My first year growing willow

I just did my first harvest of willow from a patch that I planted, and it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on my first year of growing willow. Willow has been used in basketry for centuries. It is flexble and, strong, and naturally beautiful make it ideal for weaving.

I’m lucky to have local growers nearby where I can purchase willow, but I really wanted to experience the entire process—from planting the willow to weaving the final basket. The thought of turning raw willow rods into something beautiful and functional really excited me.

So in the fall of 2023, I placed my order for a selection of willow species I thought would be great for weaving:

Dicky meadows
Purple dicks
Noir de villains
Green Edna
Bleu
Packing Twine

They are all different colors and characteristics  – perfect for experimentation.

I don’t own land, so I reached out to a friend of mine who had recently started a food forest in her hay field. She was excited about the idea, and said that the willow patch would be a beautiful way to line her food forest.

The cuttings weren’t cheap at around $2-$2.50 each, so it was definitely an investment. Initially, we agreed to plant 400, but after thinking about all the work required, we decided we should plant 1000.

We ordered the cuttings in the fall and they arrived in winter, and although we were advised to plant them right away, we didn’t get around to it until a month later because there was a lot of work we had to do to prepare the ground so we kept the cuttings in the fridge and made sure they weren’t rooting.

To prepare the field, it was a hay field, we weed-whacked all the grass and plants. We then laid down eco-friendly plastic weed suppressant fabric and buried it on either side of the row to secure it down. We also laid down two lines of irrigation, since the field is naturally wet in the fall, winter and spring but it gets pretty dry during the summer. We marked out where each cutting would go in our 3-foot-wide beds with 3 rows, each willow being about 10-12 cm apart.

Once the cuttings were planted, it was mostly about waiting. We did a bit of weeding, but other than that, we let the willows do their thing. And they grew beautifully. Some rods shot up taller than me. By summer, they had their lush green leaves, and by fall, they shed them in a perfect seasonal cycle.

As the weather cools, and the leaves have all dropped and the sap stops running through the rods, that is when it is time to harvest.

For the harvest, I invested in a pair of electric snips to protect my precious hands. We cut every rod, even the smaller ones, as it’s important to train the willow to produce more shoots the following year. And that is what you weave with. The single year’s growth. It’s super flexible and hopefully tall and thin. After harvesting, we organized and bundled the willow by species, and eventually we’ll sort it further by length.

Now the willow enters the drying phase. We’ll leave it outside, in a covered, shaded space for about six months. The goal is to keep it dry but out of direct sunlight. Once the drying period is over, I’ll soak the willow and it’ll be ready for weaving into baskets—something I’ve been dreaming about since the very beginning.

Now I thought it would be great to get into what I would’ve done differently if I could go back in time and do it all over again.

The first would be to use regular weed suppressant fabric. The eco-biodegradable fabric suppressed the weeds for maybe 1 week, and then the weeds were pushing through, so we added wood chips on top to hold the weeds back.

The second would be to spend another year really figuring out what species I love to weave with and only growing two species. I really like using a single species for a basket and the monotones that offers. And I think it would also make sorting and keeping track of the species easier.

Other tips I have is to find someone growing willow near you and to help them with their harvest. People can always use extra hands and I loved seeing the different patches, ways of growing and harvesting and sorting. I was so grateful to help out Joan Carrigan as she harvested willow from some patches she planted and help plant. I learnt so much from seeing how she does things.

My first year of growing willow has been a rewarding mix of hard work, learning, and patience. I love seeing how resilient and robust of a plant willow is. I find a lot of inspiration in it.. I can’t wait to see what the next season will bring and, finally, to start weaving with the willow I grew myself.