And So It Began

It all begins with an idea. The idea began with a question. “What are we going to do in our retirement years?”

The answer didn’t take long. We live on 20+ acres on the top of a mountain in northwest Arkansas. Our field is sloped with great drainage, and we get great sun on the field. Within two minutes of hearing that question I told David that I wanted to plant a lavender farm.

That’s when the fun….and work (physically most of that was for David) began.

What we did:

David preparing planting holes.

  • Prayed. Seriously! We wanted to make sure we were doing what was best for us and the future.

  • I (Renee) did a LOT of research on lavender and what it takes to grow it successfully.

  • Purchased a tractor.

  • Ordered our first 750 lavender plants

  • Had the soil tested for nutrients and amended it with lime and whatever else it needed.

  • Tilled, raked, and formed up hills (we decided to hill our rows for better drainage), then covered our hills with landscape fabric. *You can ask 25 lavender farmers their thoughts on landscape fabric and get 25 different answers. We make the decision that we thought was best for us.

  • Planted 750 lavender plants over two VERY LONG days, then planted a few more that we purchased later.

  • Trimmed off any buds all summer, so that the energy of the plant would develop a great root system.

  • Waited to see what type of weather winter would bring (and ordered up 1200+ canvas bags to cover the plants with if ice was forecasted).

 
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Spring Has Sprung