PA receives SARE grant proposal funding

Peaceful Acres is pleased to announce that our grant proposal has been selected for funding through the SARE-Sustainable Agricultural Research Education program!

The project we will undertake includes the planting of an additional acre of lavender at Peaceful Acres. Research will be conducted on improving growing conditions for oil-producing lavender varieties with a goal of future oil production in Ohio. Data and results will be reported to SARE over a period of two years.

Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program.

Peaceful Acres is extremely excited for the opportunity to become an official lavender research farm. This will help further our mission of providing education and being a model for sustainable agriculture.

Ice Hits Peaceful Acres

As the entire Midwest experiences serious winter weather, Peaceful Acres asks all of our supporters and friends to send warm, positive energy to our lavender fields! Lavender is not adverse to cold and snow, but ice poses a definite danger to the life of lavender plants. Lavender is a very woody plant, and the weight of the ice coupled with high winds can cause plants to split and break off.

We found our lavender plants covered in ice on Tuesday and were worried that severe wind we were to receive overnight (gusts over 40 mph) and freezing rain may cause us to lose some plants. Thankfully, however, the lavender stood strong overnight, and we didn’t receive any more ice today. At this point, we have not lost any plants and the lavender is currently holding no ice.

Peaceful Acres is committed to research on lavender care and protection. We plan to plant an additional acre of lavender this growing season and would like to experiment with low hoop housing to provide more protection for our plants during Ohio’s harsh winters. To protect your own lavender at home, Kym suggests placing a bed sheet, plastic or any other covering over your plants.

Warm yourself up this winter by visualizing yourself attending our third annual Summer Solstice Lavender Festival June 18 and 19! This will be our biggest and best event yet, and we can’t wait to share it with you! Pick your own lavender bundles, yoga in the fields, nature trails, lavender food, music, vendors, Reiki, reflexology, lavender gift shop, adult and children lavender workshops, and many more activities planned! Mark your calendars now and spread the word to friends and family!

Blink your eyes and the season is so far...

I was just realizing that the last blog I posted was many months ago, and if anyone farms at all, you know why I have not had any time to catch anyone up on our happenings here!
The sounds as I woke up this morning and headed to the field were as beautiful as ever,the birds were loving the morning as well! The sun so warm and welcoming on my face, the breeze so cool and refreshing the butterflies all doing their dance. We all need to take time to open our eyes, and soak these moments into our roots so they are always there hidden somewhere when the beauty is not so present.

With all of that said, Market season has been in full swing! Wednesday I am in Wilmington which is new to me this year, has been pretty good (and so close), Thursdays is Lebanon, Saturday is West Chester. So far this week has been extremely slow at the markets. I am not sure where everyone has been but I hope we all pick up again. Our Lavender field day was so amazing, and we got to see so many wonderful people!!
I made the first round of Lavender harvesting in the whole acre, which lucky does not all happen at the exact same time! I have many almost ready for harvesting again, but this year has been much different than before. Still just waiting for the next big bloom to take over all of my being and all of my senses! Although, waiting is not a good word for it as we have added the half acre of produce this year! There is no waiting involved in that, it is constant harvesting going on with that. So many tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes (which are a fun treasure hunt until you get down 30 foot of them, then it is just tiring!) Taking on the challenges of slow markets and a ton of produce has made my head spin and think of all possible canning creations, which I plan to take on in a few days! That will be a new adventure to me so I may update on how that goes.. We had a very scary discovery in our large tomatoes also, we had total destruction, something eating away the whole tomato! hollowed them out, every single ripe one of them. We were on a major solution search thinking it was a horn worm problem.. man we must have had a million of them! Long story short, smarty pants, our oldest chicken was leading an escape from the coop on a tomato feast!!! We normally let them free roam the whole farm, but looks like we can not allow that until after harvest season any more!!

I have added a few new products, a new ylang-ylang cinnamon lotion, and liquid soap. I have been working on many "dream enhancers" which are kind of a dream catcher concept but I want them to help you process the dream not catch it..
The amazing beauty in the field we let go wild is such a reassurance to me of how amazingly planned out our life is and how it all works the exact way it should. All season the wild flowers and the native plants create a colorful landscape that I could have never planned so perfectly. All of the birds and butterfly's really enjoy it too. I love watching them, I am such a kid some days though, and will really be focused on harvesting lavender or produce, and a beautiful bird or butterfly is caught in my eye..with camera always on hand I quickly take off after it, chasing them around a few rows, get distracted by something else, take more pictures...

Even the barn swallows I was so worried about early spring have become a love of mine, and I can see how beautiful they are. The other birds seem to be holding their own much better this year and Peaceful Acres seems very harmonious..Even the thistle make such a beautiful purple poof flower that is fun to put into the kids sachets they make here. So If you have not come to visit us yet we would love to have you come and share the amazing beauty with us. Keep an eye out for workshops and we always have free kids activity's. If you made it all the way to the end of this I appreciate you reading my thoughts, maybe if I can make myself take time I can make these thoughts not QUITE so long... :)Wishing you a beautiful day! ~Peace Love and Lavender~ Kym

The Return of the Bird Song in the Field

I was taking my daily walk out to the fields today, It was a little cooler today than it has been. The sky pretty overcast, letting us know that at any moment it could pour down and delay some of this planting we had set on for today. I love to close my eyes as I am walking and just listen. The birds here are amazing. There are so many sweet songs that go on further than my hearing will allow me to take in. We have quite a collection of so many kinds of birds, and the melody change walking from the woods to out in the fields is like changing the channel on the radio. The fields are so full of killdeers and red-winged blackbirds right now. The song of these two alone would satisfy me fully. The red-winged black bird males love our nature field, all of the nice tall slender left over stalks from last years wildflowers make excellent standing grounds for them to perch their amazing bodies and blast out their impressive song to all of the ladies around.

The killdeer have become quite fond of our mounded lavender rows. Their little legs seem to get much more running and exercise than most birds. If you have never seen a mother bird put on the most extravagant display of distraction, you have not been close to a killdeer nest! Last year was the first time I experienced this. It was early spring and I was checking out the winter ice damage in the rows. After hearing several displays of a racket coming from a nearby bird, I was so alarmed to see that this one seemed to be severely injured. It flapped around horribly on the ground, one wing spread out and curved. “Aw! poor bird” I was already thinking of placed I could call that surely would know how to save this birds wing. I turned towards it, changed my direction and up up and away it went. Good as new. That mamma sure did distract me from the direction I was heading....straight towards its nest it had decided to make in the middle of a half dead lavender plant. That is a smart bird! Also one of my favorite to listen to may I add. Their tweeting repetitive sound, their white ringed necks, and there little slender legs make you feel like you are on the sandy ocean shore listening to a bird that would be nested in a rocky outcrop by the edge of the ocean water.

As I walked down the driveway this year I saw the same marvelous display, although I was not being tricked this time. The Earthship has now become a wonderful nesting community for them, and I am very happy to open up an apartment community for these beautiful creatures anytime.

The barn swallows have not yet returned this year. I reluctantly decided removing the mud packed nests in the barn from last year was the only direction I could go with them. Not much further in the season in 2007 they had chased out all of the red-winged black birds, killdeer, mourning doves, and any other flying creature around. Although I have a childlike passion for birds, these mean little bullies are no longer welcome on this harmonious farm. Even if they do return I believe our killdeer population has definitely outnumbered what they used to be and maybe they could work something out.

My next objective here is to help the little traveling hummingbirds find the acre of lavender yummyness. They have returned like they do every year to the trusty feeders we have in the woods. Although lavender is said to be a favorite of hummingbirds, I have come to the conclusion that since we have no blooms early season when the scouts are around, they are missing what is there for them the rest of the year. I had wanted to get the feeders closer to the field for them, but may have missed my early season opportunity for that. Hopefully with the helpful watch of visitors to our farm this year we will see that they have discovered it on their own! I’m excited to see if we gain these tiny marvels to the fields as well.

The simplicity of the birds, and the way they bring so much joy into every day field work is such a simple blessing that could easily be overlooked if there was not so much work to do out there! No matter how much rush, or business, or list of things I am not sure how to accomplish before the next day is in my head, soaking in the sweet songs of the birds instantly melts it all away. So with the bucketful of nightcrawlers in the kitchen and the luminous moon peaking through the cloudy sky, Its time to get some rest, and look forward to what will come as the season moves on.

Blog by "Kym Prell"

Our Spring

Winter wonder land or is it just the fantasy of having white snow. So beautiful but yet they stay buried. Do they think, do they feel to be in a some kind of dream? I wonder how it would be, trapped under all that ice?

It has passed. Ice has finally melted to a stream sucking more life out of the Lavender. Ground Hogs day brought about six more weeks of winter and it's crunch time organizing everything for early spring planting. Just the beginning to a very long growing season. I wonder what the spring, summer and fall will bring weather wise?

To much rain lavenders in pain! What will it bring.......sometimes you feel so hopeless...........just a bit bored and ignored.

Summer Solstice Lavender Field Day ~ Hand Pick

June 20 & 21 10:00am - 11:00 pm.

Nature can be seen, but you must look to see it!

This event will be held here on the farm ending every evening with a bonfire circle playing some drums and other acoustic instruments.

Come out harvest some lavender and spend the day with nature! You will be amazed what wild life can bring to our fields. This is a don't miss invitation, our farms magic is peaked on this weekend so rain or shine the farm is still here! BRING YOUR CAMERA or Anything to draw, paint, write while you have fun......

We do have restrooms on site. Bring your tent if you would like to pitch it up around the fields.

Everyone's invited!
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