Lavender
Starting
According to West Coast Seeds, a good time to start lavender from seeds in this part of the world is about now, which is why I sowed them last week. I have read in a couple of places that it is good to freeze the seeds before putting them on a heat mat (in a light growing medium) as a way of fooling the seeds into thinking that Spring has arrived and that germination can begin.In any case, lavender seeds are slow to germinate, taking anywhere from between 14 to 28 days to germinate. This last point has me slightly worried in that my seeds are germinating after a little over a week, and so I had to rig up my lighting equipment a little sooner than I had expected.
Growing
The native range extends across the Canary Islands and Madeira, North and East Africa, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Arabia and India. This essentially tells you that the ideal for lavender is full sun and sandy, fertile soil.Lavender is an undemanding shrub but will appreciate a good pruning. Some people recommend pruning in the spring before it takes off, and others advise doing it in the fall. Whenever you decide to trim lavender make sure you never cut back into old wood.
Harvesting
Lavender makes for some amazing sensations, be they smells or tastes depending on how you use the flowers and seeds (if at all). We have used them for pot pourri, I know not very imaginative, but also in jam, sugar, and other food products.Harvesting lavender for drying is best done when the flowers are in full colour, and either before they start to open or the flowers are only 1/3 open. The flowers keep a stronger colour when picked at this bud stage.
For potpourri, both the buds and leaves work well. The leaves also have a nice scent, but the buds are visually more pleasing. I use a mixture of both the leaves and the buds in my potpourri with more buds then leaves. Use the ratio amount that is visually pleasing to you.
