Valentine’s Day Around the Corner!

As the months fly by, Valentine’s Day is quickly coming up, and all of us at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm know there are plenty of fun date spots in Santa Barbara County, well look know further then here at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm!

While the lavender is not yet in bloom, some of our seasonal flowers are starting to sprout, with our Anemones, Italian Ranunculus, and daffodils, so stopping by for a farm tour and picking up a bouquet might be the perfect daytime outing with your sweetheart! See you soon and hope you have a happy Valentine’s Day!

What a Wet Winter We’ve Had!

Oh boy have we had a rainy winter in Santa Barbara County! A little more then 15 inches collected in our rain gauge this month so far, today at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm it'd looking really nice, we’ve done some weedi g and some the Lupin we’ve thrown around thr property is starting to bloom! 💖

Even though itclooks clear now, forecasts predict tain tomorrow, so be sure to stop by the farmstand to pick up your lavender goodies before the rain comes! Don't worry if you can't make it today though. We'll be open tomorrow or you can beat the rain and order from our online store here.

We Apologize for the Inconvenience

Looks like there is good news and bad news this week at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm. The good news, California is no longer in a drought! The bad news? This weekend we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm have decided to keep the farmstand closed this weekend due to potential mud slide warnings in Santa Barbara county. Stay safe and warm out there everyone, and remember if you are in dire need for anything in the farmstand, order online to have your bit of the farm shipped to you!

And The Rain Came Down...

Oh wow, did we have an eventful start of the week at Santa RIta Hills Lavender Farm! Santa Barbara county was hit by a deluge of rain, and boy did we ever need it!

The week before we received 4.5”, but not to be outdone, this recent storm gave us 5.5” on top of that! Thankfully the damage we sustained was minimal, the gale force winds did most of the extrior damage, adn even then it was a few knocked over tables and chairs, our surveyor was checking the extent of the damage afterwards.

Unfortunately some of the local residents were rained out of their homes, but we were able to safely relocate everyone!

The house and the farmstand however held fast against the rain, so hopefully our next storm will be less disruptive, but cant control what Mother Nature decides to dish out! Hope that everyone stayed safe and dry in this recent storm, and wish that everyone continues as such with the next storm due to arrive this weekend!

Taking a Break

Every once in a while, we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm need to take a step back and recharge our batteries ,after all its hard work keeping the farmstand pretty and well stoked. So we made a decision to take a little post holiday break and went to check out the light show at the Santa Barbara Zoo, and all we can say is wow!

It was pretty amazing going into Santa Barbara County and seeing these balloons of all the differnet animals ! Here is another shot of the main light setup.

Look at those otters! Pretty sure you can probably see more of those in the daytime near Santa Barbara harbor!

These light alomola were pretty wild too! These are just some of the pictures we took, due to the fact the Santa Barbara Zoo light display is only at night the pictures don't do the displays justice, so be sure to get your tickets to the Santa Barbara County Zoo Light show here! And be sure to come and check out Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm when you are in the Santa Barbara County area!

Winter Plantings!

Santa Rita Hills Lavender is always looking to add a little more color to Santa Barbara County, so we have taken some time from working around the farmstand and have started our Italian Ranunculus for Valentine’s Day!

These may look like little octopuses, but they are actually baby Ranunculus! These are called corbs and are each one ranunculus plant. They usually come in packs of about 250, depending on where you get them from. Once you get your corbs, you first have to soak them in water, a couple of hours is best. Once they swell to about double the size, you transfer the corbs onto a planting tray with moist soil to begin pre-sprouting.

Pre-soaking your Ranunculus is important because if you can go ahead and plant them now after soaking you will have very poor results. You pre sprout your corbs by placing them tentacles facing the dirt like it’s shown in the picture below. Once you have arranged your corbs, you then cover them with more moist soil and watch them until you begin to see sprouts popping above the soil. Spray the soil periodically to keep it moist, checking on them every couple of days to make sure they stay nice and moist.

Once they begin to sprout, you need to do some trenching! Make your trench about 3 inches deep, and then place a sprouted corb at each emitter point on your water line, our were 9” spacing so that's how we spaced them.

And that is how you start your Ranunculus! With Santa Rita Hills Lavender Hills Lavender Farm’s next planting blog, we will show you how our sprouts we've planted are doing.We hope this post was a good starting place for your own planting experience!

Product Highlight: Wineglass

One of the things we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm love about Santa Barbara County is all the amazing wineries to be found, so why not enjoy one of your favorite Santa Barbara Wines in a wine glass from Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm?

Our wine glass are engraved and are dishwasher safe, and if you like the wine glass but would love a little aromatherapy to brighten your day, try out one of wine glasses with our handcrafted lavender candles! They smell phenomenal and look fantastic, you can check them out at our farmstand, or you can check them out here on our website.

As always, we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm strive to continue to provide our guests with some of the best gifts for your friends and loved ones in the Santa Barbara area!

Lavender Lemonade Recipe!

At Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm, we are asked all the time about what sort of recipes work with the culinary lavender products we carry. Since its been a pretty frequent question we’ve been asked at the farmstand and at the Holiday Lights Festival at the Santa Ynez Botanical Garden, we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm thought it would be best to show off one of oure favorite recipes, Lavender Lemonade!

10 cups Water

1 cup     Dried Culinary Lavender Buds

3 cups   Lemon Juice (about 15 lemons)

4 cups   Sugar

Boil water, add lavender buds to a heat safe bowl, pour 3 cups of boiling water over the lavender buds and let sit for 30 minutes to extract lavender essence. (water will turn blue)

Boil more water, add sugar to a large measuring cup or bowl then pour 3 cups of boiling water into sugar and stir until dissolved.

Juice lemons.

Pour Into your large serving container sugar water, lemon juice. Stir. 

Strain lavender water and pour into the container.

Mix together and taste. Add ice to drink immediately 

 or chill before serving and stir and add water to taste.

And Voila! Lavender Lemonade! now you too can make Lavender Lemonade, or spice it up with a little vodka to make our signature Lavender Lemonade cocktail, recipe here. Also,dont forget to pick up your Culinary Lavender products at our farmstand or at select retail and the Holiday Lights Festival this weekend at the Santa Ynez Botanical Garden.

What a Wonderful Festival!

This weekend Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm is hitting the road again, this time we’ve set up the farmstand at the Santa Ynez Botanical Garden Holiday Lights Festival, and wow did the volunteers set up a great display!

The lights in the awning sparkled very nicely, and the snow machines made all the kids really happy (some were running around barefoot, kids!)

The fog machine set up they did with the lights added an amazing ambience.

And this sea of purple? Stunning to say the least!

All in all, the scenery was definitely on point, the reindeer were a great touch!

And what cold winter night isn’t complete without marshmallows roasting on a open fire! They set up the fire pits for the kids , and they loved it! We will be coming tonight as well to set up the mobile farmstand, be sure to stop by and say hi if you got tickets!

Now Serving… Walnut and Grapeseed Oil!

In our never ending quest to provide all who visit Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm with new and exciting goodies, we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm are proud to present two new additions to our farmstand, Walnut Oil and Grapeseed Oil!

The Walnut Oil is both savory and luscious, try it on a salad or drizzled over your finished meal to add a great nutty infusion to your meal, this oil with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid which keep you feeling healthy and your brain sharp!

The Grapeseed Oil on the other hand is an amazing cooking oil, virtually odorless and tasteless, it is the perfect substitute for olive oil and helps to keep your skin smooth and your body feeling younger! Be sure to check out all our items at the farmstand or here on the site, or come and visit us at the Santa Ynez Botanical Garden during the Holiday Lights Festival December 16-17th!

For this special occasion we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm have extended our hours, we will be open Dec. 10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th from 11am-2pm and will be open Dec. 19th-24th from 11am 4pm for last minute holiday shopping. Finally for the new year's season we will be open from Dec. 28th- 31st from 11am-4pm, we hope to bring in the new year and enjoy the holidays with us at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm!

Introducing…Tea Towels and Aprons!

Not to be outdone by our Pomegranate jelly, we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm are happy to introduce to you another showcase of new products we are offering online or at the farmstand…A lavender Tea Towel and embroidered apron!

Handcrafted in France, we love the way this Tea Towel looks, while the apron is hand embroidered in France, both have a beautiful and amazing quality to them.

Be sure to purchase them here at the farmstand or online now to support small local businesses!

Shop Local Saturday!

Everyone at Santa Rita Hills Lavender hopes you had a great Thanksgiving with all of your loved ones, that being said, we also hope you haven’t spent all your money on gifts for Black Friday, since this Saturday is Shop Small Business Saturday! All of the small local businesses in Lompoc are participating and its a great oppurtunity to check out all of the amazing local businesses in Lompoc!

Be sure to stop by A Little Something Special and More in Lompoc to check out all the products we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm are offering in town, this month we are highlighting our Pomegranate Jelly and our Lavender Candles, both made right here in Santa Barbara county. Come check them out in town or stop by the farmstand over the weekend.

Introducing…Lavender Candles!

Boy do we have a treat for you today! We at Santa Rita Hills Lavender we’re thinking, what can we add to our product line that might complement what we are already selling in the farmstand? So we went online and learned how to make candles! They smell amazing and are pretty easy to make, here’s how we did it!

First, we take the wicks and stick them to the bottom of the containers where we will be pouring our wax into.

Next we heat the wax in a double boiler, waiting until it reads at 160 degrees. Here you can see as the wax melts as it gets up to temperature.

Once the wax is fully melted, we then wait for it to cool down to 130 degrees so as not to burn off the essential oil before it mixes in the wax. Once it cools, slowly add in the lavender essential oil, mixing it as it is poured.

With the essential oil infused into the wax, now we take the liquid candle and pour it into the containers with the wicks.

Now we play the waiting game… In order to add the rhinestones onto the candle the wax needs to solidify, once it has gained some rigidity you can now add on your rhinestones for a splash of color.

And voila! Lavender candles ready to purchase! Don’t miss out on getting one for the holiday season, there either in the farmstand or in our online store, get your today!

Rain Day Means a Day Off!

This week at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm off to a wet and cold start, it’s raining!?! What’s going on, it never rains in California!

With the rain comes a day off from working around the farmstand, so we decided to do some work indoors, starting with taking advantage of all the eggs we gathered this weekend by making some homemade eggnog, yum yum yum!

This batch we made was non alcoholic, but you can spice your eggnog up however you like. We love this recipe we found online, of course we used our farm fresh eggs, get them on the weekends from our farmstand!

Cheers to You!

As we get closer to the holidays, we at Santa Rita Hills Lavender Farm would like to propose a toast to all those who have supported our farmstand this year, here’s what we’re drinking tonight, a Pomacello Martini , tons of flavor and tons of fun to make! The ingredients are pretty simple, just pomegranate juice, limoncello liqueur, vodka, and fresh lemon!

We try to do as much as we can with local ingredients, the pomegranates and the lemons were from our trees and the limoncello is from a local distilllery out of Buellton, DorWood. All you need to do make this drink is pour the pomegranate juice, limoncello, and the vodka into a cocktail shaker over ice, then shake vigorously. Then you strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a slice of lemon, so good, you should try it for yourself!