Christmas 2014 Lavender Farm Visit

Seasons Greetings!
Here in NZ we are in the start of early summer and it really has not been a good start with cold weather, lots of wind and lots of rain! I met with Thomas Reisinger, owner at Lavender Impressions Lavender Farm in Manakau (Levin) today, 22/12/14. the day had been overcast with a light shower so gumboots were the order of the day as we walked around the fields! I had a visitor from Germany, Professor Bernhard Goebel, a soil scientist, who was very interested in seeing the organic lavender cultivations. the following are some snapshots of out visit. I hope you enjoy them. Hydrosols can be bought direct from the farm in 1 or 20 litre volumes or Wendy sells in 1, 2 and 5 litre volumes. hydrosols purcahsed this way are the freshest and can last for up to 2 years. Lavender impressions selss oils from 10 ml upwards including bulk wholesale.

Lavandin super _Lavandula intermedia (low camphor). These are about 6 weeks away from harvest- (approx 2/52 later than normal)

Row of Lavandula intermedia

Lavandula angustifolia in distance

Prof. Goebel (LEFT) looking closely and intermedia flowers- these plants have been attacked by a weevil and sadly after this harvest will be pulled out after 15 years of loyal production.

Weevil attacks stems of lavender- sucks out the sap and the flower never matures so yield is up to 20% lower

Sage in flower- used for dried herb production

Row of Lavandula angustifolia in flower- approx 2 weeks from harvest

Thomas (owner) and Wendy (aromatic adventures) check out the lavender

yummy blueberries straight off the plant

tasty boysenberry

lemon verbena almost ready for harvest in a week or so. The flowering tips are harvested and distilled, the leaves are dried for herbal teas.

How far the lemon verbena is cut for harvesting- see 2013 blog for details on harvest

Tuscan blue Rosmarinus officinalis- destined for dried herbs for herbal tinctures.

Manuka leptopsermum scopiarum in flower

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Lemon Verbena Harvest & Distillation December 2013

Aloysia triphlla (Lemon verbena) in flower Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) or Aloysia triphylla is a precious essential oil which has a low yield and is quite hard to come by the genuine oil. Details as to its origins and habitat can be found here on Wikipedia. It is believed many so called lemon verbena oils on the market are heavily adulterated with lemon thyme, Litsea cubeba (May chang) or synthetic citral. Previously I have used lemon verbena hydrosol my friend produced on his lavender farm ( www.lavender-impressions.co.nz ), with only a tiny amount of oil obtained. Most of his lemon verbena leaves are destined to be dried and sold as a herbal tea. On the 29 December 2013 I was able to take part in the harvest and distillation of his organic lemon verbena. The key difference this year is that it is the flowers and leaves which are being distilled, not just the leaves. Leaf only essential oil can produce a high (up to 35% citral) content which, being an aldehyde may ...

Geranium Distillation for Hydrosol

This is a the first run of my small scale back yard set up on various geraniums distilled for hydrosol, using a pump to reticulate water through the condenser to save water. It means I do not have to stay close by every second for two or more hours. (I am still in the vicinity though in case of mishaps!) Day 1: Harvest of lemon geranium ( Pelargonium crispum ) this morning, stripped leaves from branches (approx 500gm plant material) and added to 3 litres of commercially distilled lemon geranium hydrosol so I get double the benefit. I don't extract any essential oil out of it. https://youtu.be/LFVPV6WHCIg . I achieved about 600 ml good quality hydrosol after 3 hours on the hot plate. (leaf 1 in picture below) Day 2: First up is rose geranium ( Pelargonium graveloans var. roseum ) with pure water (leaf 2 in picture below). Hydrosol appeared very quickly and prolifically, obtaining 200 ml within first 20 minutes of the distillation. This was distilled for about two hours and...

Harakeke-NZ Flax-An iconic Plant

Harakeke, Phormium tenax , isn't exactly an aromatic plant, but it does have plenty of healing properties. Nothing screams out 'New Zealand' more than an image of our native flax in flower! Further background about the plant can be found here Currently I am surrounded by a variety of them in my garden- planted as short a time as two years ago and they all have swung into a tremendous flowering action, some with spikes almost 3 metres tall. Like a triffid the spikes seem to appear almost over night. My plants have a number of very practical uses- firstly to assist with drainage of a heavy clay soil with a high water table; secondly for shelter and privacy; thridly to attract more nativve birds (like our TUI ) who feast of the nectar; and lastly (but by no means least) I collect the seeds and use as a co distillation with lavender hydrosol to incorporate into products. The uses of flax historically is entrenched in Maori culture and history, and early Maori could not ...

Aromatic Adventures

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