martha jo

In this part of Texas it is planted late Feb or March. It is harvested in August. In West Texas it is planted in May or June and harvested in Oct or November. I think the world pressure on supply is driving the price plus around here they keep building subdivisions in the cotton fields. They had a good crop this past year but it sure didn't keep the price down.

martha jo

Before 1964 the cotton grown around here was as tall as a grown man. When the cotton picking machine was developed they developed cotton that was low and could be picked by machine. My uncle had quite a few cotton fields and it was in the days of pulling a bag and picking. My cousin and I begged him to go pick (this was the early 50's). He told us if we went we stayed all day period. It was horrible after a while and we picked in the hot sun and were miserable. I think I got 1.30 for the effort and never ask to go again. It was just like the movies of the South though in that the women pulled their babies on the sacs and sang spirituals. Bless them. Later I befriended an elderly woman who said the cotton picker ruined their good life. Times do change.

PWinston

This does not relate directly to the original question but thought you might find it interesting. Sorry, it doesn't indicate how many yard of fabric one bale of cotton would make but guess we could estimate that based on the number of pillowcases one bale of cotton will make.

One bale of cotton (480 lbs.) will make any of the following.
215 pairs jeans
249 Bed Sheets
409 Men’s Sport Shirts
690 Terry Bath Towels
765 Men’s Dress Shirts
1,217 Men’s T-Shirts
1,256 Pillowcases
2,104 Boxer Shorts
2,419 Men’s Briefs
3,085 Diapers
4,321 Mid-Calf Socks
6,436 Women’s Knit Briefs
21,960 Woman’s Handkerchiefs
Or
313,600 $100.00 Bills

By the way, in the Bootheel of Missouri (Southeast) a good yield for an irrigated acre of land is 2 - 2.5 bales/acre. Don't know about average/good production in the rest of the country or rest of the world. Production in China is obviously very important since they are the largest producer of cotton and largest mill production.

Rejoyce

I have a small hobby greenhouse. Every year I try to plant something that I've never grown before. I discovered cotton seeds in one of my catalogues, so that's my challange crop this year. I have a small yard, so I'll only plant a few. I've already started the seeds in the greenhouse.

marjean36

I love this topic. I was raised near Abilene TX on a cotton farm. Yes, we used a cotton sack made from denim type fabric that my Mom sewed for us each year in just our size. There were five children and we all worked. My Dad seemed to be best at driving the cotton to the gin when the truck was full!! My Mom once pulled a thousand pounds in one day. She held the record for the neighborhood. She reminded us that when you "pick" cotton you take it out of the burrs. When you "pull" cotton you pull the bolls as well. It weighs more when it is done that way. In later years we teased that Mother went behind a tree and birthed the next baby, put it on her sack and kept picking. She was a hard worker in every resect. Wouldn't trade anything for the experience of being raised as a poor cotton farmers child!! Sure this is a good topic for me. I enjoyed it all. Thanks for asking the question.

countrycottage

I remember my father talking about the government paying folks not to grow certain crops too. I don't know anything about growing cotton, but Daddy told me that he always was late getting to start to school in the fall because they had to get the cotton crop in before they could get back in school. I climbed in the old wagon with my grandpapa one morning when I was little to go help him pick cotton in the field behind their house. Wasn't nearly as much fun as I thought it would be, and when he went back to the fields after lunch guess who stayed at the house with Grandmama.

cabinfever

That is wonderful! Let us know how it works out if she does it. Would love to see some pics of anything she tries...steps. Don't forget what someone posted about Boll Weevils & that it is illegal in some states, for that reason. I never would have thought to ask what I am allowed to grow since it's legal;)

VernaL

One year, my husband grew some cotton in our garden here in So Cal. It grew fine, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember when he planted it or how long it took to blossom. He told everyone, he was going to make his own underwear. We still have the cotton bols around somewhere.

cabinfever

I admire your good nature at losing such a treasure. I guess many of us soften as we age, as I would be more accepting now, but in younger years would have tried to find out who had it & if they really wanted it. When my great-uncle passed, I waited about 3 months & then contacted a cousin to see if there were any old family photos they didn't want on his side of the family...he said I should have asked sooner, they threw them all out!!! That side apparently didn't inherit any sentimentality at all. My point is you may still ask, you never know what people think about things. My grandmother was the eldest & the keeper of all the family history & a photographer to boot. I inherited her interest in our family history along with the photographs; most of my level & younger (in our family) have NO interest in the prior generation at all.

cabinfever

I would love to meet such a person with that experience. It is interesting that she thought the "cotton gin" ruined their "good life". She could have meant there was even LESS money without the opportunity to work locally, or maybe her family spent all their time together & some were forced to move away as a result of no work. I imagine it was both.

If only our kids had such opportunities to learn some of those kinds of life lessons as you did; it teaches appreciation of others effort & respect for manual labor. I did quite a lot of physical labor as a kid, mainly by spending summers with my elderly grandparents who were very hard workers into their 90's. My thoughts as a kid were...if they could do it, I could do it...and I did. I saw it as both respect to them and as a challenge to myself to keep up with them.