Golden Flax

1 oz package (covers aproximately 100 sq. ft.) 45 lb/acre or 1-2 lb per 1,000 sq. ft at 1 deep or less, a drill is preferred method of planting.

Seed flax is an annual plant that grows to a height of 12 to 36 inches. It has a distinct main stem with numerous branches at the top which produce flowers. Branches from the base of the plant may also occur depending on variety, stand, and environment. The plant has a branched taproot system which may extend to a depth of 3 to 4 feet in coarse textured soil.

Common flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) was one of the first crops domesticated by man. Flax is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region of Europe; the Swiss Lake Dweller People of the Stone Age apparently produced flax utilizing the fiber as well as the seed. Linen cloth made from flax was used to wrap the mummies in the early Egyptian tombs. In the United States, the early colonists grew small fields of flax for home use, and commercial production of fiber flax began in 1753. However, with the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, flax production began to decline.

Flax is still produced in the United States for its oil rich seed. Linseed oil has been used as a drying agent for paints, varnishes, lacquer, and printing ink.

Linseed oil meal is an excellent protein source for livestock containing about 35% crude protein. Flax straw on the other hand, makes a very poor quality forage because of its high cellulose and lignin content. Green flax straw should not be grazed or fed as it is high in prussic acid. The danger of prussic acid poisoning is greater immediately following a freeze.

Source University of Wisconsin