Method timeline

How a season of lavender work actually unfolds

The practices on this page are not a fixed calendar. They are the order most members settle into after a few seasons, with the dates shifting by zone, altitude, and how late the frost arrives. Below is the sequence we keep coming back to in the method threads.

  1. Late winter Feb – Mar

    Soil and drainage checks before anything goes in

    Members test limestone ground with a simple jar and pH strip, then dig a shallow pit to watch how water sits after rain. On heavy clay, the usual fix is a raised row with grit worked into the top layer. Threads from wet springs are worth reading before you commit a plot.

  2. Early spring Mar – Apr

    Planting spacing and variety choices

    Narrow-leaf types go in tighter, hybrids need more room to open up, and French lavender asks for the warmest corner you have. Members post their row distances and come back two seasons later to say whether they would change them. That follow-up is the part that matters.

  3. Late spring Apr – May

    Weed control between established plants

    Mulch, hand cultivation, and mowing the alleys each have their defenders. The honest reports mention what failed: straw that held damp, fabric that shifted, and hoeing too close to shallow roots. Row management notes are collected by soil type.

  4. Summer Jun – Jul

    Cutting, bundle drying, and shaping pruning

    Cutting dates get logged by region so others can compare. Bundles are tied loose, hung in shade with moving air, and left until stems snap. Shaping pruning follows flowering, and the timing arguments in those threads are long, specific, and useful.

  5. Autumn Sep – Nov

    Propagation by cuttings and small-scale distillation

    Healthy shoots are taken from this year's growth, rooted in free-draining mix, and hardened before field planting. Distillation runs are posted with batch size, steam time, and oil yield per hectare as members actually measured it, not as a brochure claims.

What the method library actually gives you

Each entry is written by growers who worked the same ground for several seasons. You get the sequence, the timing, and the point where things usually go wrong, not a summary of what lavender is.

Lavender Field method

Soil and drainage decisions first

Test your limestone ground for pH and depth before ordering plants. On heavy clay, the method notes cover raised rows and the slope angle that keeps roots dry through winter.

Spacing matched to variety

Narrow-leaf, hybrid, and French lavender do not want the same distance between plants. The library lists the spacing members settled on after watching airflow and weed pressure for three cuts.

Pruning after flowering, not before

Shaping pruning is timed to wood ripening, with notes on how much green growth to leave so plants survive a late frost instead of being cut back into old wood.

Weed control between rows

Mulching, hand cultivation, and row management are compared by labor cost and how they affect the root zone. Members report what held up on stony ground where a hoe is useless.

Cuttings that survive the field

Selection of healthy shoots, rooting conditions, and hardening before planting out. The steps are written for small nurseries working without heated benches.

Drying and small-batch distillation

Bundle size, airflow, and shade for drying, then batch size and steam time for a small still. Yield per hectare is reported as members measured it, with the caveats attached.

Every method links to the thread where growers compared results. Start with the resource notes or read how the forum itself is run on the about page.

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