Baby Lavenders!!

My husband loves lavender. His mother went on a aromatherapy kick when he was a child, and used lavender to help him calm anxiety. 20 years later, and we have a purple bedroom for that reason.

I like lavender too, but I have always hesitated to grow it because it is a perinnel, it tends to be a more expensive plant, and I haven't had too much success growing it in pots... probably because I am just not so patient.

But now, we have a house, and it is time.

It is my understanding that lavender is difficult to grow from seed, but I am determined. On Saturday, my seeds came in the mail along with my very own "pot maker."

I learned about potmakers at a tilth class I took last year. You take paper (recycle of course!) and use the contraption to make tiny pots for plant starts.

Here was my plan: Begin with 5 different types of lavender.

Ice lavender (the flowers are white) www.reneesgarden.com/
Munstead www.superseeds.com
Hidote www.superseeds.com
fern leaf (Renee's garden) www.reneesgarden.com
Pink perfume (really? pink lavender... so cool!) www.superseeds.com

I turned on Grey's Anatomy, recycled some old calendars and turned them into pots. This took a while, but I really enjoy the work. One of the cool things is that you can write the plant right on the pot. If you are like me, you never really remember what you planted where, and I find myself saying... well this could be broccoli... or cauliflower... hmm... I hope this solves the problem.

Next, I mixed my seed starting mix with water. If you skip this step, the mix will never work right. The water just won't soak in sadly.

Finally, I planted my seeds in the paper pots.

So, here is something I learned last year in my seed starting class. In Seattle, you could plant your plants in a glass room and not have enough light to make them start because our days are too short untill after the equinox (March 21) So to begin most plants this far north, you really need grow lights. I have also heard that lavender needs light to start.

Here is the thing. Grow lights are really expensive! BUT did you know that you can use cheap flourescent lights that you can buy from the hardware store? Each one is like $8-10.

You really need to hang your lights as close to the plants as possible, ( Like an inch or 2 away)
I made a special greenhouse by cutting a slit in the top of a rubber maid container, and hanging my lights in there. The result is kind of neat and glowy!

So, now I wait. Apparently lavendar can take between 10-28 days to germinate, so I will keep you posted! Perhaps one of my plants will end up in your garden.

Blessed Be,
Michelle