Now that our Open Farm season has come to a close, it’s time for one of my favorite parts of the year—lavender harvest and distillation! The scent in the air is absolutely incredible, and we’re soaking in every moment of it.
We had the pleasure of sharing the beauty and science of lavender essential oil with so many visitors these past weeks. One of the highlights was watching guests smell each oil and discover how every lavender cultivar has its own unique scent. We’re now labeling many of our products with the specific lavender variety used—so you’ll know exactly what’s in each bottle.
We began our harvest in the Riverina Thomas field, which reaches maturity first. We wait until all the buds (calyxes, for our fellow botany lovers) are fully open—this is when the plant produces the most essential oil. Our harvest buggy moves up and down each row, gathering blooms and gently pruning the plants to a consistent size.
The freshly harvested lavender is then weighed into 10-pound stacks and left to dry for a day before heading into our copper stills. Each stack (or batch) takes about 45 minutes to distill. And then the magic happens. We literally capture the essence of the lavender flower—transforming its scent into liquid form. What flows from the still are two distinct products: luscious lavender essential oil and lightly scented lavender hydrosol, or floral water. Many folks have asked how we separate the essential oil from the hydrosol after distillation. The answer is our glass separatory funnel, which does an excellent job! The essential oil naturally rises to the top, while the hydrosol settles below —allowing us to collect each one with care. Do you know the phrase, "Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life?" How true that is! Here at the Farm, working with the land, the people, the plants, the products we create... I love my job!
