Joylynn Hardesty wrote:

Hans Quistorff wrote:
I plan to mow the field wit the riding lawn mower during the next dry spell to spread the seed because the plants are so short this year. I could harvest some seed if someone is interested.

Yes please! Please!

Sorry I missed this one. I sent some seed and stalks to R Ranson in BC but I will have to wait till next year to get any more
I will attach the pictures of the perennial flax this time so that you can see them.

I just picked this up from the post office yesterday. Looks great. Very excited to give it a try. Thank you kindly for sending it.

It is funny, I got a different delivery of flax yesterday too. Two big bags of flax tow (waste from processing line flax) to play with.

It looks like this is going to be my year of the flax.

The tow should give you short soft fibers from what I learned from the links you posted. It will be interesting to see how long the fibers will be from my flax.
The video of flax harvest in Ireland showed the old method of retting in shallow ponds with the bundles tied with reeds. I have shallow ponds with reed growing on the edges. I want to try rice in the ponds this year so I filled the ponds with the flax and weeds as I mowed. I did not tie it in bundles but I will observe how the flax stems have retted when I pull it out and use it for mulch in the orchard.
I would like some feedback on how it works. Our local fiber arts show organizer has heirloom flax processing tools and I gave them a bundle of flax to put with the exhibit but at the time neither of us knew about retting. Soif the perennial flax seems viable perhaps my field could be a resource for the local artisans.

This is such a good discussion, and timely for me as we are trying to work out what to put on our farm and as a textile artist I'm always looking for ideas. I will contact some of you individually for further information. As to the lady who started this conversation I definitely think you should write a book. Perhaps you should talk to a literary agent to see if they have a ghost writers who can help you. Giselle

I hope that someone is working on that book!  I will certainly buy a copy, if it is ever published.  And I think there's a need for it -- production of food has been well-covered.  Production of wood for construction and etc. has been covered to some extent (much more in non-permaculture publications, but certainly mentioned in permie pubs).  But there hasn't been much that I've seen on the production of fiber, and since almost all of us wear clothes (probably everyone wears clothes at least some of the time, even nudists), it's a necessary topic. 

Kathleen

We had an unusually dry summer so my wild flax did not get very tall and plants far from the ponds did not even bloom. I broadcast a thick layer of golden flax i one of the ponds. It sprouted and grew in the water much like the wild flax. When the pond dried out it stopped growing and produced one flower at the top which matured small seed heads.  I left it standing until the ponds refilled and then checked the seed: it was sprouting in the head so I bent the stems over into the water. I will see if it regrows on it's own. I will definitely plant more ponds next year and put the seed in earlier. The golden flax is a daily part of my diet so if I can produce my own it will be a food security for me.