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).