When do you harvest lavender? That depends on what you’re going to do with it. Most lavender oil these days is made of lavandin. That’s a pity because only lavandula angustfolia has the soothing properties for which lavender is so famous. This ‘real’ lavender was already in bloom in May. Halfway June a lot of flowers opened already. Time to harvest lavender depends on your goal If you want to harvest lavender for bunches of dried lavender, you’re already too […]
Continue readingMore TagCategory: lavender
How do you make lavender cuttings?
Lavender cuttings I make at the same moment when I prune the lavender. In (early) spring with no more risk of frost. And after the summer bloom, in autumn. There are growers who prune in early spring and store the cuttings, if it’s still too cold, before they go into the ground. I try to find the optimum time for both. And after cutting, I put the cuttings right into the ground in their place in the prepared planting beds. […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Lavender propagation: the results after 6 months
Lavender propagation did not go well the first time, which is why I stabbed the lavender according to three methods in the autumn of 2019: in a heated propagator inside; in pots with cutting soil outside on the terrace; and directly into the soil on the land.See my see my previous blog. It is time for the results. Lavender propagation indoors in a propagator Lavender propagation with the propagator inside was not a success. Very soon it started to get […]
Continue readingMore Tag
How to distil Lavender Oil
Today I’m going to distil lavender oil. Last year I followed a lavender oil distillation workshop in the Netherlands. Since then I’ve made orange oil from organic orange peels, mint oil and oregano oil. But no lavender oil yet. My own lavender harvest is not yet big enough, but fortunately I still have the harvest of a friend I was allowed to pick in August. In total I have about 2,5 kilos of dried flowers that I can use to […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Making your own lavender soap with olive oil
Today I made real lavender soap. Making your own lavender soap is not difficult, but something can go wrong. As I wrote yesterday. The problem was mainly in the right temperature and the NaOH, which didn’t get warm, so it wasn’t good anymore. The recipe is the same as yesterday, but with less water. A tip from the website thenerdyfarmwife.com if you don’t use palm oil. The recipe to make your own lavender soap is made in this soap calculator […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Soap making: first aid for soap problems
Soap making always went well, but maybe it was beginner’s luck. Since a few years I make my own soap with laurel berry oil. And a basic olive oil soap. I had excellent results. Until today. I wanted to make lavender soap, but it already went wrong in the base Because I wasn’t sure how dried lavender would keep in the soap, I made half of what I was up to. Luckily. The soap calculator had calculated for me: 276 […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Propagating lavender by cuttings, is that really that easy?
Everywhere I read that propagating lavender by cuttings is not difficult. Easier than sowing and much better too, because you keep the original characteristics of the plant. But with my lavender cuttings this spring I went quite wrong. Propagating lavender in a cutting tray I took extra precaution. I bought a cuttings tray to keep the temperature at a desired 22-25 degrees. And cutting powder, from two brands. I watched videos on the internet about propagating lavender by cuttings and […]
Continue readingMore TagLavender harvest for the very first time
The first lavender harvest could never be great. The test field I started with this spring contains only 40 plants. Moreover, the harvest in the first year is simply not high. But still, the first results can be there. Explosion of scents and colors Not all lavenders gave a good yield right away, but some varieties just kept on flowering. The smell of 13 different types of lavender comes to me as I descend the stairs to the basement. Because […]
Continue readingMore Tag