Watching plants grow...

Apparently watching plants grow is much like waiting for a pot to boil, but today I got my first flowers…. 67 days after planting.

This will probably be my last Spring Progress Post, unless something amazing happens in the next few days! But boy am I looking forward to Summer Solstice!

Ten Days Later

Ten days later and I have seed babies!!! I know, I know, I know…. Shocking that I grew something!

I was a little worried about progress, even though the planting instructions said it could take 10-12 days before you saw sprouts… and I checked everyday! Sure enough on the 10th day, there they were.

April 8th 2021 Flax Seeding Day

I decided today was the day. The recommendations of planting was wait until there was no more threat of severe frost, warmer days starting off around 10C (50F). Our PNW forecast has some rain tomorrow and then a stretch of longer warmer days!

First I lightly dusted the seeds (approximately 10,000) with flour so that I could see where they fell. I really thought that was going to be over kill, but then at the last minute I decided to start off about 2 ft in from the eastern most side.

As for the planting, I read that you should make furrows North to South and broadcast your seeds. As this is a semi wild flower I could not imagine planting them in neat rows- but what do I know? I am an anti-gardener. Once spread out, rake West to East, and gently cover them. This also helped to even out my scattering. The wind picked up as I was sowing my seeds and some clumped together as they fell.

My seed babies are in the ground and I am now terrified!

Week One of the Flax Project.

I started off by measuring a 16’ x 4’ rectangle to be my plot. I wanted it narrow enough that it was accessible from both sides. Next came removing the sod, this took me three days, I did approximately a 1/3 each day. After that I used a tiller to break up the soil. At first I was going to remove all the rocks but I think this will help with drainage. The next steps are, add topsoil and then plant. I have to check the weather and make sure that there will not be anymore major freezes. I have read that the seeds can withstand minor frosts, but it is best to wait until the weather warms.