Cleaning lavender buds
You've harvested and dried your lavender and are looking forward to the many sachets your will make to give as gifts or the lavender recipes you will try...but how do you get from a bouquet of dried lavender to the clean, vibrant buds that you see in lavender products?
Well here's how this lavender farmer does it:
First of all, what exactly are we cleaning? Are lavender buds actually seeds?
The buds you are cleaning are the calyx of the flower, that is, the protective layer from which the lavender flower emerges. In angustifolia lavenders the seed forms within the flower, so there might be a lavender seed within the calyx, but in lavandins, because they a hybrid, there will be no seeds.
Why do I need to clean lavender buds before I use them?
After you have debudded your lavender bunches, you will notice leaves, chaff, and dust mixed in with the buds, making the whole thing look a bit dusty and messy. Cleaning gets rid of all that stuff and allows your beautiful buds to be their best selves.
What tools do I need?
Large farms with hundreds or thousands of bunches to debud sometimes use a very effective machine that strips and sifts the buds in minutes. I use a wire colander basket (see photo above), a bowl, my fingers, and a little help from mother nature. There are also seed sifting trays that can be very effective with different sizes of mesh that get rid of different sized particles.
How many times should I clean the lavender buds?
I clean my buds in three stages. First I pick out as much of the big stuff as I can. Next I sift with my colander, which will get rid of a lot of the dust and chaff, continuing to remove leaves and stems as I see them. And finally, I wait for a slightly breezy day and then pour the buds from my colander to a large bowl, allowing mother nature to blow away any lingering dust or chaff. This last step is especially crucial if you are using the buds for your culinary creations.
At this point, your buds are ready to use in all of your creations! Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or ziploc bag, away from light, and will last a year or more.
You've harvested and dried your lavender and are looking forward to the many sachets your will make to give as gifts or the lavender recipes you will try...but how do you get from a bouquet of dried lavender to the clean, vibrant buds that you see in lavender products?
Well here's how this lavender farmer does it:
First of all, what exactly are we cleaning? Are lavender buds actually seeds?
The buds you are cleaning are the calyx of the flower, that is, the protective layer from which the lavender flower emerges. In angustifolia lavenders the seed forms within the flower, so there might be a lavender seed within the calyx, but in lavandins, because they a hybrid, there will be no seeds.
Why do I need to clean lavender buds before I use them?
After you have debudded your lavender bunches, you will notice leaves, chaff, and dust mixed in with the buds, making the whole thing look a bit dusty and messy. Cleaning gets rid of all that stuff and allows your beautiful buds to be their best selves.
What tools do I need?
Large farms with hundreds or thousands of bunches to debud sometimes use a very effective machine that strips and sifts the buds in minutes. I use a wire colander basket (see photo above), a bowl, my fingers, and a little help from mother nature. There are also seed sifting trays that can be very effective with different sizes of mesh that get rid of different sized particles.
How many times should I clean the lavender buds?
I clean my buds in three stages. First I pick out as much of the big stuff as I can. Next I sift with my colander, which will get rid of a lot of the dust and chaff, continuing to remove leaves and stems as I see them. And finally, I wait for a slightly breezy day and then pour the buds from my colander to a large bowl, allowing mother nature to blow away any lingering dust or chaff. This last step is especially crucial if you are using the buds for your culinary creations.
At this point, your buds are ready to use in all of your creations! Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or ziploc bag, away from light, and will last a year or more.