Bill and Janet Wilson’s common flax field pictured on Saturday, June 14. The field is located northeast of Clutier on the corner of V-18 and 220th St. in Oneida Township. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

CLUTIER – If you plant flax, folks will certainly come when the field starts blooming.

For nearly 40 years, Bill and Janet Wilson have farmed the field located at the corner of V-18 and 220th St. in Oneida Township northeast of Clutier, but it’s certainly never caught the attention of passersby the way it has this year – covered with hundreds of thousands of pale blue-violet common flax blooms.

“[My parents] became interested in ancient grains after [attending a] seminar that was put on by the Tama County ISU Extension Office [this past winter],” their daughter Laura Wilson told the newspaper recently. “[My dad] was looking for an alternative to the routine isolation crops that were regularly used. [An] isolation crop is needed on that corner because of the seed corn he grows in rotation.”

After Bill planted the section by hand on April 15, the blooms first unfurled on June 13 and have been putting on a show ever since. Peak flowering stage typically lasts from two to three weeks, depending on conditions, with the flowers opening in early morning – roughly 9 to 9:30 a.m., Laura said – before closing by noon. The flowers are roughly an inch across and feature five petals.

According to Minnesota Wildflowers, which receives partial funding from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, common flax is a cool-season annual species native to Eurasia (Europe and Asia) that is cultivated for its fiber, edible seeds, and oil. Per Laura, her parents will likely utilize the harvested flax for baking or cooking. They might also choose to sell some at a local farmer’s market, she said.

A close-up of the common flax blooms on Bill and Janet Wilson’s rural Clutier farm. BIll planted the section by hand this past April; the blooms first opened on June 13. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Since June 13, the corner has become chit-chat fodder among both farmers and non-farming area residents alike mostly due to its location on the busy V-18, with many people stopping by the Wilsons’ farm west of the field to comment or ask questions.

For in a mostly sea of green fields, a patch of blossoming, blue-colored flax is hard to miss this time of year and easy to appreciate.

For more information on common flax, contact your local USDA NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) office.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Bill and Janet Wilson’s common flax field pictured from the west on Saturday, June 14. The field has been the talk of the area among farmers and non-farmers alike since the pale blue-violet blooms first opened late last week. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER