How & Why | Growing Lavender From Seed

Lavender is so beneficial to have in your garden, even before you have flowers to harvest! Lavender, along with many other fragrant herbs, help to deter pests from entering your garden. I look forward to talking to you more about companion planting in the future!
Today we’re going to be learning how to care for & plant lavender in your garden from seed at home.
Planting from seeds is great because you can get so many plants for just cents on the dollar, if you know how to successfully do that. I didn’t at first, I have tried so many different ways for years and this is FINALLY a method that WORKED for me! So, here we go...
Full Instructional Video Link: https://youtu.be/1eJAN79_G4s

Supplies

• germinated lavender seeds
• empty egg cartons
• seed starting soil
• scissors
• spoon
• plastic greenhouse
• spray bottle
• water

TO GERMINATE SEEDS:

I germinated my lavender seeds in an upside-down salad mix container.

First, the seeds were placed on a moistened paper towel

and placed inside my makeshift green house.

I then left the moistened seeds in my refrigerator for about a month.

When they were ready, I placed the seeds in a sunny window.

It took about two weeks to begin producing little lavender starts. 

You can place your container filled with seeds back into the sunny window to see if you can get any more starts, if you like. 

TO TRANSPLANT STARTS:

Fill the empty egg cartons with seed starting soil or compost; if you have it.
You'll need the back of a spoon to gently pick up the germinated lavender starts
You'll want to pick out the starts with leaves on them and transfer only those to the seed starting soil you've prepared in your egg cartons. I like to always pre-soak my soil before transplanting anything or even before seed-starting.

Now, Use the back of your spoon to gently pick up your little lavender start (it can be a little tricky) and carefully place it into a little pencil-tip sized hole in your seed starting soil.
Then, gently mist the area around your newly planted start to ensure the soil is plenty moist.
Go ahead and repeat this process for all of your starts, placing each start into it's own individual pocket of soil.

Once you've planted all of the available starts, go ahead and place your egg carton planters into whatever kind of 'greenhouse' type thing you can find around the house. I used plastic take-out containers with clear tops.

Upside down tupperware also works great. Or clear storage boxes. I even have this cupcake carrier that I sometimes use- since I never make cupcakes anymore.
Get creative, have fun with it! That's what gardening is all about.
There is plenty of room for creativity. Whatever you decide to use place it in a sunny window in your home and make sure the soil stays damp.
You should see significant growth within a few weeks to a month. Once your starts have at least 4-6 leaves you can transplant them into larger pots. Keep them in a sunny window or under a florescent light until they are about 6" tall. This can take several months, so be patient and don't forget to water them. Once they reach maturity you can begin to harden them off outside by placing them in a shaded area in the afternoon, and bringing them back indoors at night.
Once your plants are nice and hardy, they're ready to place in the ground. Dig a hole twice the size of the rootball and place your plant inside the hole. Water the plant roots before filling the area around your plant with fresh compost. Lavender likes to live in an area with direct sunlight, and once your plants are well established, they do like to dry out slightly before watering.
Established Lavender is very hardy in most regions and will help keep pests of your garden.

TO HARVEST THE LAVENDER FLOWERS:

Harvest the flowers for use before they have bloomed. It's best to harvest most things from your garden early in the morning before the heat of the day. Lavender is no exception.
To dry your lavender, tie it together  in small bunches and hang upside down in a cool dry place.
Once the buds have fully dried, they should fall right of the stems. If they don't- the lavender may need to dry a while longer.


Until then, thank you so much for reading this long winded post about producing lavender! I really enjoy sharing this kind of content with you guys, it means a lot to me. You can help me spread the love by sharing this article with a friend who might enjoy it!
Feel free to reach out to me on instagram and let me know how this goes if you decide to give it a go. You can find me @maeleighmoon on Instagram and all other social medias.
If you’d like to request a blog topic, or if you're a fellow creator who might like to collaborate with me on an exclusive feature, feel free to shoot me an e-mail: maeleighmoon@gmail.com
Let me know if this tutorial inspired you to dig into your garden! Tell me all about what your planting this year in the comments down below--- I can't wait to hear how you're transforming your backyards, patios or where ever you decide to grow!

Full Instructional Video Link: https://youtu.be/1eJAN79_G4s

Stay healthy, stay safe!

Get to know the Author:
Maeleigh Moon is Stay-at-Home Mother of One, with her two pets and loving husband in a Suburb of Philadelphia
DIY Crafting Extraordinaire & Homestead Gardener