tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235839542011-09-30T04:22:43.034-07:00Farming 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.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-17825532547991621792011-01-02T13:41:00.001-08:002011-01-02T13:41:51.394-08:00

We have moved this blog.... You can see NEW posts and the old ones at: www.lavenderwind.com

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-20686991137723921342010-11-22T10:45:00.000-08:002010-11-22T10:45:47.927-08:00

It'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.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-86893302932708886652010-09-19T10:58:00.000-07:002010-09-19T10:58:24.063-07:00

Today 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-73828742090447283752010-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:002010-08-29T11:35:20.674-07:00

Out 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 Heat

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-2196098041723774662010-08-01T07:21:00.000-07:002010-08-01T07:24:51.312-07:00

I 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-77141077161240134742010-06-21T08:21:00.000-07:002010-06-21T08:21:27.404-07:00

Every 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-82595005497074508922010-05-31T07:49:00.000-07:002010-05-31T07:49:09.301-07:00

Essential 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 essential

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-16398169066471491802010-05-13T19:17:00.000-07:002010-05-13T19:18:35.270-07:00

We 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 into

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-52602280956587048442010-04-11T19:15:00.001-07:002010-04-11T19:55:45.912-07:00

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-24890901870608011332010-03-03T12:34:00.000-08:002010-03-03T12:43:24.050-08:00

One 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-51727909083548454472010-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:002010-02-19T19:56:43.943-08:00

There 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 social

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-15111729171668114122010-01-20T20:11:00.000-08:002010-01-20T20:21:24.824-08:00

In 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-35153843316883086042009-12-25T09:48:00.000-08:002009-12-25T10:41:32.193-08:00

It’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-15391584368064529932009-12-24T07:02:00.001-08:002010-04-28T05:18:15.382-07:00

Ok, 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-26707825126229324562009-12-23T21:54:00.000-08:002009-12-23T22:00:24.467-08:00

Last 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-89439823551216039582009-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:002009-12-13T09:04:24.256-08:00

I 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-64075891897284351952009-11-29T23:24:00.000-08:002009-11-29T23:34:27.500-08:00

We 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-19378745671005279142009-11-24T10:21:00.000-08:002009-11-24T10:27:11.915-08:00

I 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-82892892817785921912009-11-02T15:51:00.000-08:002009-11-02T15:59:08.893-08:00

Here 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-22254380867682202282009-09-27T07:55:00.000-07:002009-09-27T20:33:29.904-07:00

The 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-4233603449853931782009-09-23T07:05:00.000-07:002009-09-27T07:52:52.224-07:00

When 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 off

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-51411505947630734622009-09-10T14:28:00.000-07:002009-09-10T14:37:33.293-07:00

What 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-78882808245369220642009-09-09T10:57:00.000-07:002009-09-09T11:14:30.737-07:00

Presentations 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 trains

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-70829724098472027692009-09-08T23:35:00.000-07:002009-09-08T23:44:01.597-07:00

This, 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-76288541666531232512009-09-07T11:05:00.000-07:002009-09-07T11:20:13.439-07:00

At 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.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-58021150399844079322009-08-26T01:27:00.000-07:002009-08-26T01:45:39.137-07:00

It's not everyday that you get your 82 year old mother to work on the farm!She lives on Martha's Vineyard, and Whidbey Island is about as far away as you can get from there in the lower 48 states. I thought I'd never see her on the farm again, because she doesn't like traveling all that much until this spring she and Ronnee, my step-father, decided to take the Trans-Canada train to Vancouver and

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-11533830794527896242009-08-10T22:24:00.001-07:002009-08-10T22:35:05.379-07:00

I usually don't brag all that much, but our festival was really pretty darn good. People had fun, ate good food, drank good wine or lavender lemonade, looked at lots and lots of good arts and crafts, bought lavender, and listened to outstanding music.The people who work here on the farm were fabulous, and then we were graced by a number of amazing volunteers who parked cars and helped us set up

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-48184849806886667302009-08-03T06:33:00.000-07:002009-08-03T06:37:38.713-07:00

Our annual Art Festival is coming this weekend on Aug 8 & 9. I just wanted to give you a preview of some of what will be here. For those of you who are too far away to come, just check our site for the exact weekend for the next one in 2010.Last year we had many artist's booths. This year we have many more. We have at least 22 artist booths that will have 30 artists work in them.The full list

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-79670683354459637542009-05-21T05:30:00.000-07:002009-05-21T06:58:34.113-07:00

While I love our Lavender Luster, which we say provides aromatherapy as you clean I never in my wildest imagination thought that I'd see "aromatherapy while you weed"! Apparently, scientists in Italy have discovered that some essential oils can be useful as an herbicide. They are finding that lavender essential oil can affect root growth in the plants. It also affects the soil microbes and

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-6933954574523538952009-05-13T05:15:00.000-07:002009-05-13T05:48:08.650-07:00

Here, on Whidbey Island, people who buy real estate are given a piece of paper that warns them of the noise zones from Navy Air Station practice flying patterns. Our farm is between two major flight circles, so they don't fly over our place too much. Oak Harbor is home to the Navy community which adds quite a different feel to that community compared to the rest of the island. For half of

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-86992499699447312372009-03-30T06:34:00.001-07:002009-03-30T06:51:37.042-07:00

One part of farming I never thought about when I used to think about what farmers do is the workshop where machines are fixed, invented & built, or other structures and or equipment are made. It is amazing how important handyman skills are in the farming life. We have to fix our tillers, tractors, and mowers. We have to build boxes, screens, sorters, strippers, storage boxes, and market

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-6956578903068160182009-02-03T20:05:00.000-08:002009-02-03T20:16:24.957-08:00

Today I spent the day in our State Capital, Olympia, with a group of farmers from my area. The one thing we all agreed upon is that it is refreshing and unfortunately rare to have farmers share the details of their farming with others. There is a fear that by sharing information we will be copied or beat to the market. While a little of that fear might be true, I would like to propose that it

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-8689910634910421762008-10-24T08:01:00.000-07:002008-11-18T20:45:09.174-08:00

From the end of June until sometime in October we are harvesting lavender. Different varieties bloom at different times, and we have over six varieties grown for commercial harvest. Here Leslie is harvesting our Provence lavender. We harvest by hand, using a Japanese sickle. We now use kevlar gloves to protect our workers hands and wrists - those sickles are incredibly sharp and can do severe

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-15354560203617921972008-10-20T10:14:00.000-07:002008-11-18T20:45:59.310-08:00

Bailey, the Lavender Wind Spa Dog is communing with one of our decoys. We are harvesting in the background. Bailey was a delight this summer, she greeted our customers - sometimes with barks, other times with a wagging tail.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-8277705716134995792008-09-04T05:54:00.000-07:002008-11-18T20:46:45.370-08:00

A month ago we had our Third Annual Lavender & Wind Art Festival with a Taste of Provence. It was sort of the first, because we combined the two events into one big festival - and big it was! There were over 3,000 people who came.There was a great wine garden that had a "fence" of lavender bunches and fabulous cheeses and french bread.We had lots of music, and one of the staples of Whidbey life

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-73612943070552541962008-06-23T05:53:00.000-07:002008-06-23T05:56:48.187-07:00

Farming is NOT an exact science. Someone (Mother Nature) keeps us from having the same situation year in and year out. This year in the Pacific Northwest we had an unusually cold and rainy spring. It looks like we are now getting to a more normal summer pattern. But, the cold wet spring means we still have green grass and our lavender is just barely starting to be purple.Will that mean that

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1136633311431876852008-05-29T21:48:00.000-07:002008-05-29T22:11:13.909-07:00

Have I raved recently or even at all about the people that work here at the farm? The folks that work here are amazing - funny, kind, hard working, dedicated, smart, creative, and did I mention hard working? They are: Kathy, Stacy, Abby, Mare, Leslie, Maxwell, and then there's Rick and me. Over the years there have been more - and sometimes they come by for a visit, I love those days.Over the

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-23423737393447260272008-05-22T07:57:00.000-07:002008-05-22T08:00:48.665-07:00

Who'd think about Lavender being useful against Bedbugs? On the other hand, since it's so useful against so many insects - why not? Read about itIf you just want to cut to the bottom line: use twenty drops of lavender essential oil into a spray bottle filled with about 2 cups of denatured alcohol and spray onto the affected area.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-14037012772016245472008-04-27T10:45:00.000-07:002008-04-27T10:52:13.172-07:00

Last Saturday we woke to over 3 inches of snow on the ground. While that might be normal for Minnesota or Vermont, it's very unusual here. This week Saturday was sunny and in the high 50's - a lovely day.April has been a miserably cold month this year. The lavenders are slow to wake, the daffodils that can bloom as early as February in some years, weren't blooming until a week into April.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-23683315190847859892008-01-05T15:26:00.001-08:002008-01-05T16:19:03.478-08:00

Ria and her husband came into my shop today. I've known them for years since Lavender Wind Farm was so small we just went to a few farmers markets and didn't have anyone coming onto the farm. Her husband has gone downhill significantly due to progressive Parkinson's Disease. However, today they were excited to tell me that they had read that lavender tea made a big difference to the problem of

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-39377978492861529712007-12-01T09:26:00.000-08:002007-12-01T09:36:56.747-08:00

Tires smelling like lavender? You've got to be kidding, right?Not at all. Apparently, Kumho Tires has come out with a lavender tire that can be smelled inside and out of the car. They've found a way to imbed the rubber with heat resistant scented oils - this can't be REAL essential oils.... I've been seeing mentions about this product for over a year, but it hasn't seemed to take hold of the

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-74391614239306307412007-11-13T09:37:00.001-08:002007-11-13T09:41:59.022-08:00

WIND - it's in our name and this weekend we saw why. All of the Puget Sound region had wind from a fierce storm that barreled in from the Pacific. Our farm saw winds that reached 70 mph at 7:30 on Monday morning. That's high, but we can expect to see that probably three or four more times this winter. It's scary here when that happens, the windows bend in, the gutters rattle, and the exhaust

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-58109854716426580752007-09-05T03:34:00.000-07:002007-09-05T04:03:36.954-07:00

The harvest season is winding down. We still have some Super lavender left, it's not done blooming. The sunflowers are going nuts, though! We planted three acres of them to hold the dirt down in our new field.It looks like I'll be getting a life back so I can write in the blog. This farming life is very intensive, but I've never been happier. We are a small lavender farm with a BIG view and

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-25797335619839201342007-06-15T13:22:00.000-07:002007-06-24T09:32:36.272-07:00

In addition to the fabulous changes in our landscape we also are working on our essential oils.Right now we are now bottling up our own essential oil that was distilled last year. We take truck loads of flowers over to a neighbor's still and I work like a mad-scientist to get it distilled. It's fun, smells wonderful, and then we bottle it up and store it for a year to age - like fine wine. Now

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-25287292349754642007-03-05T22:35:00.000-08:002007-03-05T22:49:20.733-08:00

This is the season for plant jitters. Most people are getting a whiff of spring in the air and starting to think about planting in the garden. For us nursery types, it's a different story - we've been thinking about your planting for a long time, and hoping that our customers will want what we've grown. This time of year I get jittery.....Maybe, I ordered too many lavenders! And other plants!

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-28088809665835944112007-02-07T20:04:00.000-08:002007-02-07T20:09:31.315-08:00

Was Baskin Robbins peaking into our freezer? Last year we had several flavors of ice cream for sale at our shop - Vanilla lavender, blackberry lavender, and caramel cheesecake lavender. Folks loved 'em - came way out here just for an ice cream fix.I just found out that Baskin Robbins has come out with a blueberry, lavender, and chocolate ice cream. It sounds DIVINE! Unfortunately, they don't

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-16095329415654176122007-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:002007-01-26T19:06:02.169-08:00

I'm in one of the hottest art capitals in the country - Chicago. The art community here is very strong, galleries everywhere. And for me, a friend who I've known since I was 11 years of age who teaches are at a local university.Do you know how many products are packaged nicely and labeled "lavender" in downtown Chicago (or any other city) that don't have a drop of real lavender essential oil?

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-52638872623447559732007-01-25T11:34:00.000-08:002007-01-25T09:34:59.007-08:00

SIGNS! On Monday the Island County Commissioners voted to approve a signage program much needed in our area. In Washington we have a state Highway Motorists Information Signage Program wherein businesses and recreation/tourist places can apply for signs to be placed on those signboard that have "Gas" or "Food" or "Tourist" kinds of things. It's not easy to qualify, but once a business does a

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-15510752748425309312007-01-25T07:37:00.000-08:002007-01-25T08:08:31.793-08:00

Do farmers blog less than others? I'm looking at my series of blog entries and realize they are very intermittent. I have a cousin who writes in her blog at least once a day. When I get up the first thing I do is look out the window to see what the weather is doing and decide what I can do outside. In the winter, it's often inside work because we don't work out in the field when it's too wet

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-36823595500530831792007-01-05T06:18:00.000-08:002007-01-05T06:58:37.294-08:00

The weather! It's January and constantly like this - windy, spotty rain or more, chilly.... It's hard to get out to finish the pruning. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we can also transplant. It's actually a good time to do it, as long as the weather is above freezing. The ground is very juicy and the temperatures are cool enough that the plants are dormant. The only problem is getting up the

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1165321731842168722006-12-05T04:20:00.000-08:002006-12-05T04:28:51.850-08:00

Building a pond and terraced gardens is taking up most of our time and energy these days. Owen's Raco Construction here on Whidbey Island is doing the work - it's amazing to watch good masons create these beautiful walls. But, the mud has been awful. Sometimes I wonder if the place will ever recover!The pond has to have a liner because the glacial till that underlies our fabulous sandy loam

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1165167148146025332006-12-03T09:29:00.000-08:002006-12-03T09:33:15.733-08:00

High school football isn't something we talk much about at the lavender farm. But, this year Oak Harbor High School's team won the state championship and the town is all a-flutter about it. The Wildcats haven't had their own stadium since 2002 and have been playing great ball in spite of that. I have to wonder if they are like lavender plants, they thrive when stressed a bit. Lavender

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1162998149269065942006-11-08T06:54:00.000-08:002007-02-17T09:09:13.041-08:00

Lavender and Tee Tree Oil are getting some impressive press because of research that indicates they are linked to breast enlargement in boys age 10 or younger. Research by Clifford Bloch of the University of Colorado School of Medicine seems to say that these two oils both mimic estrogen and suppress androgen. He collaborated with researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1147100865111664822006-05-08T08:03:00.000-07:002006-05-08T10:21:03.023-07:00

I was faced with a huge bag of kale to cook for dinner. For those of you who don't usually cook with kale it's sort of like a tough spinach. It has LOTS of great vitamins and mineral, so it's good for what ails ya, but it doesn't lend itself to easy, fast meals. Except last night I created a great pasta sauce out of it - here's the recipe.3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil1/2 large yellow onion

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1145729182210870382006-04-22T10:35:00.000-07:002006-04-22T15:11:38.830-07:00

Sunshine feels like a blessing in April when it seems as if the cold rains and winds of winter won't release their hold. This is the first Saturday that we've had a pleasant calm day. Gini came to take the market van to our local farmers market in Coupeville. We loaded her up with tables, a canopy, products, lots of plants, and enthusiasm. On Whidbey Island we have five (5) farmers markets!

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1144327820587014522006-04-06T05:36:00.000-07:002006-04-06T06:34:17.650-07:00

April in the Pacific Northwest rain shadow region means that the rains are starting to diminish. At last. At Lavender Wind Farm we are waiting to hear about our application for a Water Right to collect rain from the roofs to put into a holding pond which we can then use to water things like plants in pots. We don't irrigate here at all because we don't have irrigation rights with our land.

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1143291715650856272006-03-25T04:10:00.000-08:002006-03-25T05:01:56.660-08:00

It's 4 am and there is a slight line of light in the eastern sky. Spring has passed, but the weather is not yet dependably nice. But, the light in the sky this early in the morning means that the warmer season of light is just around the corner. It's a relief to have more and more light, but it also means more and more weeds and work.Our new gift shop is having it's opening today. After lots

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1143124357276227902006-03-23T06:17:00.000-08:002006-03-23T06:42:53.790-08:00

My computer died while Kathy was using it. It was easy for me to see it wasn't her fault, but she felt awful. I think the power supply went out, but I still don't know because we are in a rural area and Macintosh techs are few and far between. It brings to mind the ridiculousness of the PC/Mac competition. Technology is getting to the point in which the platform the programs are run on and

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1141830020108247232006-03-08T06:33:00.000-08:002006-03-08T07:00:20.136-08:00

The wind is blowing into the 30 mph range this morning. It's coming from the southeast which is where the storms come from in the Puget Sound trough. This farm is on the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca which means when there's a west wind it barrels down the strait and hits us full force. We don't have hurricanes, but from November through March we'll have hefty wind storms when it blows

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23583954.post-1141751633155782532006-03-07T09:13:00.000-08:002006-03-07T09:13:53.170-08:00

It's 5:11 am and I've been up for an hour and a half or so and have finally taken the plunge into the blogging world. I'm a lavender farmer now. It wasn't always so, but now that's what I do. People come to the farm and ask if I do it full-time and I answer "Yes". Of course, it's more than full-time work even with only 2 1/2 acres planted at this point. There are even people who get paid to

Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09240446987301139686noreply@blogger.com0