The South London Flax Plot

22/07/2025

I applied more banana peelings to my flax this morning plus a trowel of compost straight from my compost heap to - hopefully - move things along before my holiday departure. The Google-based science is fuzzy on whether this will make a difference - “more research is needed” 🙂

To start getting a feel for the progression of retting, I took a few stalks and dried them overnight. Weirdly I was able to get fibres already, although they were a little gummed up still. But what does it mean for my flax? Surely I cannot be at risk of over-retting after only 3 days in the ‘dew’?

Another question to chew over is the huge variance in the thickness/grade of the flax stalks. The colour is also really different.

So we have:
- thick and thin stalks of flax straw
- grey, yellow and green colouration - indicating (I think) different degrees of retting
- weather, air temperature, humidity, ground temperature
- my lack of experience/judgement.

I love this!

21/07/2025

So, the clock is ticking on the retting before I go on holiday. As usual I have acted in haste, starting the retting without realising that 6 days is probably not long enough for dew/rain to do its thing, even with a forecast of warm wet weather.

So what can I do to speed things up? Five mins googling teaches me that the retting process breaks down the pectin and hemicellulose in the fibres. Natural enzymes in the soil do the job.

I don’t know what any of these words mean but I don’t need to. Is there anything in my kitchen that can move things along a bit quicker? Maybe banana peelings can. When they decay they make a lot of pectinase - the stuff that weakens the pectin. Worth a try right?

A quick call out to my neighbours and hey presto I’m (maybe) accelerating the retting.

19/07/2025

As this year has been such a bad crop I decided to start retting last year’s crop of flax. It has been stored in my shed over winter. We are in for a few days of warm summer rain so I’m hoping that the 7 days remaining before I go on holiday will be long enough!

19/07/2025

My first flower but altogether a very sorry sight - 63 days after sowing (late in the season - mid May). This year I had no access to water plus it has been a drought. Always willing to learn I call this ‘Experimenting with drought conditions’.

27/07/2024

Day 98 and I’ve lifted my flax. I tried to do some grading as I went. Now what?

20/06/2024

My 2024 flax plot. Mainly sharing updates on Instagram

05/02/2024

4,700-year-old ball of yarn discovered near Lake Bienne in Lüscherz, Switzerland, dated to at least 2700 BC

In the Neolithic period, the development of textiles was a significant leap forward for early societies. While direct evidence like the 4,700-year-old yarn ball is rare, indirect clues have painted a broader picture. Impressions on pottery, discovered at various sites, reveal patterns and techniques of weaving, indicating an established practice. Tools such as spindle whorls and loom weights, essential for spinning and weaving, have been unearthed as well.

In some exceptional cases, actual cloth fragments have been found, often preserved in unique conditions like bogs that prevent decomposition. Additionally, Neolithic art and iconography occasionally depict clothing and textile patterns.

31/01/2024

The South London Flax Plot records my very small scale experience of learning to grow and process flax. I’d love to hear from anyone else in south London who is doing the same or wants to.

31/01/2024

Can you help? I am looking for a small area in a garden or allotment to plant some more flax this year. Ideally a patch about 3m x 2m in sun, somewhat sheltered and with access to water. I can clear the ground of weeds beforehand if needed. I will sow around March/April 2024 and harvest in August. I need occasional access during the growing season to remove weeds and water if needed.

27/01/2024

Ooh shall I sign up?

If you’re enrolling to join our class of ‘24 Growing Slow Textiles and struggling financially, please remember to get your early bird discount by using the coupon code: EARLYBIRDS24 for £50 discount until the end of January and if you’re not struggling financially and are able to support someone who is, please sign up without the code.
🙏🏼 https://school.naturalfabricdyeing.com/offers/bYimVE2W/checkout

27/01/2024

My hackled flax fibre! Sadly this wasn’t the flax I actually grew as my retting went awry, but this is still the moment to give a heartfelt thank you to BeeKaymakes and LET'S GROW FLAX who inspired me and gave me early days skills and tools to get this far.

Gulp, next is spinning!

27/01/2024

In about an hour I turned a bundle of scutched flax into a nice soft fibre, with a little ball of tow on the side.