Finally... An Update!
Well, after a blogging hiatus, we have finally been able to take a few moments to write a blog updating all our friends on our status. We have several things we want to share with everyone.
Plant Survival - After a rather harsh winter, we're happy to say that most of our, Folgate, Super Blue and Big Time Blue lavender plants survived. However, our Phenomenal and Grosso lavender varieties took a hard hit. We lost about 70% of our grosso and approximately 25% of our phenomenal.
Propagation - We also tried our hands at propagation over the winter with grow lights. However, that was not successful. There are several factors that may have impacted including the need for natural light and too much moisture. We have tweaked our methods and trying it again with natural sunlight now.
Store Opening – We are in the process of obtaining some rough-cut lumber from a WV sawmill to reface the outside of the Spring House. Once that is finished we can move forward opening the market in the Spring House. We had originally hoped to open in May but it now looks like it will be late June.
Bloom Season – Since our plants are young, we have a limited amount of harvest this year. We are planning to keep the plants trimmed down to help the roots grow strong for a healthy hearty bloom in the future. We plan to keep the minimal amount of lavender harvested for our products and sales. Hopefully next summer we can offer U-pick dates for folks to come cut their own fresh lavender.
Upcoming Events – we have a couple big events coming up to share our products with our customers. We are excited to share that we have been selected to participate in the upcoming WV BBQ Bash – State Championship. It will be held June 15 & 16 in Weston at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. They are estimating approximately 10,000 people attending. This will be great exposure for the farm. In July, we have been selected to participate in the highly selective Vintage Market Days in Monroeville, PA. This will be held July 13-15 with an expected attendance of over 30,000 people. We have also been asked to offer our products this year in the WV Dept of Ag Barn at the WV State Fair. Lastly, we have shared samples of our products with Tamarack and hope to have our products available there soon.
Availability of Lavender – Starting the second week of June we will have 80 Lavender plants in quart pots available for purchase. We are currently taking pre-orders and would be happy to put your name on our list. At this time, we will have 20 of each of the following varieties available: ‘Melissa Lilac’, ‘Hidcote Blue’, Munstead and Phenomenal. Just send us an email to let us know how many you need us to hold for you.
We have been working diligently in the field to keep the weeds knocked down and help the plants thrive. Tonight’s pictures are examples of how many weeds we are combating, the beauty of some of the thriving plants, the struggles of our phenomenal lavender and an overview picture as we continue to work in the fields.
Sorry it has taken us so long to update you.
Warmest wishes-
Your Stone House Lavender Crew
