Lavender Farming Part Two

Lavender Farming Part Two

Lavender Farming Part Two

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Vivian Nielsen, owner of Garden Gate Farms, first started farming lavender nearly thirteen years ago with around 150 plants, today things have grown considerably.

NIELSEN: Now I have about 2,500 different types of lavender plants that are on my farm and I have some miniature cows and some chickens, and just keep adding to the farm experience.

Nielsen says that while most people think of lavender in the olfactory sense that’s not what the bulk of her lavender is used for.

NIELSEN: I actually specialize in culinary lavender. So basically, 2000 of my lavenders are lavenders that we use for consuming. We have spices that we make and those spices include lavender in it, and that is our number one seller.

Although lavender farming is a quiet activity without a lot of machinery - they do nearly everything by hand, Nielsen says it hasn’t been without opposition.

NIELSEN: At one point we had some of our neighbors, who didn’t understand what it was like to be by a farm, try to shut down our farm. What I’ve found is that, if you’re farm is not hundreds of acres in a big farming community, you really do have to educate the people around you about what you do - invite them on the farm, show them what you are doing. Otherwise, people are afraid of things they don’t know.

Located in Medical Lake, Garden Gate Farms is open to the public 10 to 4 on Saturdays, as well as open by appointment for private functions or educational tours. For more information visit gardengatelavender.com.

 

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network. 

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