Lavender Shortbread Lavender shortbread is the essence of the English, and is great served with tea. Preheat oven to 325º. Beat together 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, and 1 cup unsalted butter, but do not over beat. Shortbread takes a light hand! Sift 3 cups of flour with 2 teaspoons lavender buds, pressing… Read more »
Category: Harms Vineyards: Passed Lives
The following posts were taken from the website for Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields, which we operated from 2010 until 2019. They offer a window into our lives on the farm and the ways the farm changed us. In 2018 we decided to end our lavender business but we continue to work with our land in ways that bring balance and health. Posts on this website will continue to follow our work.
Lavender Limeade
Lavender Limeade This recipe initiates you into cooking with lavender! I love to watch people’s expressions as they cautiously take the first sip— and then look at me in amazement! Next thing you know, they are telling me: this is a product! Why don’t you bottle it? It is easy to make, and delightful to… Read more »
Lavender Cannellini Bean Salad
Lavender Cannellini Bean Salad A surprising salad for picnics or a light lunch. Marinate together for at least 30 minutes: 1 large onion, chopped, 2 small sage leaves, chopped, 3 small cloves garlic, crushed, 1-2 teaspoons dried lavender, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, six tablespoons virgin olive oil, two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, juice of one lime,… Read more »
Earthquake, Farming, and Light from Below
Serpent like line runs through lavender. She runs west of our home, severing irrigation pipes and alarming us more than a little! In my imagination, she is a dragon who woke up writhing wildly in the early hours of Sunday morning. Believe me, we noticed her! The walls of our home twisted and everything in… Read more »
Saving Seeds and Sovereignty of the Farmer
Harald Hoven demonstrating collecting lettuce seed. One of the more important issues from Harald Hoven’s seed saving workshop at the Medicine for Earth and Man Biodynamic Conference this last weekend in Fair Oaks, California, was that of farmer sovereignty. In learning to grow and collect our own seed, we are exercising our human right to collect… Read more »
Managing Powdery Mildew During Veraison
Riping Chardonnay grapes One of the challenges of grape growing is that of controlling powdery mildew or botrytis after the grapes start developing their sugars (veraison). During the growing season we use elemental sulfur, but as we get within 5-6 weeks of harvest, we must stop. The sulfur is known to leave a… Read more »
Learning Biodynamics from the Pros: Biodynamic Conference in August
Three volunteer bean plants originally planted from Biodynamic seeds provide enough beans for two of us. This is the third generation of this particular seed line. On August 14-16 will be a Biodynamic Conference at the Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA, Medicine for Earth and Man: The Earthworm, the Cow, and the Bee…. Read more »
Lavender Hydrosol and Essential Oil Distillation: Final Stretch!
Lavender after harvest. Quail use mounds as lookouts while supervising chicks. This is Lot Natalie. After two weeks of daily distillation, Donald is weary of it! Still, we have at least three or four days to go. The oil is as intense and sweet as ever, each lot number (or location) the unique essence of… Read more »
Lavender Harvest Begins!
Lot Natalie in the early morning. The bees always alert us to the timing first! When they arrive, it means the calyxes are beginning to open, and we need to harvest lavender for the dried product pronto! We want to get it just after the opening of two or three calyxes so the flowers do… Read more »
Storytelling and Farming
Publication Date: June 15 Leaping Goat Press Farming and storytelling go together. Is it the quiet that allows the imagination to stretch, feeling into all that is possible, or might be, or was? I walked too late this morning. The sun was out and the temperature had already reached 80º, snake time. I… Read more »
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