Friday, August 12, 2022
CapitalPress.com
VICTOR’S LAVENDER
Expert supplies greenhouses worldwide
Don't Miss Another Issue!
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
SEQUIM, Wash. — Victor Gonzalez has no
trade secrets about growing lavender, his life’s
mission.
Nicknamed the “Grandfather of Laven-
der,” Gonzalez raises lavender near Sequim,
Wash., on the Olympic Peninsula in an unusual
microclimate.
A wholesale producer, he and his staff prop-
agate 500,000 seedlings of 100 lavender variet-
ies to supply an increasing demand from green-
houses worldwide.
“I love to grow lavender and help others so
they won’t have the failures I had in the begin-
ning,” said Gonzalez, 52, a U.S. Agency for
International Development volunteer with
nearly three decades of lavender expertise.
“That’s who I am,” he said. “Having a giving
attitude has taken me to Latin America, North
Africa, and the Middle East to off er farmers
advice. It’s working for me. I will keep it that
way.”
He teaches classes about raising the fragrant
shrub, has contributed to a book, does consult-
ing, and launched a website, victorslavender.
com with instructional DVDs about propagat-
ing and planting the fragrant shrub.
For centuries worldwide, lavender has been
prized for cooking, fl oral arrangements, its
calming aroma, and as an ingredient in health
and beauty products. Studies suggest lavender
benefi ts those with depression, insomnia and
anxiety, and that its oil has antiseptic and anti-in-
fl ammatory properties.
A hardy, pest-resistant perennial shrub, lav-
ender requires minimal watering and fertiliza-
tion. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil.
To share his love of lavender, Gonzalez’s
Victor’s Lavender
Victor Gonzalez with his lavender crop
on his small farm near Sequim, Wash.
He propagates 500,000 seedlings of 100
lavender varieties to supply the growing
demand from greenhouses worldwide.
farm includes greenhouses, fi elds with a U-cut
section, and a retail store with health and beauty
products made by his wife, Maribel.
Gonzalez cultivates two acres and leases two
acres. He also oversees four greenhouses on his
farm and leases another three around town.
“The greenhouses are the heart of my farm,”
he said. “We’re known in the industry for off er-
ing quality plants and customer service — the
whole package.”
Gonzalez learned to grow lavender in the
mid-1990s, when the owner of a farm where he
worked near Sequim wanted to try a new crop
and asked him to raise lavender.
Having never grown it, he followed advice
in a book and watched the plants die. In hind-
sight, he applied too much water and fertilizer.
“I decided to raise it based on my knowledge
of soil types and growing crops in my family’s
farm in Mexico,” he said.
W ATER M ASTER S ERIES
AND
• In-Depth Ag News
• Ag Success Stories
• Full Website Access
• Innova�ons & Regulations
• Classified Ads & Auctions
• E-edition, Apps, & Newsletters
1-Year Subscrip�on for only $39
E VERGREEN
S UPERIOR S ERVICE & D ESIGN
• All your needs for irrigation parts service
• We build custom equipment for your special needs.
• Hose replacements & fusion repairs
• Transport Tanks • Rental Returns & Used Equipment
• • Structural
Structural and
and steel
steel available
available for
for purchase.
purchase.
Subscribe Today!
Truck Equipment
10910 Portland Rd. NE • Brooks, OR
Call: 503-792-3739 • Fax: 503-792-3738
S272451-1
• Full Service • Alterations • Dump bodies
• Hoists • Farmbeds • Flatbeds
Pay online using promo code TRUST
800-882-6789 • CapitalPress.com
7