Harvest Time

[Snoopy]

Well I don't know how the farmers are managing but the weather here has been very warm and sunny both yesterday and again today. MrsS#2 has been harvesting her lavender crop. Great bunches of the stuff are hanging all over the house to dry out ready for the flowers to be shaken off to go into large bags for sale and the stems to be crushed and the essential oil collected. I, fortunately, love the smell of fresh lavender and the whole house is a delight.
Orders from two local Village WI groups will be fulfilled and the remainder of the crop will be converted into ready cash at the upcoming Harvest Festival Craft Sales and various other events around the area where MrsS#2 has her tables booked and will be selling her hand made soaps, hand sewn wheatbags (For both bed warming and the treatment of sports sprains etc) and plain old fashioned lavender bags to those ladies who like to fragrance their dressing table drawers and airing cupboards.
The remaining crushed and dried stalks will be used on our open fires throughout the Yule Tide to create a different but very pleasing aroma through the house.
This is indeed a lovely time of the year to live in the country ~ even if the house fronts onto a busy village High Street.

[Bar Wench]

Sounds blissful. MrsS#2 is a very talented lady!

[tel]

Bit late innit?

Lavender was harvested last month round here. Area is famous for it.

[Bar Wench]

They live in Wales. Everything there is well, somewhat backward. 

[Darwins Selection]

As long as the fields are not so boggy that the harvesters sink in, those in the cereal business can cope but have to spend a lot on drying (mostly oil-fired).

Root crops are not a problem at the moment.  

[Snoopy]

Bit late innit?

Lavender was harvested last month round here. Area is famous for it.

They live in Wales. Everything there is well, somewhat backward. 

Thanks Wenchy ~ Seriously tel ~ yes it could have been done earlier but for (i) Children on holiday wanting to be taken swimming, playing tennis, to the beach etc etc (ii) bloody awful weather and (iii) our arrangement with a local bee keeper whose swarms gather on our lavender, imparting a truly local flavour to her product. She let us know that the bees were more or less grounded because of the weather and asked if we could leave the lavender until the very last minute. We get free honey in return. The bees are out there in huge numbers yesterday and again today so only about half of the lavender has been cut. The rest can wait another week or two.

Wenchy is not altogether wrong either as we are quite a way north (You cannot get further North in Wales) and we have noticed that our plants (all of them) tend to be about two to three weeks behind those down south.

Odd thing is we only planted the lavender either side of the front garden path five years ago as a decoration because it never really changed colour winter or summer. It just sort of "took over". The path is only 20 feet long and the lavender started out as 12 plants of mixed varieties (Some "French", some "English")

[Snoopy]

Pictures of some of the lavender.

[Grumpmeister]

They live in Wales. Everything there is well, somewhat backward. 

Including their choice in women? 





Sorry wenchy but seeing as Mr Wench is welsh I couldnt resist.

[Bar Wench]

They live in Wales. Everything there is well, somewhat backward. 

Including their choice in women? 





Sorry wenchy but seeing as Mr Wench is welsh I couldnt resist.

You're on the list! 

[tel]

This is on your doorstep Wenchy.

http://www.carshaltonlavender.org/

Nothing Welsh, thank god.

[Bar Wench]

This is on your doorstep Wenchy.

http://www.carshaltonlavender.org/

Nothing Welsh, thank god.

I've bookmarked that! It looks really good thanks Tel!

[tel]

This is on your doorstep Wenchy.

http://www.carshaltonlavender.org/

Nothing Welsh, thank god.

I've bookmarked that! It looks really good thanks Tel!

They have an open day(s) every when you can go and pick the lavender.
They sometimes attend the farmers market in Wallington (tomorrow) and I think that sometimes there is another group that go there as well.
Will have a look tomorrow morning.

[Snoopy]

Picking lavender will shred your fingers. Take a pair of secateurs.

[Grumpmeister]

They live in Wales. Everything there is well, somewhat backward. 

Including their choice in women? 





Sorry wenchy but seeing as Mr Wench is welsh I couldnt resist.

You're on the list! 

To be fair Wenchy, you walked into that one, it was guarranteed that someone on here would make a comment. I was just at the head of the queue. 

[Snoopy]

For those questioning the harvest of lavender at this time of the year MrsS#2 has just reminded me that she cut her first crop in June to encourage flowering throughout the summer and that this is, in fact her second harvest. Much also depends on the variety ~ as for areas of lavender Fame I would suggest Norfolk would be top of the list.

We are now off to harvest some free blackberries that will not be contaminated by traffic fumes and dog p*ss as they so often are in Sarf London innit.