True Lavender Pre-Seeded Grow Kit

Why grow your own lavender?

• Lavender is a perennial plant meaning that it will continue to grow larger and larger harvests year after year;
  • Growing anything from seed is rewarding but there is something special about having large established perennials in your garden that you started from seeds years earlier.
• Bees and butterflies with thank you!

Growing Up

• Your lavender seeds have germinated and sprouted above the soil and roots are reaching out of the plug looking for new ground to conquer! It’s important not to give your seedlings more real estate at the right moment and to acclimate them gently to the outside world. Learn how to “pot up” and “harden off” your seedlings in this
• Lavender is native to the mediterranean. That means lavender thrives with full sun and in well-draining soil.
  • Rich, heavy soil that holds onto water is lavender’s worst nightmare. You may be able to find pre-mixed mediterranean potting mix. If not, you can “lighten” your soil or potting mix by adding fine gravel or vermiculite.
  • Rather than keeping your lavender consistently moist, let the soil dry out a bit in between waterings.

Harvesting and Uses

• Lavender is too often overlooked for its culinary applications. Why not enjoy a simple cup of fresh lavender tea before bed or experiment with lavender infused cocktails, lemonade and baked goods? (Note: English lavender is the sweetest and most palatable for use in the kitchen)
  • (We still love sachets of lavender tucked into dresser drawers and between bed sheets.)
• Lavender is typically difficult to grow from seeds. Our seed plug method will give you the best chance for success.
• Harvest your lavender in early spring. This will give your plant enough time to produce a second harvest. Harvest the lavender just before flowering while the buds are still tight. If you can’t tell when this is, wait for one or two of the flowers on a stem to start opening, then move fast. If you are able to, the best time of day to harvest is early morning after any dew has dried but before the mid-day sun has disintegrated some of the natural fragrant oils in the flowers. Harvest by sniping stems using pruning shears at the base of the step a few centimeters above a junction or “leaf node”. That is, follow the stem down to the next place leafs emerge and snip off the stem just above this.
• Make your own lavender oil
  • You can make your own Lavender infused oil for use in homemade bath and cleaning products.
  • Fill a canning jar with dried lavender buds then cover the buds in your chosen “carrier oil” (jojoba, grapeseed and extra virgin olive oil are all great options among others). Ideally, place the jar in a warm sunny (but not hot) spot and allow the dried lavender to infuse into the oil for 1-3 weeks. Next, use a piece of cheesecloth to strain the lavender from the oil.