They Live!

Dr. Frankenstein would find flax to be a good subject in his laboratory!

Both the Gale Woods Farm and Riverbend linen flax crops survived the bitter cold temps this spring! They have been growing more slowly than past crops that did not need to compete with such cold temperatures at the start of their life; however, they are still thriving. It is such a relief! 

Gale Woods Farm Crop

Post-weeding view of the plot at Gale Woods Farm on May 11th.

I did a first weeding of the Gale Woods Farm crop on May 11th, 14 days after the first seedlings emerged. Normally, the first weeding would have been done a week earlier, but the cold spring also slowed weed growth. There are benefits of a cold spring!

The seedlings up close!

Their height is about 1 inch on May 11th (measured with a finger), two weeks into their growth.

I did another weeding of the crop today, May 20th. The average stalk height is now about 4 inches after only one week. The recent rains and still cooler temperatures are all beneficial to linen flax!

The Gale Woods Farm stalk height averages 4 inches, one month after sowing.

The Gale Woods Farm plot after a careful weeding on May 20th.

Riverbend Farm – my personal crop update

I visited the Riverbend crop for the first time on May 16th, 28 days after sowing. This plot was the most worrisome for me since the field had seen some freezing temperatures. No matter, the little darlings survived the cold! I'm not exactly sure when the seedlings first emerged, since I couldn't check on them for the 28 days between sowing and May 16th. So May 16th became my first view of the seedlings and my first weeding day. There were certainly a number of small weeds, mostly stubborn, long-root quackgrass, but it wasn't horrible. I was able to hand-weed the entire crop in about two hours (farmer Greg did a bit of hoeing during my visit, too).

The Riverbend plot is a bit lighter in color than Gale Woods, even though the flax variety is the same. That is a curiosity, and for now I attribute it to a difference in soil composition—perhaps also the cooler growing temperatures?

The Riverbend flax stalks, as of May 16th, have grown to about 2 inches in height.

I plan to weed the Riverbend flax stalks again in a few days. It will be interesting to compare their growth with the Gale Woods Farm stalks. Will the two crops be on par? Stay tuned!

A Surprise on May 20th!

When I arrived home from weeding the crop at Gale Woods Farm, I looked towards the edge of my road where I had planted some perennial flax a few years ago. Surprise! They have begun flowering! This plant is so tough! Give it good sunlight and some moisture, and it can survive brutal conditions! Of course, this is a perennial variety that might flower twice in a summer and does not get much more than a foot tall. It spends its time creating flowers for seeds and beauty. It isn't trying to grow tall for fiber!

Flowering Perennial Flax at my roadside.