FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT LAVENDER CULTIVATION
1- HOW TO PLANT LAVENDER SEEDLING IN THE SOIL?
Depending on demand, lavender seedlings can be planted by hand or machine. The size of the land to be planted with lavender is important in manual planting, as the land grows, the number of workers to work during planting will also increase. With the machine planting, an average of 20,000 to 25,000 seedlings are planted in a day. The number of workers required for a lavender planting machine is 10 people. Below is the picture of the lavender planter.
2-SHOULD WE GIVE LIFE WATER AFTER LAVENDER PLANTING?
Like every plant, lavender seedlings need to be given life water after planting in the soil, you need to bring a water tanker according to the size of the land to do this.
3- WHAT SHOULD WE CONSIDER WHEN PLACING THE LAVENDER SEEDLING INTO THE SOIL?
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The roots of lavender seedlings need to be shaved before they are planted in the ground.
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After the lavender seedlings are planted in the soil, the soil should be pulled to the root area and the seedlings should be tightened with the help of a foot. If this is not done, the plant roots will dry the plant by taking air.
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The top and row spacing of lavender seedlings should be constantly checked while planting the seedlings.
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After the first rain falls on the lavender field, land control will be carried out and the seedlings lying under the effect of the falling rain water must be corrected.
4-WHICH MAINTENANCE HOW IS DONE IN LAVENDER FIELD?
The maintenance to be done in the lavender field is as follows;
4.1. OTHER CARE
With the increase of the air temperature in April, the effectiveness of weeds in the field will increase, no chemical fight should be made against weeds in the lavender field, the mechanical hand hoe should hoe the rows (35 to 40 cm intervals) and pull the soil into the throats of the plants. The aysan, which will be attached to the back of the tractor, is cleaned with rows of hoeing or goose feet equipment. Before this process, the intervals of the equipment to be used must be adjusted according to lavender. Below are pictures of aysan (Picture 1), row hoeing (Picture 2) and crow's feet (Picture 3) equipment.
Purchasing a row tiller in 30 decares and above land saves you time and money and reduces your dependency on workers.
4.2. PLANT NUTRITION
Depending on the plant's request, nitrogen and phosphorus-weighted inorganic liquid fertilizer or liquid worm manure with high organic matter content can be disposed as top leaf fertilizer.
Base fertilizer can also be discarded by looking at the soil analysis.
4.3 IRRIGATION
Lavender is a thirst-resistant plant. Irrigation will be necessary if the weather is dry during the summer months in the first year of planting. In the following years, irrigation can be done optionally.
5-IN HOW MANY YEARS DO LAVENDER BEGIN TO YEAR?
Lavender gives an average of 10% yield in the first year, this yield is around 50% in the second year, and 100% yield is reached in the third year and in the following years.
6- HOW MANY KILOGRAM OF FLOWERS CAN BE OBTAINED FROM 1 DECAR?
At the end of the 3rd year, an average of 600 kg of fresh flowers are obtained from 1 decare.
7- HOW MANY KILOGRAM OF OIL CAN BE OBTAINED FROM 1 DEKAR LAND?
An average of 6 to 8 kilograms of oil is obtained from 1 decare of well-maintained land. This is not the case in poorly maintained lands.
8- HOW SHOULD THE SOIL STRUCTURE OF THE LAVENDER GROWING LAND?
It is important that the soil structure is loam. The ph balance should be between 6 and 7.5.
9- WHEN IS LAVENDER TO BE PLANTED?
The best choice for planting lavender seedlings in the soil is in November, after the frost has fallen. It can be planted in March and April except November, but while 5% loss is lost in the lavender seedlings planted in November, this rate rises up to 15% in March and April.
10- HOW TO HARVEST LAVENDER?
Lavender harvesting should be done with scissors in the first and second years, and in the following years, it is done with a gasoline hedge trimmer (Picture 4).
11-WHEN IS THE LAVENDER HARVEST DONE?
The lavender harvest is harvested within a 1-month period from the end of June until the end of July, with 80% of the lavender flowers blooming. The reason for the 1-month period is the difference in the region where it is grown and the climate. The lavender harvest is done at the end of June in some places and in the middle of July in some places.
12-WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE HARVEST OF LAVENDER?
Lavender harvesting should be done in sunny weather at the hottest moment of the day, it should not be harvested if the weather is overcast, and if the weather is rainy, the harvest should be delayed for at least 2 days. For this, when it comes to harvest time, the weather should be closely monitored.
If the harvested lavender flowers are to be distilled during the day as wet, they should be taken to the distillation boiler without leaving them under the sun.If the harvested lavender flowers are to be distilled dry, they should be kept under appropriate drying conditions for proper drying conditions.
Certainly, your lavender field should be weed cleaned before harvesting.