Tony and Diana Luboff started Ojai Lavender Farms in early 2014 as an eco-friendly farm using sustainable, organic methods of growing and harvesting lavender. This lavender is then packaged up for flower bouquets, essential oil production, soaps, lotions, sachets and other products. It had been a dream of ours for years. We have been enjoying the Ojai Lavender Festivals that happen in Ojai every June for many years and always thought that a lavender farm for part of our ten acres would be a lot of fun! We had been thinking of other agricultural endeavors such as grapes or citrus trees but being in a long term drought always brought us back to the reality that we needed something that could flourish without large amounts of water. Lavender seemed to be the best choice because of its drought tolerance and the need for a Mediterranean type of climate.
We have done extensive research and after determining that our area was prime for lavender production, we planted a small plot (50’X 100′) with varieties that we wanted to use for our products. After a year of successfully growing that plot we started on a larger plot with more varieties and that is in process of maturing. The varieties that we are growing right now include: Grosso, Provence, French Grey, Royal Velvet, Hidcote Giant, Golden Lavender, Phenomenal, Vera, Sweet, Fred Boutin, and Sweet.
We are using drip irrigation for water conservation and are using a physical weed-block instead of using herbicides. We are using Integrated Pest Control Management to control the few pests that do attack lavender. While we are not “Organically certified” we are growing the lavender using practices that are in compliance with Organic certification. The land used to grow the lavender had been used for pasture land for horses and not used in any capacity where herbicides and/or pesticides would have been used. We are very excited about the future of Ojai Lavender Farms and hope that you will also enjoy the many things we have to offer.