If you have herbs in your garden, now is the time to start thinking about winter.

Harvest what you think you will need for the colder months and dry it now while the plants are fresh and full of flavour. It is best to harvest in the heat of the afternoon to have the highest amount of beneficial oils. However anytime of day is still good.

📷 by Emily Rozema

​We try to use our dried herbs within one year of harvest. Dried herbs do not suddenly go bad after a year, but their flavour, aroma and quality diminish over time.
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This is one of the reasons our Mingle Hill spice blends and loose leaf teas are so potent and flavourful. We grow and harvest our herbs here on the farm and use them within one year.

📷 by Emily Rozema

With many grocery store spices, you simply don't know when the plant was actually harvested.

​In Canada, shelf stable foods that last longer than 90 days generally do not require a best before date. That means the jar may tell you very little about the actual age of the herbs or spices inside.

Drying herbs at home is incredibly simple.

Gather your herbs into small bundles and place an elastic around the stems. Take a paperclip, open it up and use it as a little hook to hang the bundle upside down.

Hang your herbs in a cool, dry, dark place with good airflow. A spot in your kitchen or large pantry away from a sunny window can work well.

Sunlight can break down the colour, aroma and quality of dried herbs, so keeping them away from direct light is important.

Most bundles will take around two weeks to fully dry, depending on the herb, humidity and size of the bundle.

The most important part is making sure they are completely dry before putting them into a jar. Any moisture left in the plant can encourage mold.

If you aren't quite sure they are dry enough, you can finish them in a dehydrator on a low setting. A dehydrator is also a great way to speed up the entire process.

Once completely dry, remove the leaves from the stems and store them in a clean glass jar in your spice cupboard, away from heat and sunlight.

Then enjoy your own homegrown herbs all winter.
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Use them individually for cooking, make herbal tea, or start experimenting and create your own custom spice blends.

📷 by Emily Rozema

Homegrown dried herbs and homemade spice blends make brilliant Christmas gifts.

A little glass jar, a handwritten label and herbs you grew yourself.
Simple, useful and actually made by you.
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There is something pretty satisfying about opening a jar in January and smelling the herbs you grew in your own garden the summer before.

📷 by Emily Rozema

Lavender Harvest and Autumn Preparation for strong winter survival

August means another lavender harvest at Mingle Hill Farm.

This time, we are harvesting Lavandula × intermedia, also known as lavandin or French lavender. This is the large lavender plant you may recognize in your garden by its long flower stems and strong fragrance.

We grow our French lavender mainly for essential oil. The timing of the harvest is very important. We wait until the plants have passed their peak bloom, the flowers are beginning to fade and the bees are no longer visiting as often. We harvest before the plants begin producing seed.
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Harvesting too early or too late can affect both the amount and quality of the essential oil. Ontario growing guidance recommends harvesting lavender for essential oil after peak flowering.

Harvesting English Lavender

Our English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, was harvested near the end of June.
English lavender is harvested much earlier, just as the first flowers begin to open. This helps preserve its beautiful colour, gentle flavour and calming aroma. It is the lavender we prefer for our teas and culinary products.

The best harvest time always depends on how the lavender will be used. Lavender for fresh bundles, dried flowers and culinary products is generally harvested near the beginning of bloom. Lavender grown for essential oil is left on the plant longer.

When to Trim Lavender in Ontario

Mid August is also an important time for lavender care.
After the flowers have been harvested, we trim our plants into tidy, rounded mounds. Annual trimming helps keep lavender compact and prevents the plants from becoming overly woody or splitting open in the centre.

Follow the flower stems down to where they rise above the leafy part of the plant. Trim the green growth into a rounded shape, removing approximately one third of this year’s growth.

Always leave healthy green leaves on the plant.

Never cut deeply into the bare, woody base. Old lavender wood may not produce new growth, and cutting too far down can permanently damage or kill the plant.
English lavender is generally more tolerant of pruning and cold Ontario winters than French lavender or lavandin. French lavender should be trimmed more carefully, with plenty of green growth left behind.

Pruning shortly after harvest gives the plants time to recover before winter arrives. Avoid waiting until late fall, as late pruning can increase the risk of winter damage in Ontario.

A little attention in August helps prepare your lavender for the cold months ahead and encourages healthier, fuller plants next summer.

Happy Lavender Growing!

A very common questions I get is what kind should I buy, and my answer is always, English Lavender.  "French" or  professionally named X intermedia is that traditional smell that most people say remind them of France.  

But do you know what France climate is? Mediterranean.  Do you know what climate Ontario is? Crap. Our winters are harsh and some years we have seen a drop of -25 celsius after a rain storm.  Why do we live in a place where the air hurts our face? The "French" Lavender have the same thought and would rather not participate.   

But if you are stubborn like we are, there are some ways to attempt to prevent all that drama in the spring.  We cover with biodegradable plastic bags.  We cut a hole in the corner of the bags for airflow and tie the handles around the base.  Most lavender farms use tarps that may or may not work better.   Being in the windiest location in Southern Ontario (which is why we have the windmills behind us), we do not have the luxury to attempt tarps unless we want to spend our days chasing them.  

With that said, English Lavender is beautiful and the colour of the flower is bluer and much prettier than the "French".  It is a smaller plant and their are many kinds.  Folgate is our favourite with a second to Royal Velvet.  There are so many to choose from, but whatever you do, do not buy the Spanish Lavender.  Nothing against the Spanish, that is for another post.  

There are so many types of lavender, and with that different types of purning.  If you know what kind of lavender plant you have it will make it easier. 
However a general homeowner plant should be pruned twice.  Start in the spring in late May or early June before any buds show on your plants.  With a pair of sharp clippers, trim the tops of the plant that are soft leaves only.  You do not want to cut into the woody part of the plant.  Shape your lavender plant like a round soccer ball if you can.   

The second time to trim your lavender and the most important time is in the late summer, end of August.  Trim off all the flowering stems.  This will protect your lavender plant over the winter and put energy into the roots for regrowth the following year.