Today I share my love of lavender with you as I post some lovely facts about lavender and how I gather and process mine. I grow a long stemmed variety that is known as Phenomenal Lavender which is perfect for me and grows great in my zone 6a (or to be safe zone 5).
Lavender likes well drained soil, our soil is very sandy and the plants love it! Did you know that lavender prefers LESS water than most plants? They do need watering but usually rainfall is enough except during extended droughts, don’t let the plants die. Pick a sunny spot, they thrive in full sunlight exposure. Be mindful of planting in a site that will be sheltered from freezing winds of winter in northern climates or away from roadways that may have salt or other chemicals applied for melting snow, lavender does not fare well.
I’ve included a link to this Lavender Documentary Film for you if you’d like more information about lavender.
Harvesting My Lavender
In mid July my lavender plants are ready to harvest while the flowers are just beginning to open. I find this is the best time to gather them, while still mostly in bud stage. I wait until the morning dew has dried and trim them into long stemmed bouquets. I put the bunches in a basket all turned the same way for banding once inside the house.
I am real technical when it comes to hanging and drying my lavender bundles. I use small rubber bands, wrapped tightly around the bundles which are a fistful of lavender wands (or stems). To hang them I bend a paper clip to form two hooks, one on each end. Just the right size for hooking into the rubber bands and the other end on my wire shelf in my “grow space”.
Cherry Point Farm & Market, Shelby, Michigan (see link below for info and directions)
The majority of the buds are dried for use in sachets. After hanging inverted to dry the bundles are ready to separate the buds from the stems. I collect the buds in a large plastic bin used for only this purpose. I save the dried stems, still secure in their bundles with the rubber bands. The stems are put into paper grocery bags, head ends first, in case any buds remain (keeps things tidy). These stems are used for firestarters in the winter in our wood burning stove. The house smells so heavenly during lavender season and again in winter. It is quite intoxicating and relaxing. I love lavender!
We make some of the harvested crop into lavender essential oil and the hydrosol that is produced in the process. In the video below I filmed while harvesting the lavender and making the essential oil with our glass, steam distillation system. Grab a refreshing drink and enjoy the video!
Lavender Harvest Day
I’ll be doing a series of posts on other herbs and their therapeutic and culinary uses. Stay tuned for more and share with your friends!
If you would like to financially support my work I would love to send you a lavender sachet from my garden. Thank you for your continued support!