Good Morning! Today is an exciting day for me. I am taking the first step in making a really huge dream become reality.

Several months ago, while I was processing the fact that I would be single and needing to make a living, my little sister called me. She said she had an idea for me and was thinking I should plant lavender on my ranch. Not a couple of little plants in pots, but actually plant a lavender farm. It was so odd, because the minute she said it, I knew she was 100% right. It felt like the most comfortable shoe try-on ever. I didn’t even think twice! I just agreed!

I feel like the best advice she gave me was to only plant lavender and master it. So, all being said and done, I am going to become a lavender farmer. At the very least, I’m going to try.

I’m actually mentally planning on failing miserably. That way any success will be a huge success! The first year will be the planting of a small field, and trial and error of irrigation techniques. There is so much to learn. Thank goodness it’s one of the easiest plants to grow and master. However, I can’t even keep a house plant alive well.

I live in the Carson Valley and just so happen to have found myself around two of the best farmers in the valley. Both of them have been helping me figure out and brainstorm soil prep, testing, amending, and irrigation. All of my problems are not solved yet, but I know way more now than I did a few months ago.

Anyway, here we go, back to the first sentence. The reason it’s an exciting day for me is because my first field is being torn up! Next up is disking. My next step will be to have someone come test the PH of my soil and add whatever amending is required. After that, I’ll have the mounds built up and covered in fabric. Then, ordering the plants and planting them all!

Seems sort of fun, but mostly scary and unknown. I’m still very excited, and my goal is to have the alfalfa pasture completely transitioned to Lavender within the next 5 years.

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A little secret- I’ve always hated the smell of lavender. Seriously! I’ve spent the last several months, courting and romancing lavender to see if I could fall in love with it. You know what? I have. I have lavender pictures everywhere on my phone and watch. I wash with lavender soap everyday, and I fall asleep to the defuser putting out lavender oil every night. It was an easy lover to fall for, and I totally have.

For the remainder of the year I have a few goals to meet:

I need to complete the inside of the house renovation. Next, I have to complete my research and make the changes that will be required, like purchasing more underground water rights or figuring out what I need to do to be able to irrigate the way I want. Then come all the things like finding a graphic artist to design our logo and brand. And finally, I need to really start blogging more and posting to social media so you can all follow along to watch this crazy process. Knowing you’re there rooting for me or even just watching, helps me stay motivated and accountable to all the hard work.

We’ll talk later about the logo and what I want it to look like, but for now I’ll leave you to imagine what will be happing here at the Lavender Rabbit Farm!