Glendarragh Blog
Last Posted: 23-Apr-2012 | Total Posts: 16
The Lavender Waiting Game
Spring is a time for patience on a lavender farm. As other northeast plant and tree species warm and green, lavender holds back and ponders long and hard the need to greet a new spring. Foliage whipped by winter winds — especially during the dreadfully windy and nearly snow-less winter we've recently completed— is reluctant to believe the cold days are behind us. While its tentative behavior is likely prudent, it's nerve-wrenching for the farmers!
Close inspection at the base of each plant, however, reveals tiny green shoots and promises of continued greening all the way to the tips of the plants. Signs of life are hidden beneath the stems, where sinewy, green fibers prove each plant's vitality. This is an important reality for lavender farmers and enthusiasts, each of whom should never be too quick to dismiss a plant based on early spring appearances!
Because we prune lavender in the fall, spring pruning has, in the past, been limited to a mere ruffling of each plant as the dead lavender leaves fall to the ground. This year, however, we suspect a bit more intensive pruning will be on the docket. We see more evidence of winter burn and chalk it up to the fact we removed our wind protection during those tantalizingly warm days in early March. We won't remove the wind covers early again, rest assured, as we will be pruning back at a time when we'd rather be getting a jump on weeding.
Thanks to the garden clubs that have signed on for tours. We await your arrival and hope to have more than a thousand new plants in the field before your arrival. If not we may hand you a trowel!
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Snowy Days are Made for Sifting Lavender
A snowy day is a great day to put our hands through rope upon rope of dried lavender. During yesterday's storm we pulled ropes from the barn for sifting inside. (Barn temperatures were far too cold!)
It's such a simple process: Remove a bunch, dangle over a 5-gallon container and shake and pull the lavender bunch, allowing the lavender buds to fall; then, finally, sift the lavender buds to remove larger stems and any leaves. The remaining naked stems can be bundled and used later in the year for smoking fish and poultry on the grill!
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Nature's First Green is....Brown?
Like many New Englanders we're partial to the words penned by Robert Frost, especially those relating to spring and autumn. Frost wrote, "Nature's first green is gold," and he was correct, of course, in describing the radiance of still-budding birch and willow trees brief hours away from unfurling.
At the moment, though, our first green is decidedly brown. We see the early arrival of spring in the daffodils poking up through brown earth, in the wet hollows in the lawn, in the patch of dry dirt under a huge tree and championed by the chickens, and in the mud bath better known as the driveway.
All are a sign of the ever-closer spring, and for that we are grateful.
Here's an image of the greenest of days at the farm to help all winter-weary souls to bridge the gap between mudseason and spring!
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It's warm in the high tunnel!
What a treat to be in the high tunnel Sunday! The outside temperatures may have hovered around 15 degrees, before windchill, but inside the air was warm and the soil was workable. We pulled weeds and inspected the lavender, which is greening nicely with the increased hours of daylight.
The plants will triple in size this summer and each will produce between three and five bunches of lavender, depending on their age.
It won't be long before the fields are uncovered from their winter protection and we see the same greening in fields! With more chickadees fighting for berths in the birdhouses, and increased birdsong, spring seems close at hand!
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February, Free Shipping and Facebook
February is fast upon us, which means we are busy sifting the last bunches of lavender from the 2011 harvest, planning renovations to the barn, and also entering the world of Facebook with sponsored pages and more.
As for Facebook, we've learned the lesson of switching from a personal profile page to a business page and won't soon attempt to do so in the early morning hours again! Of course, we're spending so much time on the computer to help spread the word about Maine lavender. You can help others learn about Glendarragh Farm Lavender by "liking" us on Facebook and writing a recommendation on our page. The more times our farm is shared via the internet, the better the chances more will learn of our efforts to grow lavender in Maine, of the products we create and will take the time to visit us in person.
All of the computer work prompted us to look at our own website and crank up the computer-generated newsletter presses. You're now able to sign up for newsletters, which we promise will be sent sporadically, especially when we can get back to work outside! The newsletters will contain information about the farm, growing tips, and coupons for both the Camden, Main Street store and farm.
(Sshhhhh: The current newsletter lets you know by typing "newsletter" into the discount code of the online checkout you can receive free shipping through the end of February!)
Finally, we're looking at our detached livestock barn and planning renovations. With any luck you'll see the start of renovations in 2012.
This barn will become our drying barn and we are excited to move drying closer to the large fields, especially as we begin expanding into the fields in greater quantities. On that note, 1200 plants are growing for us now in Connecticut and will be ready to plant in May. We can't wait!
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What do the chickens know?
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Make way for the garden clubs!
With seed catalogs cluttering desks and bed-side tables, it's clear gardeners are dreaming of the season ahead. It may be the coldest month of the year, but Maine gardeners are already thinking of spring.
So, too, are the garden clubs. This week we have scheduled June visits to Glendarragh for the Warren, Brooklin and Bath garden clubs. They'll visit in time to see the English lavender prior to harvest and the early budding of the French lavenders. Some of the clubs will continue on to visit other Midcoast attractions, like Cellardoor Vineyard in Lincolnville. We're so excited to help them plan their visits!
If you'd like your garden club to visit Glendarragh in 2012, please e-mail lavender@tidewater.net.
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A new lavender sprig
With a thin blanket of snow finally covering the lavender fields, and plenty of wood on hand thanks to an autumn spent stacking and splitting, we now have a slice of quiet time to update the web and fill you in on the past several months!
As some of you know, we welcomed our third son in late October. He arrived a month early and has more than caught up in weight and size. With our eldest home from college for Christmas, the youngest in a bassinet, and the middle son in the midst of middle school, it's safe to say we run myriad conversations and activities throughout the day!
Our new arrival has prompted a change in our logo, which now has five lavender sprigs, or one for each family member.
We gave several garden talks in 2011 and have more scheduled in 2012. Some garden clubs will be visiting the farm to learn more about growing lavender and we look forward to showing them how best to grow lavender in Maine.
The high tunnel is also doing well. Some 300 lavender plants are growing inside and we look forward to harvesting them in June, a bit ahead of the field harvest.
Finally, we began the propagation for the 1200 lavender plants slated for the eastern field. May will find us happily digging again and, frankly, it cannot start soon enough. We miss the fields and have been spoiled by a relatively snow-free winter that has allowed us to walk along the fields well into January. Our guess is February, March and April will pack more snow than usual and we'll be rushing to catch up with spring chores well into May.... All the more reason to be thankful for the high tunnel and its protected bit of lavender and walking room so we can be weeding and growing ahead a bit. The temperatures in the greenhouse, even without a heat source, are always twenty degrees warmer than outside. We love it! Since we don't leave the farm in the depths of winter, the high tunnel is also a little bit of sun and warmth close to home!
We hope 2012 brings you health and happiness and the ability to enjoy gardens of your own.
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Notes from the Lavender Harvest, 2011
Suffice it to say we've enjoyed a productive and pleasant week of lavender farming.It started July 2 with our lavender festival. The fields full of blue and purple bloom and the skies full of sunshine, we hosted over 300 people at Glendarragh. They walked in the fields, enjoyed the river and, as suspected, enjoyed walking among more than 1500 lavender plants in various stages of growth.
They next day we produced our sickles and scissors and began harvesting English lavender. It's an annual harvest best done in the early morning hours, so it was not uncommon for us to be cutting before 6 a.m. Thankfully, we were joined by some good friends and a few capable farm helpers.
Somehow we managed to harvest more than 5,000 small bundles, most of which are already dry a mere week later. (The French lavender will be next in the harvest list.)
The results left us all smiling.
On Sunday, July 10 we were pleased to be part of the George's River Land Trust's 20th Gardens in the Watershed tour. This time more than 500 enjoyed learning about lavender, strolling in the gardens and enjoying a picnic overlooking the fields.
Soon the lavender will be sifted into buckets of bud, or gathered into larger decorative bunches and we use them in our lavender goodies. Along the way we'll keep adding more plants to the new field, hoping to fill to 600 by September and then staking for the tilling of next year's new fields.
The cycle of growth continues and for that — and so much more — we are blessed.
We're grateful for an excellent harvest and the ability to share the joys of growing lavender with so many. Thanks for being part of our dreams turned reality!
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2011 Lavender Festival
The 2011 harvest of English lavender draws closer and we are pleased to say Saturday, July 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. will be our annual festival. Just as we tend the plants by hand May through November, we will harvest by hand very soon.
Come and see the new English and lavender plants in the field, the results of a winter's growing in the high-tunnel greenhouse, and over 1300 lavender plants in various stages of growth. Enjoy complimentary lavender lemonade. 
Bring a picnic to enjoy near the lavender or by the St. George's River. Birding paths through the hayfields and to the river allow birders a chance to see bobolinks, osprey, eagles, bluebirds, turkeys and our resident chickens round out the mix. Select lavender plants will be offered for sale, the Costigans will provide lavender growing tips and the barn will be stocked with Glendarragh's sachets, dried bundles, lotions, lavender shortbread and more.The farm is located at 151 Searsmont Road (Route 131) in Appleton Village. From Camden, travel Route 105 through Hope, turn left at the junction of Route 131 and head to Appleton Village. From Route 17, head down Route 131.
