🌿 Preparing Lavender for Its Next Chapter
At Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm, every step in the process of transforming lavender from field to essential oil is handled with care — and one of the most important steps is debudding.
After harvest, our lavender is carefully hung to dry. This takes about two weeks, allowing the stems and flowers to lose just enough moisture to be ready for processing.
🛠️ Commercial Lavender Debudding
Once the lavender is properly dried, we use a commercial lavender debudder — a specialized piece of equipment designed to gently remove the dried buds from the harvested stems. This step is crucial, as the buds are where the essential oils are concentrated.
As the lavender passes through the debudder, it is also cleaned of dust or dirt that may have settled on the plant during its time in the field. The result: clean, fragrant buds that are ready for distillation.
📦 Storing for Distillation
After debudding, the lavender buds are stored in 50-gallon bins until they are ready for the next stage of production. These bins keep the lavender safe, dry, and fragrant, holding the harvest in perfect condition until we begin the distillation process.
💧 From Buds to Bottles
This is one of the many behind-the-scenes steps that ensures the lavender essential oils and hydrosols you love are of the highest quality. Each phase — from drying to debudding to distilling — plays a role in creating products that carry the true scent and spirit of the lavender field.
💜 Thank you for following along with our process — we love sharing the journey from plant to product with you. Stay tuned for more updates as we move into distillation season!