2012 Flax Harvest

After a false start where germination was not happening and re-seeding 3 weeks after the original seeding, I have a bumper crop! 
Last year I harvested approximately 12 lbs of green flax straw (weighed immediately after pulling).  This year my first harvest was about 29 lbs.  Instead of growing all approximately the same height, it was of very varying heights, anywhere from about 12" to 36". 

Since it should be collected and processed in bundles of similar height for processing, I first pulled the tallest plants 30-36", then the medium height - 22-28" (above).
I left the short stuff which was mostly 15" or less and had not flowered.  I thought I would pull it in the fall or till it into the soil. The picture to the left shows what was left after the main harvest.


A couple of weeks ago I went to my allotment to check it and it had grown and flowered and was from 22" to 33" in height.  So I pulled it again in two different heights and yielded a further 18 lbs for a second harvest - for the first time in 10 years of growing it.  With shorter and cooler days now, I am having some difficulty drying the 'green' out of it.






I did bundle it at first, then spread it out on the deck or the lawn so that it would have a better chance to dry out, then had to keep collecting it up on rainy days.

Germination problems with flax

I seeded my new flax seeds (as opposed to saved ones) on May 7.  Normally they germinate over 7 to 10 days, but 3 weeks later I had exactly 8 seedlings growing.  So I re-seeded the plot last week, May 28, and now 7 to 10 days later I have good germination.  However, since I sowed the seeds late, I do not know if the crop will ripen properly.  Only time will tell.

Class Handouts

I added photos to illustrate the original class handout (Growing and Processing Flax) and then discovered it prints to 27 pages.  Therefore I have added a second page (Processing Flax - class handout), basically the same text but without photos.  These are available at the top of the page under the picture and I hope they are of use to someone.

Seeds Ordered

Last week I ordered some flax seeds for this year from Saskflax Biolin Research in Saskatchewan.  Here is their order page - I ordered Evelyn and Elektra seeds, Evelyn I have tried before and done well, Elektra is to try something new to compare with Evelyn.

Made Some Progress

Well, all by myself I have finally figured out how to reduce the size of the picture at the top of the page (which for six months has filled about two screens worth).  Yayyy me.  Then I discovered how to move a few things around a bit.

Lastly, for today, I wish to add that I will be teaching my class on growing and processing flax to get spinnable fibre for linen at FITP (Forward Into The Past) event at Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo - Bricker Building on Saturday, March 31, 2012.