Harvest Time

[rbrbrb6]

July is harvest month for the lavender plants so we break out the harvesting scythe, bags of rubber bands for bundling and drying and the screens for cleaning the dried buds before they are bagged and shipped out. It is a process I thoroughly enjoy because it is all hand work, no machines just a sharp cutter, some drying lines and lots of bundling, hanging and de-budding then screening. Folks buy the cleaned buds to put in sachets for clothing drawers, bundles to throw at weddings, potpourri and even to use in tea and soaps. The dried stems that are left after removing the buds and flowers make great fire starter bundles. The stems are rich in lavender oil and ignite almost instantaneously and the fire smells good on top of it all!

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img]https://i.imgur.com/SEKSOzC.jpg[/img]

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Question: How big is the total harvest? Both in quantity and in time consumed?

Ivan

 

[rbrbrb6]

Ivan, we only have 30 plants or so and if I harvest everything as buds it will yield 20-25 pounds of dried buds an petals. In the past I've just burned the stems after I remove the buds but I found a number of people sell them so I figured I would see if there was any interest.

It takes me 20 minutes to hand harvest one of the larger plants doing it with a small scythe and I stack the stuff I cut in different places based on the length of the stems. Another 30 minutes and I can have that same amount bundled and hanging to dry. Another 30-45 minutes goes n removing the buds from the bundles off one plant and banding the stems.

Not a money maker but since I grew up working on my grandparents farm I love the process of growing something, harvesting and processing. I would rather do labor like this than be on a phone or watching TV. One of the best parts is giving the lavender items away as surprise gifts to folks and seeing their eyes light up when the get that bag with the wonderful aroma!