Lavender in Tennessee

Hello All!

I am new of course. :) I have 2 acres I want to start growing lavender on plus some other medicinal herbs. I teach soap and candle making here in Goodlettsville and also sell lots of herbs and botanicals to soapers so I want to grow them myself next year. At this point all I have are 2 acres and a tractor. :) I need help in selecting a good fragrant lavender that grows well in this area and any other help I can get! :) I have nice fertile bottom land in full sun. I also want to build a greenhouse for this venture so anyone with advice on this is welcome! Other herbs I would like to grow are: bergamot tea tree calendula chamomile peppermint eucalyptus nettles coltsfoot (I make sniffy bags for sinus) and any other herbs for soap making and medicinal purposes. I also have lots of recipes for anyone interested. And yes I am just as GREEN as they come, however I do have a very green thumb when it comes to growing plants so I am hoping for a good outcome next year. Thanks in advance for all the help I just know is going to start pouring in!

Donnajo

Welcome, DonnaJo - from a fellow Tennessean :) (Actually I'm just down the road a bit from you - small world!)

So you want to grow lavender, huh? Hmmmm...I wonder if we should ask Dave to move this to the Garden Talk forum; there's bound to be some helpful lavender growers who will see it there. Yoohoo, Dave...can you help us out here?

Hi! Maybe we should and I am sure Dave will help us with that question. Glad to meet you! I was actually hoping to co-op with someone on some seeds or plants to get started. I saw your post, which is actually what caused me to join...:) I wanted to see what you were going to grow here in our lovely state. :)

Donnajo

Donnajo if you want to grow a lot of lavender your cheapest option would be to start it from seeds. Of course that would limit your choices on variety. Calendula & chamomile are also easy from seeds and you can plant them directly in the garden in early spring. Colts foot is a weed and I could probably give you some in the spring if my attempts of removing have failed. Bergamot or bee balm is fast spreading perennial and usually there are plenty of gardeners that will share divisions. I have lots of it in different colors. I did a lot of playing around with herbs at one time - making different concoctions. I have a lot of the plants you might be after. Johnny's seeds carries many of the unusual herbs. You should send away for a catalog http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

This has nothing to do with lavender but welcome to dg donnajo!
sue

Dave - my post got lost in the shuffle. Where the heck is it? Floating around in cyberspace? Anyways - Welcome to DG donnajo!

Thanks to all the Welcomes! My this IS a friendly place!

Donnajo

Hi Donnajo, I'm in New York State - a bit north LOL- Welcome to the garden - great people here. I grow Munstead, Lady and one other lavendar (have to check on that one) that do incredibly well considering my zone 5 situation. Haven't gone into 2 acres worth, but actually got enough to make some lavendar wreaths this year out of 4 plants. I'm sure there are lots of others here who will be able to give you advice about your zone - Go-Vols is great! see you in the garden,
Kathleen

Welcome donnajo...I'm your neighbor just to the north,west of the lakes. I've got lemonbalm if you want any and a small,lavender that someone gave me in a secret friend gift.It's about a foot tall and very fragrant. I'd love to hear about the course you are teaching..it sounds like you will fit in real good around here! Again,welcome!

Donnajo, speaking of co-op check this out!!!

http://davesgarden.com/showthread/97878.html

Well, if you're interested in a bulk purchase, let's start out by finding varieties that will do "okay" in our somewhat humid climate. Here's an article from Garden Gate about growing lavender: http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/plants/34lavender.html

At the bottom of this article, there's a link to another article on designing with lavender - check it out because it talks about the the ideal pH levels your soil should have.

In the meantime, I'll see what else I can find on wholesale sources...if you have the time and patience, you can try your hand at growing your own from seed. Stay tuned....

welcome Donnajo. Can't wait to learn all you can teach us!! I grow spanish lavender, but it's not very fragrant to me. But I wouldn't mind learning how to do something with it:)
anyway, we all hope you'll just jump right in and make yourself at home.

Hello All!

Gosh this is like old home week! I love this! Yes I will jump right in and share all I know about the uses of lavender and other herbs I am using and selling here in my shop. I want to learn how to make lavender wands too. I think they are so unusual and "old" I just LOVE old ways don't you? Just send me an email or start a thread as to what you would like to do and I will answer any questions about the subject that I know first hand. Here at my shop I only sell the things I use so beyond that there's a void. LOL! However, I use ALOT of stuff here. We make old fashion lye soap the way your great grandma used to make it (minus the old black pot outside) We use vegetable based soy in place of animal fat and that's because most people prefer vegetable based soaps. By the way...did you all know the soap you are buying from the retail stores is mainly a diesel by product? Did you know that plants and people are made of the same substances and molecular structure? That means if you use vegetable and plant based materials on your skin you are just FEEDING your skin and it will simply LOVE you for it! I am 47 and have 2 grandchildren oldest is 10 I LOOK 30........go there with me ladies. :) I make an egyptian formula that Cleopatra used on her skin every day. It's a thick cream that totally flushes out dryness! And this is the only recipe I won't give away. :) Lavender buds and essential oils are used to add to soaps for medicinal purposes around here too. Tea Tree for antibacterial and healing, aloe vera for rashes and quick healing, calendula and chamomile for softening, peppermint for aromatherapy and sinus problems. So bring on the questions all!

Thanks for all the wonderful posts!

Donnajo

oooh, I can see you'll fit right in here :) Over on the herbs forum there's another thread about lavender...let's see if I can find a link. Yep, here it is: http://davesgarden.com/showthread/127002.html

I bet you can offer the thread starter some tips, as well as check out a link on other nifty ways to use lavender.

I can vouch for the effectiveness of tea tree oil - my DD has exczema; switching to laundry products and soaps that contained tea tree made a world of difference in her skin. In fairness, she might have outgrown it on her own, but I definitely saw an improvement when I made the switch in the products I was using on her clothing and for her bathing.

Donna, do you sell your formula? I might not be able to get it right now, but I have the dryest face in the world. And y'all prompted me to do something else. I have had a bad batch of eczema on my arm for over a month. Cortisone hasn't budged it. Just went and put tea tree oil on it, hope it clears it up:)
Donna, you can email me by clicking on my name:)

Hi Tig,

I do sell my cremes and balms. Email me your address and I will send you a free sample. If you like it then you can order a bigger size. :)

Donnajo

you have mail:)

I wonder how Dave would feel about a discussion forum on the distillation of essential oils and the equipment needed to do it? I'd really love that....anybody else interested?

Donnajo

The spanish lavender does best for me. But, I just bought seed of Munstead this year. I hear good things about it. The english and french lavender dont seem to like my heat here in NE Texas.

I grew Munstead this year. Poppysue (in Maine) sent it to me. It was just one small plant, but grew nice and healthy this year and I got about 20 flower stalks from it. I think that it will really take off next year. I'm not sure that it is the "best" for this area, but I didn't baby it at all, and it has done very well.

Welcome to Dave's garden!!

Trish (Dave's wife)

I tried growing lavender here in Texas but no luck. I think it gets too hot here to grow it.

Donna, I grew Munstead (from 4" pots) in Oklahoma - pretty much the same conditions as where we are , although MUCH windier. It did great - thrived on "benign neglect", LOL.

Welcome!

I hear you can root lavender cuttings - I keep threatening to clip some from the lavender growing along the walking trail, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hi there Donnajo,

Greetings from another Tennessean. I live in Nashville very near the Opryland Hotel. We go to Rivergate Shopping Center near you quite often. I would love to see your shop. Send me the address and I will visit you. In the spring I would love to have you come and visit my garden. I see that you have met several of the other great Tennesseans from DG. One who hasn't entered any info. on the thread so far is Calalily. She is the one that told me that it is most important that lavender have good drainage. I think that is where I have gone wrong in the past. I have one lavender plant now that came from her and it is looking good so far.
I will be happy to share my un-named mint and my chocolate mint with you, also bee-balm if that can be used in any products. I will have to look around my garden to see if there are other things that might interest you. I grow lots of roses. Maybe some of the rose petals would be useful for some ideas that you might be able to share with me.
Let me hear from you. Just email me if you want. Folks might get bored with our idea exchanges after a bit. LOL
By the way, you will absolutely love it her at DG. The members are the greatest people on earth....no exageration!!!!