David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 14d If you cycle in Normandy, all you see is flax. France grows over 50% of the world’s textile flax. This region has the perfect mix of deep silty soil and a mild, damp oceanic climate, allowing for "dew retting" where the rain and sun naturally separate premium linen fibers right in the fields.
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It's a shame that we moved away from linen so much, though I am seeing it more of it. More places used to grow it; maybe more will again.
Thank you for that info. Do you know if they also produce flax seed for food and/or linseed oil? Flax seed is so useful for many nutriional reasons.
pretty sustainable as far as fibers go I think too. Wear more linen or something.
It pains me to see monocultures. I grow my own flax in mixed vegetation without fertilizer and pesticides. It pains me to see heavy machinery destroy the soil. Fr www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
For some reason I find this really interesting.
Ireland used to grow a lot of flax, there were lots of flax/linen mills and at my granny's as kids we were warned to stay clear of the flax hole. Am not sure what changed here.
Do they no longer grow a significant amount of cabbage? I remember the air in late fall to be quite pungent with the smell of decaying cabbage.
I didn't realise that 🇫🇷 grew such a large share of global supply. I've been seeing more and more of it in the Vexin, but in relatively small (several-hectare) parcels. Linen is such a great fabric. And so amazing that it was one of the first plants that our ancestors millennia ago used for weaving.
Well, the climate used to be mild...
I love linen. One of my favourite fibres. But that 'mild, damp oceanic climate' ain't going to last much longer....