Each square yard of flax will produce enough material to make a tea towel-size of fabric.\n<\/p>\n
Today, the PA Flax Project holds workshops to train people to grow and harvest flax, which it calls a \u201cclimate positive\u201d plant. Linen is a plant-based natural fiber, making it more sustainable than the synthetic fabrics sourced from fossil fuels that are used to make the majority of modern-day clothing.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Flax is also easy to grow because it doesn\u2019t need fertilizer or irrigation.\n<\/p>\n
In an urban community garden devoted to organic methods, however, Mote is learning that flax does need regular weeding. Pointing to a vining bind weed that threatens to strangle the flax, she said pulling out the weeds is difficult because they pull out the shallow roots of the flax as well.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are just terrible,\u201d she said. \u201cI need to figure out a strategy so that next year they won\u2019t get weeds. I need to understand the rhythm of the flax.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Mote, who teaches at Thomas Jefferson University\u2019s College of Architecture & the Built Environment, said she\u2019s fascinated by the plant\u2019s history.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not native to Pennsylvania,\u201d Mote said. \u201cIt was brought here by German and Dutch settlers from Northern Europe in the 17th century because they had skills and knowledge about linen production in their native countries. But it is noninvasive, and it\u2019s an excellent low maintenance field crop.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Flax is not just a plant that produces seeds rich in omega-3. It\u2019s also used to make linseed oil, a natural wood preserver, and paper. And while it\u2019s blooming, flax flowers provide food for pollinators.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been used since before written history as a fiber. And so it\u2019s just a really interesting plant because we\u2019ve relied on flax for a really long time,\u201d Mote said.\n<\/p>\n
Mote, a plant and garden historian, is also an artist. She is growing the flax to make paper, which she plans to use to make botanical prints with native plants.\n<\/p>\n
The shorter strands of fiber were used to make paper in colonial times. While the signed copy of the Declaration of Independence was written on parchment, made from animal skins, Thomas Jefferson\u2019s drafts were written on paper made from flax.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Created in 2020, the PA Flax Project also works on a larger scale to expand the industry in the state with the goal of jump-starting a sustainable, climate-friendly fiber industry. This year, Barr said the cooperative has 45 acres planted and ready to harvest this year, with 300 acres planned for 2027.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe crop looks so good,\u201d Barr said.\n<\/p>\n Although the organization\u2019s federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture was initially cut by the Trump administration in early 2025, Barr said that was restored, allowing them to purchase a mechanical harvester and work toward purchasing a mill that will make processing the flax more efficient.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe are currently raising a round of funding to continue into our mill development phase. This is a major milestone for the PA Flax Project and for the fiber flax industry in Pennsylvania,\u201d Barr said.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Each square yard of flax will produce enough material to make a tea towel-size of fabric. Today, the PA Flax Project holds workshops to train people to grow and harvest flax, which it calls a \u201cclimate positive\u201d plant. Linen is a plant-based natural fiber, making it more sustainable than the synthetic fabrics sourced from fossil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11573],"tags":[23429,23427,1110,23428,4728,12931],"class_list":["post-33384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philadelphia-breaking-news","tag-acreage","tag-climate-fixers","tag-expands","tag-flax","tag-project","tag-whyy-news-climate-desk"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/whyy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/miranda-mote-sp-070426-01.jpeg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Philadelphia Viral News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Each square yard of flax will produce enough material to make a tea towel-size of fabric. 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