Flax
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Jennifer
Posted on: November 04, 2009

I want to grow flax for the purpose of spinning and weaving the fibres and I wonder what the difference is between the flax variety "Flax S2700" and "Evelin Fibre Flax S2702"? In the catalogue both seem to state that they produce the fibre flax. I wonder, how was the Evelin Fibre Flax seed developed in order that it produces a longer, stronger and more uniform fiber?

Flax has such wonderful multidimensional uses, with its medicinal seeds, nutritious oil, and useful fibres. Originally, all of these products were obtained from the same original varieties. But over time varieties specific to one or the other use were developed. Our standard flax (S2700) is akin to the original multipurpose varieties, while ‘Evelin’ is a newer variety developed specifically for fibre production. If you grow flax for fibre then you should use ‘Evelin’ for its better fibre qualities, although theoretically you could use the original variety too.

‘Evelin’ was developed in Europe. The method used was selective breeding, the same method used for centuries by farmers, where plants with desirable characteristics (in this case, long, strong fibres) were selected.

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