Now all the lavender has been harvested and distilled, our attention has returned to the Chamomile fields.

 

What most people who visit us at Inglenook Farm assume, is that we are only a Lavender Farm, when the reality is more than 3/4 of our land is dedicated to Chamomile.  Our Roman (or English) Chamomile certified organic, as the lavender.  Its pretty, delicate daisy like flower blankets the fields and so is not as noticeable or visually stunning as the Lavender.

 

Non the less, it is a brilliant, fragrant flower which produces an essential oil as versatile, aromatic and useful as the lavender.  

 

                          

 

We have been observing it closely, lovingly checking each field daily, waiting for it all to fully open.  As with the lavender, it is a very fine window to the flowers all being open and at their peak, and catching that window to harvest.  This rain over the last two days is helping, and we should be harvesting in earnest next week.

 

A small patch was brought in and distilled to check the condition and yield, and we will leave you with this picture of the first official batch of this years vivid blue oil

 

It's been a busy week, but we have finally harvested the lavender , and the distillation unit is steaming the fresh crop as we speak. 

 

The cut Lavender heads, are sorted and spread in the big barn, and loaded batch by batch into the steam distillation unit. The steam is passed through the lavender to draw out the essential oil.  As the steam condenses the oil seperates from the water, leaving us a beautiful golden oil ready for filtering.  There's a handy little diagram of the process here

 

The oil will be seperated off and filtered, and after a maturation period, bottled. But that's all to follow! For now we are enjoying the scent of the steamed lavender as it fills the farm air, and marvelling at the magic of the oil being produced as if it is the first time we have seen it!  If you are on the farm, please feel free to stop by the distillery and witness it all as it happens, we love to answer your questions.

 

It’s that time of year again, when our lavender is finally ready to be harvested. 

Lavender comes into full bloom, typically in late June/early July, but it varies each season as the harmony and balance between sunshine, rain, soil and nature shift.  It must be harvested at its peak, to early and the oil is not at its best, too late and the flower begins to wilt.  It must be harvested on a dry day, as wet flowers are harder to distil.  As you can imagine, the marriage of the above elements, is a tricky one, and knowing just when to harvest requires a keen eye and close observation, plus a lot of luck when it comes to Mother Nature!

This harvest has stopped and started as we navigated rain showers and late blooming rows, but finally it is all in.  Happy volunteers leant a helping hand, as they enjoyed the scents (and the café customers too as the glorious wafted over the sunny garden).  The first batches will be distilling as we speak, so keep posted as the first oil of the season is made.