How to Raise Flax Seeds
Flax seed is a small, glossy brown seed often used in recipes for health purposes. Ground flax seed replaces eggs in baking recipes and may be added to smoothies and salads for a dose of omega-3 fatty acids. The fatty acids contained in flax seed can help good lower cholesterol. Flax seed grows on tall stalks of grass with delicate flowers, and can be grown at home in your own garden. Growing your own flax plants allows you continuous access to the health benefits of its seeds. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Full sun growing space
- Well-drained soil
- Compost
- Flax seeds
- Water
- Mulch
- Nitrogen-based fertilizer
- Herbicides, insecticides and fungicides
- Optional: grain drill, combine
Instructions
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1
Choose a garden spot that receives full sun and well-drained soil. Work compost into the soil to prepare it for planting.
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2
Sow flax seeds in early spring between mid-March and mid-April. Seedlings can withstand a mild final frost. Plant them at a depth of 1/2 to 1-inch deep. If planting in sandy or coarse soils, plant the seeds up to 1.5 inches deep.
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3
Plant flax seeds in rows when planting large quantities of flax seeds. Place the rows 6 inches apart or use a standard grain drill to plant the seeds in rows of 6 inches or less. If growing flax to harvest large quantities of seeds, grow between 40 to 70 plants per square foot of garden area used.
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4
Water plants daily, maintaining moist, not soggy or damp soil.
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Place mulch around the plants once they are 6 inches tall to maintain moisture in the soil and to prevent weed growth.
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Fertilize plants regularly with a nitrogen-based fertilizer.
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Protect your flax from weeds, disease and insects. Manually remove weeds from the flax garden on a regular basis, and apply an herbicide such as bromoxynil or Poast. Treat flax gardens with insecticides such as Sevin and fungicides such as Maxim.
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Harvest flax seeds when 90 percent of the seed caps on the plant have turned brown. Due to the small size of the seeds, flax is often harvested with a combine.
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References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
