tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235839542024-02-20T11:38:32.369-08:00Lavender Farming LifeFarming lavender in the Pacific Northwest. Thoughts on farming, recipes, craft ideas, and life in the rain shadow. We're Lavender Wind Farm on Whidbey Island.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-17825532547991621792011-01-02T13:41:00.001-08:002011-01-02T13:41:51.394-08:00Our BLOG has MOVED!We have moved this blog.... You can see NEW posts and the old ones at:
www.lavenderwind.comSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-20686991137723921342010-11-22T10:45:00.000-08:002010-11-22T10:45:47.927-08:00Winter is showingIt's November 22 and winter is showing her face early around here. I'm just grateful that we've hunkered down almost all the lavender plants by pruning them. We've rearranged things so that most of the equipment is under cover. And we've got warm space inside to make more products for the shop. Being warm and cozy on these cold days is wonderful.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-86893302932708886652010-09-19T10:58:00.000-07:002010-09-19T10:58:24.063-07:00A Day Off with Whidbey's WineriesToday started with two groups of classic cars coming to our farm! These people have an incredible collection of beautiful old cars and they get together to tour various places. This weekend they were on Whidbey Island, and the rally organizers decided to visit our farm. We had a lot of fun taking them around the farm. I guided the first group, and then Mare took over so I could have an afternoon Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-73828742090447283752010-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:002010-08-29T11:35:20.674-07:00Roasted Lavender & Sage Fried PotatoesOut of eggs this morning, so I wandered out to the garden to gather some spuds, onions, garlic & herbs for a mess of fried potatoes for breakfast. Pan-roasted lavender is the newest ingredient in my list and I wanted to experiment with it.
Empty pan
First you'll have to learn how to pan-roast lavender.
Start with an empty pan - no oil, no butter, nothing.
Essential Oil steaming away
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-2196098041723774662010-08-01T07:21:00.000-07:002010-08-01T07:24:51.312-07:00Social media via Facebook and our farmI admit, I love Facebook and blogging. I started using Facebook last summer and have reconnected with family members and friends that I'd lost touch with, as well as gotten to know some other people much better because of what they write. I see news and groups of people working for causes that they care about. I learn a little about new ideas and passions.
http://www.facebook.com/Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-77141077161240134742010-06-21T08:21:00.000-07:002010-06-21T08:21:27.404-07:00Weeding Raised Bed PerennialsEvery year we say the same thing... This year we're going to get at the weeds before they get too big. Every year we curse ourselves for not being able to do that.
This year we worked on getting attachments to the tractor to help with between row weeding. I got a bar and frame to which I attached two vertical bars to which I attached scrapers.
One scraper is flat to scrape off the heads of Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-82595005497074508922010-05-31T07:49:00.000-07:002010-05-31T07:49:09.301-07:00Essential Oil Chemistry: A Beginning Aromatherapy PrimerEssential Oil Chemistry: A Beginning Aromatherapy PrimerBy: Ginger Robbins
Uh oh. Chemistry - the word itself can make one's eyes glaze over. But wait, this is "essential oil chemistry'. MUCH more fun! While even beginning aromatherapy students are put off by the mere mention of the subject, they eventually realize the importance of understanding at least the fundamentals. The basics of essentialSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-16398169066471491802010-05-13T19:17:00.000-07:002010-05-13T19:18:35.270-07:00Jam RecipesWe make jams with lavender. They are really really good, and people buy them a lot. But, I want to let you know how we do it....
Here's my secret... you can take your favorite recipe (that makes about 8 seven ounce jars) and add about a tablespoon of ground culinary lavender and make a great jam.
That's it, simple and yet makes a delicious jam that you will love. Now that we're going Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-52602280956587048442010-04-11T19:15:00.001-07:002010-04-11T19:55:45.912-07:00Necessity and invention - No more stink!I was to supply the lemonade, paper plates, plasticware, and wine glasses at the community dinner last night. I stopped at the local grocery store to get a couple more cans of frozen lemonade and while I was there I picked up some sorely needed underarm deodorant. Did I mention this is going to be a personal blog post? Well, it won't end up that way, but it starts out....Tom's of Maine Lavendar (Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-24890901870608011332010-03-03T12:34:00.000-08:002010-03-03T12:43:24.050-08:00Blackbirds, Daffodils and GreenhouseOne of the joys of being on the farm is watching what nature does. The other day I was sitting inside talking and drinking coffee with friends when a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds and a few starlings descended onto our birdfeeder. They looked so neat, especially with the daffodils blooming right there.... I had to share.We have been working hard in the greenhouse tranplanting starts and Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-51727909083548454472010-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:002010-02-19T19:56:43.943-08:00When Lavender isn't enoughThere is one thing that lavender can't do. It can't mend an aching heart when someone you love dies.It can make things smell better. It can help with little things like headaches, and cuts and burns. It can be a peace offering. It can help with sleeping. All that is good. But sometimes it's just not enough.I realized that over the last few weeks and especially, today; let me explain.Using socialSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-15111729171668114122010-01-20T20:11:00.000-08:002010-01-20T20:21:24.824-08:00Donation to Haitian ReliefIn the January edition of our newsletter I announced that Lavender Wind Farm would donate 10% of sales for one week. I had some misgivings because it seemed selfish to say that if people bought from us we'd donate. I had fears that people wouldn't believe that we actually would make the donation and that we wouldn't sell enough to donate much at all. That week just ended and we donated $86.07 to Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-35153843316883086042009-12-25T09:48:00.000-08:002009-12-25T10:41:32.193-08:00Our wonderful people - Thank you and Happy New YearIt’s Christmas, and almost the end of the year. 2009, what a year, and pretty soon we’ll be in the double digit years of this decade. This year we were so lucky. Part of that luck was the incredible group of people who worked here and I want to tell you about them. In the quiet of the winter part of the year they don’t work right now, I’m looking forward to some of them coming back as the new Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-15391584368064529932009-12-24T07:02:00.001-08:002010-04-28T05:18:15.382-07:00Custom Label for JamsOk, we've just put on the coolest thing - at least I think it is....an ability for you to create your own custom label for your jams.
You can now get our jams with a custom label! Having an event? Want to give a completely unique gift? All you have to do is email us your image and text for the label. The label can't hold unlimited text, so we'll have to edit if it's too long.
I'm excited Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-26707825126229324562009-12-23T21:54:00.000-08:002009-12-23T22:00:24.467-08:00CarolingLast night I joined a few people to sing carols at Whidbey General Hospital. A group had gathered last Thursday at Careage - led by the Shifties. Both of these events were so beautiful, I never before really felt how important music is to people. Especially in this kind of situation where it is so quiet most of the time, and the sheer press of humanity is missing. With the group of people Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-89439823551216039582009-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:002009-12-13T09:04:24.256-08:00Lavender tooth powderI got curious about making a tooth brushing powder with some lavender, of course. I read up on some ingredients and then tried my first batch.1/8 C Baking soda (neutralization and scrubbies)2 drops peppermint essential oil (flavor and a whole host of benefits)2 drops lavender essential oil (anti-microbial)1/8 tsp of Equal sweetener (Aspartame, while somewhat questionable for health is powdered, Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-64075891897284351952009-11-29T23:24:00.000-08:002009-11-29T23:34:27.500-08:00Eating and Planting and farm realitiesWe started a new tradition at Lavender Wind Farm. Once a month we all collaborate on a lunch menu. We invite one or two special guests to share this fabulous repast. In November we had an Indian menu - I never would have imagined that we'd have feasted as well as we did. You can have a look at the table. Then, if you are lucky, and local, you might get an invitation.Even thought we stuffed Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-19378745671005279142009-11-24T10:21:00.000-08:002009-11-24T10:27:11.915-08:00Video on PruningI found out my little camera can take videos longer than 5 seconds (like my old one). It's not Hollywood, but it's useful to try to share some information that's too hard to share with just words.We often get questions on how to prune lavender plants. Anyone that sells lavender gets these questions and some people have done some videos - this is ours.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-82892892817785921912009-11-02T15:51:00.000-08:002009-11-02T15:59:08.893-08:00Lavender Applesauce Cake RecipeHere is a recipe that is getting a surprising amount of positive comments. Thought you'd like to try it out!Lavender Applesauce Cake3/8 C Veg. Oil 2 C sugar 2 eggs 2 1/2 C flour 1 1/2 tsp soda1 tsp salt 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp allspice 1/2 C raisins 1 1/2 C applesauce 3 tsp Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-22254380867682202282009-09-27T07:55:00.000-07:002009-09-27T20:33:29.904-07:00Warm climate lavendersThe lavender family of plants is large. There are some that ring the warmer parts of the Mediterranean and go a little further south that don't even look like the lavenders that we think of as typical. They have a variety of names such as Lavandula buchii var. buchii, Lavandula canariensis subsp. canariensis, Lavendula minutolii var. minutolii, Lavandula roundifolia, or Lavandula pinnata var. Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-4233603449853931782009-09-23T07:05:00.000-07:002009-09-27T07:52:52.224-07:00Distilling Lavender Essential OilWhen you get a bunch of lavender growers in a room and ask them about distilling you get as many passionate descriptions about the only way to distill as you have people in the room. At the International Lavender Conference in Cambridge earlier this month there were people from world famous lavender farms as well as much smaller entities, like ours. Henry Head, from Norfolk Lavender, showed offSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-51411505947630734622009-09-10T14:28:00.000-07:002009-09-10T14:37:33.293-07:00Day Four International Lavender ConferenceWhat a great day at Norfolk Lavender. Henry Head, who spent the last 30 years building it up into a world class venue for lavender, lavender distilled oils, and lavender gardens, put together a fascinating day of tours and information sharing sessions. He brought in the perfumer he uses to create the scents for Norfolk Lavender products. I have to say, getting my nose to be able to smell the Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-78882808245369220642009-09-09T10:57:00.000-07:002009-09-09T11:14:30.737-07:00Day Three Lavender ConferencePresentations today focused on using lavender essential oils for health care, both physical and mental. It was an amazing collection of information and case studies - much more research is needed, of course, but let's just say that there are certainly reasons to do the research because the potential for significant healing seems to be there.The afternoon was spent with Dr. Noel Porter who trainsSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-70829724098472027692009-09-08T23:35:00.000-07:002009-09-08T23:44:01.597-07:00Day Two Lavender ConferenceThis, after all, a first rate university, here at Cambridge, and the scholarly presentations are quite good. We haven't had much in the way of practical exchanges, but the scientific papers give a lot of food for thought. For instance Timothy Haig presented on his research on how to use lavender extract to suppress weeds. In his case he was trying to rid wheat fields of annual rye. That was Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-76288541666531232512009-09-07T11:05:00.000-07:002009-09-07T11:20:13.439-07:00Day One Lavender ConferenceAt Cambridge University about 85 people from all over the world have gathered for the First International Lavender Conference. Tim Upson from Cambridge University Botanical Gardens has organized the conference with the help of Susyn Andrews (co-author of Genus Lavendula). Stacy and I have joined this group for six days of lavender immersion. Already we have learned so much and are inspired.As Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0