember someone having it on the forums somewhere. Have your checked plantfiles to see if it's on someone's have list, dhs?

http://www.scstatehouse.net/CODE/t46c010.htm

I didn't read it all.

yeah but i forgot if anyone had it and who did.... i'll look again tomorrow. i don't have enough room for anything else inside this winter

i dont understand that....

I don't either, but somehow I'm finding space for more brug cuttings! I may just have to tell my DD that she can't come home from ECU anymore because I've taken her room for all my new plants:-) I'm sure that would go over well!

*Typing at the same time* Too late to be reading technical stuff. Looks like the first part defines what is being discussed, the next part begins to discuss the particulars of growing and importing plants, etc. although I didn't read it all (see above statement). I think I'd deal with seed rather than plants being sent in though. Maybe we can all read more tomorrow when eyes are better focused.

LOL and what are you doing up? I'm watch Austin Powers on E!.

good morning sleepy heads

diehard...

I've grown cotton on a "plant at a time" basis, and even sold a few plants at the farmers' mkt. Someone brought it to my attention a couple years ago that they thought it was a regulated plant and that I might be doing something wrong.

I contacted our NC Ag office (email) and also read the NC Ag rules/regs. Apparently here in NC if you grow cotton, even if just for personal use, you must let the Ag Office know so if they want to they can come and inspect for boll weevils. The inspection is to assure that there is no outbreak that would affect the cotton business/economy.

However, I never got a reply from them, even after a second email to them. Go figger, eh?

In my last email I stated "I'm going to grow cotton on a small scale basis. I live at ____ address and my contact info is ---------. Still, they never got in touch with me about it.

I think you can cover yourself by doing the same. Contact your State Ag Office and let them know you are growing cotton plants for yourself. ( I even stated I was groing ornamental cotton because I have seeds for colored cotton.) If they want to come check you out then there is no harm in that. And, on the other hand, if you never hear back from them, then proof of those emails shows you tried to abide with good growing habits/rules and regulations.

And remember, 'tis best to allow them to come inspect plus go ahead and inspect your plants also...you don't want boll weevils to spread and wipe out your local cotton industry (if you are in an agricultural cotton area).

Always nice to see you posting on DG. A tardy but genuine WELCOME TO DG!

Shoe

thanks. if there was a cotton industry here, it is long gone and has been replaced with the vacation/resort industry on Hilton Head. i have been on DG for a tad over a year, and love it! thanks for the wecome

No, not true diehard. Cotton is grown right out by I-95, it's not that close to where you are but there are cotton fields not that far away. Bluffton use to have a cotton underwear factory. That's gone now.

what i meant by that was the sea island cotton buisness. do you think those cotton fields might affect me or vice versa? i don't want to kill someone's livelihood (sp?) for my own gardening pleasures

Go ahead and plant your cotton plant, diehrd! The laws agricultural on the books were all written by lawyers funded largely by commercial cotton growers...not intended to impact gardeners. Gardeners would be considered "collateral damage". I learned a fundamental "principle of human behavior" in my many years in corporate America: "It's way easier to get "forgiveness" than it it to get "permission". I've found that maxim to be absolutely true over the years. And I'd bet you'd be a million times more cognizant of boll weevils than the most concerned commercial grower (the government will always bail them out...no one will bail you out, except yourself). Just plant the danged thing! And post pictures.

i will... once i get seeds in the spring

diehrd, I have to ask, what are you going to use the cotton for? It is a really novel but also brutal plant to harvest, the seeds are so hard to get out. I can't remember where, but once at a rest stop there was some growing and we pulled a few pods...very cool but the thorns on the edge of the pods are razor sharp

idk... random thought... that appealed to me. i'd prolly just thro it out

You're a true gardener, diehrd...!

glad to hear it

Pretty cocky, too!

what do you mean

You know, Stono...at dhs' young age, he's supposed to be, well...young:-) Of course it's difficult for those of us waaay past that to remember sometimes, lol!
Actually, dhs, you are quite knowlegeable and eager to learn. Gotta like that;-)
Bev

i have no clue what is happening. did i do something wrong? my sincere apologies if i did

No you did not! Stono has an edgy sense of humor, LOL! I personally think (coming from him) it would be a compliment to be called somewhat cocky. One must always consider the source;->
Bev

Well DH thats' a sign of being cocky, no idea were you went wrong. LOL. Don't worry about it.

thanks, yall

Maybe Stono will 'splain, diehard. (I don't know what he meant either.)

As for me, Dmail me if you like. I have several kinds of cotton seeds for you if you're interested (white, green, black).

Shoe

Shoe, (hey, hi, Tropicanna, how ya doin', nice to meet ya..lol) I am simply intrigued, why are you growing cotton, do you weave or something? Only reason I ask is cause the only thing that tempted me to pick that thorny thing was that I was really into artsy stuff at the time. It is amazing to feel natural cotton fresh out of the husk...but ouch, not trying to get political (not even a current event)....just makes me think of how brutal slavery was to have to work all day in that stuff.

Do you have to grow a lot to make thread, etc? If you even know, sorry I'm just being nosy, plants that have such historical/cultural significance interest me.

Howdy, Tropicanna...

Nope, sorry, I don't grow it for weaving or anything. I just grow a few plants here and there for the novelty of it. I first grew a plant with my DD's help when we "harvested" a few bolls when on a Dad and Daughter camping trip. The following Spring we grew out a few plants just to watch them grow. I even sold a few plants at the farmers' market...

"Yep! Folks, you can grow your own clothes! (or at least grow cotton balls!)"

...but then found out it is somewhat strictly regulated in NC so I don't offer it to customers anymore. ("Somewhat strictly regulated" meaning the laws are in place but apparently our local Ag enforcement folks tended to just brush me off when I told them I was growing cotton.)

They are wonderful plants to grow. The flowers begin a white/yellow color then turn to pinkish-red. They are followed by little green bolls which turn into bigger bolls, eventually turning brown. Soon you will witness the cotton inside peeking out followed by the bolls bursting open and COTTON BALLS decorate the plant! An experience to behold!

The plants will have both colors of flowers on them during the active growing season, both colors of the bolls (young green ones getting bigger and bigger then turning brown), plus the foliage itself is interesting in itself. Most cotton plant foliage is green but I have a rare 'black cotton' with foliage that is a dark maroon color.

Hope this info is helpful!
Happy Growing in All the Gardens of Life!

Shoe

Thanks for the info, very interesting. black cotton....hmmm...kinda inspires thoughts of a Sojourner Truth garden...super cool, have never heard of it. :) I imagine cotton would grow without having to do much with the soil?

Yes, it can grow pretty well in any soil, lightly amended with compost or fertilizer if you choose. For growing them for ornamental purposes, even in containers, you could use worm castings or, if you prefer, even a time-released product like Osmocote.

Shoe

I go for organic, thanks again

Okay, I'd suggest a mix of alfalfa, bone meal (and/or ground phosphate rock) and greensand (if you can afford it) or wood ash in place of greensand (but not much!)

Shoe

Sorry to fixate on one thing (I do wish I could afford to use as much greensand as I'd like), but I'm just now trying alfafa. I picked up a compressed bag, not the pellets and made a tea with bone meal, blood meal, etc. Is the compressed stuff better or the pellets? Sure does mask the smell of the other tea ingredients.....lol. I want to mix the pelllets in when digging holes next year but I'm not sure how bad the rabbitts get, we have a cat but not sure she's made it rabbitt hunting status yet...

I've not used the compressed stuff for tea but I imagine if it loosens up and adds to your tea it would surely work just fine. I believe I'd use at least a good double handful of it per five gallon bucket though.

As for the bone meal, not too sure about its ability to be dissolved in water as it is somewhat slow reacting to begin with.

Let us know how it works out for ya!

Shoe

Well, I've used the tea without the alfafa for a couple of years, and it works well, I thought adding the alfafa would add a little extra nitrogen (good in the GH) but also mask the smell from the other stuff. I make my 'tea' very slackly and probably never the same twice, and there's always lots of silt in it, but I definitely notice a bone meal odor...lol. My plants seem to like the teawell, so I'm curious to see the difference the alfafa makes.

Well, just don't let the alfalfa steep too long or you'll REALLY witness a smell! Sometimes much worse than any manure smell.

As for the nitrogen, your blood meal has much more N than alfalfa has. Alfalfa tends to have 2-3 % nitrogen versus 15% in blood meal.

lol, I didn't let it go for too long. mainly I'm trying alfafa in the GH to mask the smell of other stuff in the tea (bone meal ,blood meal, plant-tone, compost), I've brewed some raunchy teas. I'm curious about alfafa in the garden cause I'm hoping it would add more organic matter and help with loosening the clay here...there I think pellets would be better, the compressed stuff isn't all that compressed.