Vancouver Island Lavender Farm located outside Victoria in
British Columbia, Canada
Lavender has become the farm's signature since our first block of 500 Munstead Lavender planted in 1987. Our first harvest was in 1988 and filled two wheelbarrows! We currently specialize in cultivating Sweet Lavender varieties (Lavandula angustifolia) for its scent and taste. Late blooming Lavender includes the True Spike Lavender (L. latifolia) and the new hybrid Lavadins (L. x intermedias). Each July we watch the emerging hues of blue, mauve and purple as Lavender Harvest time approaches once more. And the fragrance ~ Lavender Lovers come explore our site!
A Weekend Affair Ready-Set-Go>>>>>>>> Ok, first… Spring-fevered “weekend-backyard-farmers” need to ponder a moment their time, space & purpose of gardening even before their family decides they love carrots & hate broccoli! Grab a coffee or glass of wine and do a walk-about for the over-view of your yard. …Will you garden in the ground, raised boxes or beds or in containers on a patio? Do you need to build those boxes or terrace now before the prime growing weather arrives? …What exposure is your chosen site? The degree of shade will restrict your choices… …Do you have an idea of the type of soil you have already; or will you bring some in, or amend what you have with supplements and fertilizers as you go? All these boring questions need a moment before the fun of choosing seeds or starts for the final success…at the very least you will also need a few basic hand tools and a good kneeling pad. Perhaps even a wheelbarrow or wagon to garden smart. There are lots of tricks to the trade, starting with the sanity of starting small! Before rototiling the whole back yard taking away the dog run and basketball court; try a box bed 12 inches deep by 4 foot wide and any length that suits the existing yard layout. (I like 4 feet by 8 feet boxes myself~ easy: three 8 foot boards with corner reinforcements...)This way you can reach everything inside from both sides. Lay your woven heavy duty landscape cloth on the ground first, then build & fill the box. If you change your mind; removal is easy for even rental lots, the ground level returned to where you started without unsightly excavations and the box goes to the next abode! February is as early as I begin “THE season”, and that is in my greenhouse with leeks and onions from seed~ I gave myself January off! Even keen experienced “weekend backyard gardeners” start the bulk of their seeds in March/April: 6-8 weeks before the last frost date in May. Use your time wisely to build those box beds now, arrange the patio pots or clear out old flower beds all ready to go…Wait a little longer to go full speed ahead for your seeding projects especially inside your home. One tip for success here: when starting seeds indoors use sterilized light potting soil not common garden soil to improve conditions for the emerging babies. Garden soil runs the risk of being too heavy and harbouring hidden fungal diseases. You also may need to invest in a small “grow light” for your seed trays to balance the easy heat of your home with the trickier strong enough direct light needed~ remember regular house windows only give sideway light & seedlings will stretch out of shape to reach it. Also, don’t start your seeds too early if you are not set up with a transition setting for when you have your seedlings successfully up but it is too early or cold to plant them outside yet. It is a common dilemma trying to keep those babies short, fat and healthy on hold: and not have them on every surface of the house and you are eating dinner on your lap! March is a friendly month for the cold hardies: seeds and starts that can happily snug down outside and get into the business of growing with frosts and low light around. Cold hardy choices include sweet peas and eating peas; onions, shallots, spinach, lettuce, arugula, coriander, chard, and dill…even radishes. Look for onion & shallot “sets” that are bulb-lets rather than seed to literally pop into place to get a head start and catch up to those I started from seed in February! I also start my peas and bean seeds in deep plant 6 packs and pop them into the garden as 4” starts, cheating Mr Slug from an easy meal as the sprouts emerge from the ground… April adds broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and beets. The soil is starting to warm up now…Be generous with liming the soil for the brassica family aka broccoli, cauliflower, and kale~ this prevents a root disease called “club foot”… One very easy launch into the “Grow-your-own-world” is to choose a salad garden theme with greens, herbs and tomatoes. Space permitting it could be expanded to include a couple of fat deep tubs for a vertical “garden” of peas and beans. Keep in mind small gardens or containers also need “small” or compact varieties of vegetables and herbs, sometimes listed as dwarf or “space saver”. Time too, no pun intended, to plant your basic perennial herb starts like thyme, regular frond fennel, sage, rosemary, Greek oregano, French tarragon, chives and fresh starts of parsley. Look for flat leaf or Italian parsley for flavour: curly parsley for looks… Try exotic May 24th is Take one last look at the allotted site orientation to make sure sunflowers are not positioned on the sunny side and shade the tomatoes… Plant small veggies on the sunny side too, taller plantings will still get the sun light they need to thrive by peeking above. Look for compact varieties of zucchini and bush tomatoes instead of vine varieties that need 6ft stakes… Above all; just simply start: so much is learned just by the experience and next year you will attack it like a pro! Your weekend affair with gardening can evolve into the love of a lifetime… Originally published in the March 2010 edition of the Metchosin Muse
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