Flax Findings - 2025 through the present

At the start of last year, winter of 2025, a friend and I decided to combine our skills and start a long-term flax study to monitor how it grows best in our chilly, arid Montana climate.

I am a seamstress passionate about all things natural fiber, and most importantly, linen. My good friend Sonia is a farmer and natural fiber enthusiast herself, with access to plots at a farm in Paradise Valley, Montana. It felt only natural that, combining our shared passions and resources, we would take up this project.

This was prior to me joining the Montana Fibershed Board, wherein I encountered several other wonderful people passionate about the same thing and dedicated to seeing it through. 

Up until this point, if I hadn’t been sourcing my fabric second-hand, I was ordering it from a processor in Washington. Their quality was beautiful, and relatively close considering where most linen comes from in the global scheme of things. Most linen comes from Europe, where the climate is just right, and the tradition of the practice is well-ingrained culturally, while most of the production of linen (flax going through lengthy process in a textile mill to become fiber, then spun and woven into fabric: linen) takes place in China, where mass production is often the common theme.

Despite the fact that linen I was buying was dyed semi-locally right here in the states, I was keenly aware that it was not grown here. It had to travel thousands of miles and likely was processed in a massive facility that I will never know about. All the while, I was living in a state that is a close-to-perfect growing environment for its plant predecessor: flax. Montana is a unique spot, agriculturally speaking. It is dry, rocky, hardy, and cold. Of course, being such a large state, there are many pockets across the landscape that do not fit into these categories. 

Montana primarily produces lots of wheat, barley, hay, and other livestock feed sources that grow well in these conditions. All this to say, our state grows many crops similar to flax, and is one of the few states that has a near perfect climate for such growing conditions. At certain times in U.S. history, it has actually been one of the main flax producers, albeit for oil and food substance. Still, this perked my interest in the long-term viability of bringing the textile trade here. Could it be possible to bring a textile trade beyond wool into our country? Several other states are exploring that same question, so we saddled up to join the discussion. 

 Flax thrives best in sandy, moist soils, and cool climates. Its shallow root pool supports a quick growing season, and it is a very low-fuss plant. It is a great shoulder season plant, bed prepper for your summer crop, or a between-seasons place holder. If you are interested in growing some flax of your own, whether it is just to see their beautiful flowers or to explore the fiber process yourself, please contact us at Montana Fibershed through this link! 

As for our 2025 study, here are our findings:  

Location of Seeding  (2 yd by 1 yd)	Time of Year	Duration of Growth	Harvest Info	Observations
Cold Frame Greenhouse 1 (highest internal temperature, double layer walls)	March	2 months	Harvested between flower and seed	Tallest stalks (3.5 feet) and most uniform in stalk (2-3 per root system)
Cold Frame Greenhouse 2 (single layer walls)	April	2 months	Harvested between flower and seed	Many more stalks per root system (4-8), varied height (2-3 feet)
Outdoor plot	May	2 months	Harvested between flower and seed	Shortest plant (1.5-2.5 feet), varied stalk per root (2-6), brown coloring along stalks

Our observations from this year alone led us to conclude that the earlier growth period resulted towards a hardier, more consistent flax growth pattern. Additionally, there was a higher yield in the inside plots versus an outdoor one. However, if you are a Montana resident, you know how odd this past spring (2026) has been. We did not get our average snow pack, and have had significant warm and cold spells since December. All this has thrown a curve into an equal study for this season. 

This year, we decided to focus on outdoor cultivation, as it is a more accessible means for the average hobby-grower. 

After taking a course provided by the Montana Fibershed conference this past fall that showcased the process of turning flax into fiber, we deduced that our own flax was slightly under-retted (a process of submerging the flax stalks for days up to weeks, depending on climate, to prepare them for fiber-making) and we will need to do a further analysis of how our varied plots compare when attempting to spin them. Stay tuned!

We intend to continue the flax growing project for years to come. Planting, growing, processing, weaving, and documenting every step of the way.  If you are interested in learning more about our flax study in Paradise Valley, Montana, follow @mtflaxproject on instagram.

Lillian Eaton

Seamstress & Flax Enthusiast

Montana Fibershed Board Member