Lessons Learned from Growing Flax in Hot & Humid North Carolina

For the last year, I've been trying to figure out how to get flax to grow in my climate. Here in coastal NC, it gets hot and humid--fast. As a cool-weather crop, growing flax according to a ​“typical” timetable is just not possible here, as evidenced by the massive failure I had last year. From a whole raised bed, I got just a handful of stalks of flax, all very stunted in height, and then accidentally over-retted them. SIGH. 

This year I'm back at it, with two different harvests. The first was the Linore variety, planted in October and harvested in early May, making the growing season almost double the 100–110 days that's typical for flax. I planted the second, the Avian variety, on MLK Day and harvested Memorial Day weekend, putting the growing season at a much more reasonable 124 days.

Even if the super-long growing season wasn't ideal for the Linore flax, it was really nice to look out my kitchen window and see it growing throughout the winter. And while the stems aren't as fine as the second harvest, the earlier-planted Linore flax grew much taller than the Avian flax did.

Both harvests were much more bountiful than last year's. The main determination I've made is that it's primarily about planting time and how thickly the seeds need to be sown. (Very, it turns out.) 

Secondary factors that I'm considering for next year are location, soil health, and water. Generally, I prefer not to water plants if I can avoid it—we get an average of 50–60 inches of rain per year, so it seems silly to water plants! But the flax seems to enjoy consistent moisture, so maybe a rain barrel is in my future. 

Regardless of all the challenges these harvests continue to face, I think I’m on the right track here! There are so many variables at play—from the variety, and timing, to sun, moisture, and soil conditions, that it will take several more crops to know which variety I prefer, as I work to fine-tune my understanding for this particular climate.

​And I've found yet another cold-season variety I want to try this fall: Aramis, a French variety from Landis Valley Village Farm & Museum. 

But in the meantime, it’s time to start processing flax into fiber so I can actually get to spinning it! More on that soon, and if you don't see it here on the blog, be sure to check out my YouTube channel and newsletter for the most recent updates.