We couldn’t be prouder of our resident farm, Sol Harvest – nothing ever tastes fresher or sweeter than food you brought right in from your backyard. But we can’t forget that New Mexico is a land of wonderful abundance. From strawberries and cherry tomatoes from Arca Organics right down the street in Corrales, to pecans from Mesilla, Farm & Table supports local, sustainable argriculture all over the state.
Nothing says local and sustainable like lavender – so much so that it has inspired the Los Ranchos’ Lavender in the Village Festival, a weekend-long event that celebrates the amazing plant and promotes local, sustainable agriculture.
And what an amazing plant it is! Its fragrant flowers have a range medicinal properties: Lavender has shown to relieve stomach aches and colic in babies; it can have a calming effect on the nervous system that helps soothe insomnia, hypertension, and stress; it can be used as a moth and insect deterrent or it can even be applied topically to burns and bites as an anti-irritant.
Lavender can be used fresh or dried, in soaps and household cleaners, in lotions and salves, in perfumes and other bath and beauty products. It can be bundled in satchels, steeped in a tea, or distilled into an essential oil. You can even use lavender to add a distinctive flavor to anything from baked goods to salads to ice cream.
For all this information and more, visit the lavender farm at Los Poblanos Inn & Organic Farm.
Products from Los Poblanos’ lavender farm are always available in the restrooms at Farm & Table, and for sale at our sister store, La Parada. La Parada will also be participating as a vendor at the Lavender Festival this weekend. We’re so excited to celebrate this wonderful plant and the sustainable agriculture it represents for New Mexico. Find us at the festival, then stop by Farm & Table for a signed cookbook and paella from master chef James Campbell Caruso.
Happy Lavender Festival!
Photo courtesy of Los Poblanos Inn & Organic Farm