...And away they go!

This morning we are delivering our first harvest of lavender to the little local farm market. It feels a bit like the first day of Kindergarten, the one for your first born where you're filled with hope and fear, equal parts excitement and trepidation. Not to be confused with the first day of school for your youngest, you know the one - where you are doing your best to stifle the happy dance that is bubbling up inside at the bus stop.

These lavender plants arrived as tiny plug liners from a nursery in North Carolina. It was the only one I could find who would give me wholesale prices for a half order at the time. A half order, which equals about fifty plants per variety and we wanted to grow three varieties. These guys would need around a tenth of an acre to grow on to their mature size with room to breathe. I had the space, but that space was only recently cleared and I pretty much had never grown anything from itty bitty to pretty big, let alone at that scale. To say I was terrified would be an understatement! Over the course of that summer, the plugs got potted up a couple of times. They were super cute in their plug tray, by the time they had grown on in their one gallon pots on my back porch I kind of hated them....

In the meantime, the lavender field was placed under a giant silage tarp, which we moved around to cover the whole area. The intention was to inhibit the growth of the approximately one zillion (is that even a number??) weed seeds beneath the ground. There was cover cropping, there was mowing, there was smothering with cardboard, there were wood chips (so many wood chips....) there was biofungicide, there was some fire, there were tears...... only a few times but they did come.

In late summer of 2025 the lavender was planted and it grew. And so did the weeds. The weed barrier fabric and cardboard and wood chips and fire were no match for the aforementioned zillion weed seeds. We learned important lessons about the quality of weed barrier that perennial plants require. We learned that cardboard and wood chips are a great idea but maybe not at this scale. We also learned that Lavender is hardy, and despite a few losses, that we can have a lavender field on a sunny, east-west facing slope in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

So, What's Cooking? Something with lavender I hope. Here are a few tips, tricks and recipes you may be interested in as you make lavender your new favorite culinary herb. Give us a holler anytime during June or July if you prefer your lavender fresh from the local farm. We look forward to helping you out at a price point right around that of the local grocery stores but grown with far more love (and the occasional tear!)

What kind of lavender do I cook or bake with?

All lavenders are edible, but an English lavender, such as our Hidecote Blue or Munsted varieties, contain a more palatable level of camphor and other oils and terpines.

How do I use this cute little guy in the kitchen anyway?

That little bunch of about 50 stems you brought home from the market (and THANK YOU again for your support!) will go along way.

Generally speaking, you can use lavender in an infusion, an extract, or ground. Just like you would use rosemary, you can use the leaves and stem of lavender. You can make a nice Herbs de Provence blend with lavender. You should always use lavender sparingly, it is always possible to add more as you go. So, proceed with caution - but please do proceed!

How to make an infusion:

1 Tablespoon fresh or 2 Tablespoons dried lavender buds are steeped in 1 cup of the liquid of your choice for approximately 10 minutes. Liquids could be: water, warmed cream, honey, maple syrup, or oil.

Herbs de Provence:

2 Tablespoons dried Oregano

2 Tablespoons dried sweet basil

2 Tablespoons dried & crumbled sage

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dried lavender buds (again, stick with the English lavenders!)

Combine and store in an airtight jar.

Using the flowers as an edible flower/ garnish:

Again, lavender is edible, and we have harvested your lavender with only fresh clean water, so feel free to use the flowers as you wish on the dessert or drink of your choice. Remember lavender is a bold flavor so try to keep the number of flowers to around 1 or 2 per bite (or less per sip if used in a beverage).

You're bound to have a little lavender left over from your farm market bunch, if you 'd like to dry it simply hang it upside down in a dry, well ventilated area and dream up some nice fall recipes to use it in.

Let us know where your lavender journey takes you this summer!

See you next Saturday at the Market,

Holly