Not the outcome we were hoping for with our test field on Lavender Hill, but very excited to harvest for the first time.
The winter was not kind to our test field. We also discovered that there was more clay than what was indicated on our soil test so drainage was not optimal. Only 39 of 92 plants survived or 42% of the plants that were healthy leading into winter.
VARIETY | NO. OF PLANTS TOTAL | % SURVIVED |
|---|---|---|
Phenomenal | 2/38 | 5% |
Grosso | 10/20 | 50% |
Provence | 7/14 | 50% |
Folgate | 12/12 | 100% |
Sachet | 7/7 | 100% |
Royal Velvet* | 1/1 | 100% |
Hidcote Blue | 0/0 | n/a |
TOTAL | 39/92 | 42% |
*Likely Sachet not Royal Velvet
Phenomenal was the biggest disappointment as it's supposed to be one of the best varieties for our zone 7A climate and humidity. Very concerning since 75% of the plants ordered for this year were Phenomenal [order based on last year stats of a 83% survival rate as of December 3rd]. Seemingly these plants took a turn in late winter after several weeks of heavy rain. We also noticed that most were leggy in comparison to the other varieties. We're confident by amending the holes for better drainage and pruning in the fall to help prevent plants becoming leggy that survival rate will significantly increase.
Our first harvest on Lavender Hill was a momentous time in our journey. Lavender takes up to three years to mature although in most cases there are some blooms the first year. We were thrilled with our first blooms on all of our varieties even though we planted in July and not the spring. Research indicates that timing for harvesting depends on use: for culinary just before blooming; for bouquets and sachets when the first third is bloomed; and for essential oil [varies] from bloom until full bloom, but waiting too long will eventually cause oil loss due to the heat from the sun. Our harvesting began on May 25th. Already behind due to the weeks of prepping and planting on Lavender Stairs. Since we were driving our tractor over some of the established plants to amend the holes of non-surviving plants, we decided to harvest a few of our Folgate plants resulting in about 13 dried bundles. Folgate also can be used for culinary, but ours were already two thirds bloom.
We did not resume harvesting until June 21st due to the arrival of our second shipment of 432 Phenomenal and 144 Exceptional along with our third shipment of 144 Sachet. We harvested the remaining plants for four non-consecutive mornings with last day on June 29th. Definitely late for the remaining Folgate, Sachet and Provence. Grosso and Phenomenal plants were somewhat late as both bloomed later. We dried several more bundles, experimented with fresh/dried arrangements and debudded for use in products. We may consider harvesting for oil in the future, but does require a lot of plants and distilling equipment.
The dried bundles [approximately 20] are still in our open shed with several hanging on the windows. The window bundles definitely helped with keeping the bugs away. Experimenting with fresh arrangements in water ended up not meeting our expectation probably due to the late harvest, and we also did not like that it required changing out the water daily. We also made a few dried arrangements in different vase sizes depending on the variety. Since the buds were now very dry, we debudded the remaining harvest resulting in four 32oz jars of buds. We plan to use the buds in the development of other products.
While experimenting with different uses, I did come up with a pivot to our marketing plan for Spring 2024. During the fall and winter we will research and develop our revised plan [more on that later]. Already looking forward to the next spring harvest of 900+ plants!
Comments