AGRICULTURAL
FARMING REQUIREMENTS
Hectares needed to be financially
viable: With 0.5 hectare of land, small
producers can aim at high quality, value
added markets for essential oil and flower
production to get the most profit from
lavender farming.
Yield per hectare: True Lavender yields
8 to 30kg, Lavandin 40 to 220 kg essen-
tial oil.
Most suitable cultivars: English
Lavender, Lavandin and Spika.
Climate Requirements: Lavender tole
rates moderate frost and drought and
requires full sun, with 300-1400 mm of
rain per year.
Soil requirements: Well-drained, light,
sandy soil, pH should be between 5.8
and 8.3 and have low fertility.
Soil preparation: Organic soil prepara-
tion practices are encouraged. Plant on
raised beds.
Irrigation: Irrigation is needed for the first
one to two years until the crop is stable.
Plants must not be water stressed at
flower initiation. Irrigation may increase
production in mature plantings. Overhead
irrigation will increase disease problems
and will cause older plants to break open
in the middle. Drip irrigation is recom-
mended as it will also assist with weed
control.
Fertilisation: Lavender needs little to no
fertilisation. Lavender is famous for grow-
ing well in low nutrient soil. However,
commercial organic lavender growers
often add 8-10 tons of well-rotted manure
per hectare well before they transplant
the young plants. Then, every 2-3
years, they add 5-6 tons of manure per
hectare, most often during the autumn.
They cultivate carefully so that they will
not hurt the roots and irrigate well after
every manure application, if there are no
autumn rainfalls. Slow release organic
fertilisers are also commonly used.
SENWES SCENARIO | AUTUMN 2018
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