Plant Database / Survival Calories / Flax
Survival Calories

Flax

Linum usitatissimum
Linaceae

Grown for omega-rich seed (and fiber). A pretty blue-flowered cool-season crop that's easy to thresh by hand.

EdibleAnnualCool-seasonSurvival cropNutrient-dense
Flax (Linum usitatissimum) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun
Water
Low
Soil
Well-drained
pH
6.0-7.0
Hardiness
Cool-season annual
Height
2-4 ft
Spacing
Broadcast
Days to harvest
90-110

What it is

Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is in the Linaceae family. Grown for omega-rich seed (and fiber). A pretty blue-flowered cool-season crop that's easy to thresh by hand.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it low, and give it well-drained soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0-7.0. Space plants about Broadcast apart. Expect roughly 90-110. Cool-season annual.

How it's used

Flax is used: seed (ground); oil.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Narrow blue-green leaves
  • Slender stems
  • Sky-blue five-petal flowers

Edibility

PartsSeed
UsesSeed (ground); oil
CautionGrind seed for digestibility.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.