Newly planted lavender at Eatwell Farm
It is time to replace many of our lavender plants. They gave a life of about nine years at which time the stems shorten and harvest becomes more difficult. As it takes two years to establish a plant and achieve a decent yield only in the third year, timing is everything. We took delivery of rooted cuttings in late summer and fall last year which, after potting, are now ready for the field. They are being planted between and in rows of trees in our new permaculture plantings. As you can see from the picture some beds are just lavender. The other bed is a low growing pollinator mix into which we plant trees and a multitude of herbs and lavender. Once the trees are established we will no longer be able to harvest the lavender but at that point they will be at the end of their useful life. They will occupy a niche, produce an income, and protect the soil until the trees can take over that role. More on our transformation of the farm into a broadacre permaculture in future issues.