woolybanana Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 This year the number of fields given over to growing flax (lin) has been surprising. It is rotated on a four or five year cycle so I am seeing some fields of it for the first time.Strange, straggly plants, with the stalks cut and laid flat until they rot, then off to be used for clothing, mainly in China nowadays, apparently.The seeds are increasingly used for food supplements - I put it in my oats, for example.The plants are environmentally friendly too apparently.And what a change the crops make from the usual arable stuff, particularly bl oody boring fields of spuds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Now now, I love potatoes. And they are rather pleasantly green and leafy........ and a million times better than those sinister sunflowers we had in our region........... urrgggghhhhh!Or the manky looking maize, that seems to be about rotten by the time they pick that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 And the flax does have those ephemeral pale blue flowers that hover above the stalks like a mist, for just a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Has wooly a nice head of flaxen hair now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 'pale blue flowers' - beautiful, as you say, Loiseau.We lived in a cereal growing area and it was often a puzzle to guess what each field contained. One farmer only ever grew maize - he fed it to his pigs. But the others chopped and changed, and occasionally grew flax. Other favourites were sarassin and colza. Wheat barley sunflowers etc.I think flax was used as a green manure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard51 Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Agreed Birdy - I wondered what the blue fields were whilst going along the Chartres rat run a couple of weeks ago. Thank you WB - gritted teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 This has reminded me of a house we very nearly bought in Deux Sèvres.In the grounds, there was a sizeable lake which was obviously man-made. On looking at old maps, we learned that it was a place for soaking flax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyaudeman Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 I wondered what the blue fields were whilst going along the Chartres rat run a couple of weeks ago. More often Opium Poppies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehaut Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 and a million times better than those sinister sunflowers we had in our region........... urrgggghhhhh!Why sinister? They look lovely imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I like sunflowers, poppies and, best of all, lavender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 [quote user="Lehaut"]and a million times better than those sinister sunflowers we had in our region........... urrgggghhhhh!Why sinister? They look lovely imo.[/quote]I agree, I love sunflowers and think they look incredible. In fact, every summer, I take the chance to drive along all the roads round here where I know I'd see them.What I do find boring are vineyards.....kilometer after kilometer after kilometer, on and on and on, with virtually nothing else in sight other than vines.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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