Linen harvesting in the Gomel region

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Linen has long been widely used in various spheres of human life and activity. Every year, thousands of hectares of Belarusian fields are planted with this crop, tons of crops are harvested from the land, they are processed by plants and factories in order to create and offer consumers a quality product.

Description of the plant

Common flax is an annual or perennial plant from the flax family. The stem is smooth, branched to the top, reaches a height of 125 cm. The flowers are located in the upper part of the stems, where they form paniculate inflorescences. The main place of growth is non-chernozem, moist loamy soil of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Currently, more than two hundred species of the plant are known, but only one is used in flax production - ordinary.

Features of cultivation

Sowing flax is popularly called slate, fiber and cultural. Sowthey begin in the spring, in the month of April, and preparations begin in the fall. Flax grows well on fertilized soil, which is why it is customary to plant it after potatoes or cereals. After harvesting flax, winter rye and oats are planted in the prepared soil, since flax acts as a field cleaner.

Use and use

The plant has found wide application in landscape design, lovers of delicate blue shades sow the garden with curly flax, and admirers of red color plant a large-flowered species. Florists and decorators use curly linen boxes to make bouquets and arrangements with dried flowers.

Flax seeds are used to produce oil. Traditional medicine and homeopaths advise eating grains in their natural form, adding them to everyday food, as they contain important vitamins, fiber and vegetable proteins. It has been proven that flax has a positive effect on brain activity, improves immunity.

For medicinal purposes, only threshed seeds obtained during the harvest are used. Due to its beneficial properties, decoctions and infusions of flax are also useful for severe diseases and oncology.

In case of inflammatory infections of the throat and oral cavity, systematic rinsing with linseed decoction is recommended. 3 g of seeds pour 300 ml of boiling water and continue to boil the broth for 15 minutes over low heat, leave for 30 minutes. Then filter through gauze and apply several times in knocks until the condition improves. However, take advicetraditional healers are not worth it, unfortunately, there are contraindications to the use of the plant. For example, patients with diarrhea or intestinal infections should not use flax.

Harvesting and harvesting

For flax harvesting in the Gomel region, in order to obtain a good harvest, the exact harvest dates have been set, deviation from which is fraught with a decrease in production. Unfortunately, losses can occur under circumstances beyond the control of the human factor: inappropriate weather conditions and temperature conditions.

Belarus is the main exporter of linen raw materials and products. In 2015, the percentage of flax harvesting in the Kormyansk region decreased significantly due to the heat, but, nevertheless, the lands of the Gomel region occupy a leading position in the republic in planting and harvesting the plant. Harvest preparation begins with improving access roads to fields, leks, mowing land, marking plots, etc. Agronomists set the order of picking according to the maturation of the plant in the field.

In the fall of 2017, flax harvesting in Gomel took on a serious scale, hundreds of people were sent to the fields to help agricultural workers. They picked the plant by hand, tied it in sheaves and stacked it on the field, thanks to the responsiveness of the Gomel residents, it was possible to save the crop.

Basically, flax harvesting in the Gomel region is carried out with the help of specialized agricultural machinery. At the stage of pulling flax, separate and combine technologies are used. To prepare flax stems, pulled out stalksleave on the field up to 40 days. In order to improve the quality of products, linen ribbons are recommended to be wrapped and fluffed. In the process of harvesting flax in the Gomel and other regions of Belarus, two-line self-propelled pullers are used for harvesting in a separate way and trailed flax harvesters on seed crops.

The main technology for harvesting flax straw is rolling, for this purpose balers of Belarusian production are used. After harvesting, the products are delivered to storage sites, finished rolls are taken out of the field within 24 hours, and then distributed to plants and factories for further processing.

Use of harvested material

The harvest of flax for processing into yarn begins in the phase of early ripeness, when the flax bolls have a yellowish-green color. For the production of suit or linen fabrics, long combed flax fiber is selected and refined. Short technical fibers are used for the manufacture of tarpaulin and burlap. Flax processing is a process, the waste from which has found application in human life. Hard and short fibers are processed into tow and used as a heater, and the fire is used to produce heat in technical processes. The quality of the produced raw materials is regulated at the state level by special standards.

Oil and cloth production

The preparation of seeds for linseed oil is started when the green fruits remain in the minority and occupy up to five percent of the total crop. In Belarus, productionoils are engaged in three enterprises. For the manufacture of the product, special varieties are selected, the grains are dried and cold pressed. The waste goes to animal feed. The main volume of production is sold in the country, and the rest is exported to Russia, Poland and Ukraine.

Linen goes a long way before becoming a fabric. The raw material is subjected to several stages of processing, it is soaked, dried, crumpled and fluttered. After that, the material is pressed and sent to the spinning shops. For the manufacture of textile products, sches, tow and long fiber are taken. Products made from linen fabrics have a pleasant appearance, do not cause allergies, and are durable.

Harvesting and processing of raw materials in the old days

Knowledge about the properties of flax was passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors, from time immemorial its beneficial properties have saved us from disease, cold and hunger. Mostly women and girls went out to harvest, the sown plantations were divided, and flax was harvested by hand. Harvesting was a hard but enjoyable process, accompanied by folk songs, jokes and ditties.

… Flax, flax, flax, flax blooming all around.

And the one you like is not in love with me…”

Flax sprouts were uprooted, tied into small sheaves and made into pasterns, resting them on each other. Since autumn, the bundles were left on the field for wintering, and the next spring they were taken apart and spread on a mowed field to dry until the autumn cold. In winter, raw materials were collected and taken away for processing in bean groves. To separate the grains from the stalk, sheavesthreshed with chains by hand, then divided into bunches and crushed. The processed flax was cleaned from the fire: they were kept on weight and beaten with a rattle. Then they proceeded to stripping, at the first stage, low-grade fiber was obtained, then processed with a fine brush, the remaining product was considered the best in quality.

Yarn

The raw materials were whipped and fluffed, then laid out on a flat surface, more often on the table, moistened with water, so they got a tow. The spinning art was taught from early childhood, so small children and teenagers took part in this process. The spinning wheels were made of linden or aspen, and the spindle was made of birch. The threads were woven into fabric, which was used for sewing clothes, towels and bed linen.

The work was usually accompanied by cheerful songs and ditties, and the result was sometimes put on public display, where the craftswomen could compete in skill with each other. Linen products were obligatory in the dowry chest, and the bride had to make them herself.