Gearing Up for Spring. While our lavender plants have been fast asleep in the fields, we’ve been hard at work getting ready for the new season.
Thousands of new lavender plants that started out this winter as tiny cuttings in our greenhouse and high tunnel will be ready for planting next month. Propagation is going well and this initiative should help us meet our goal of planting 80,000 new plants this year.
Through the winter and early spring, our crews have weeded, built rock walls, and improved drainage. We’ve cleared additional acres and used a bulldozer to build the windrows (mounds) where we’ll starting planting the lavender in mid-May. Under the guidance of beekeeper Eric Grandon, we’re installing 10 beehives, which will be great for the bees and for our lavender.
Meanwhile, the plants that we planted last year are starting to wake up and they are looking good – even the plants that the deer nibbled when they got really hungry this winter (normally deer don’t like to eat lavender).
We are grateful for our workers who have been able to keep working this spring, and we are employing good social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting practices.
And while we are unsure of COVID-19’s impact on where we will be selling our essential oils and hydrosols this year, we do know that we will have products for sale—so stay tuned for more information on where and how you can buy them!
MEET THE AUTHOR / CHAD FOREMAN is the Communications Manager at Appalachian Botanical Co. In his spare time Chad is a free lance photographer specializing in wedding, portrait, and adventure photography. He is also an avid outdoorsman who loves spending time in the mountains of West Virginia, especially kayaking and white water rafting in New River Gorge.