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Now is the time to get your fresh lavender as harvest season hits

Lavender is a member of the mint family. It contains oil that can be used for air fresheners and medicinal purposes. Romans were some of the first to use the flower.

There is a familiar smell making its way down Cache Creek and it's wafting through the Capay Valley and the little town of Rumsey.

It's harvest season at Cache Creek Lavender Farm and the summer breeze is just in time for drying the flowers out. Farmer Charles Opper runs a small operation, just him and a few pickers usually do most of the flower cutting.

"We have about six or eight types of Lavender here," Opper said. "It will take us a week or two to harvest it all."

The fragrant flower reaches its peak in June. The hungry bumble bees are a pretty good indicator when it's time to make bundles for drying.

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Lavender likes the sun and when it comes to drying the flowers, the hotter the better. Picker hand cuts small bundles of flowers and hangs them upside down on long wires.

"We put them under shade trees so the sun doesn’t bleach them," Opper said. "When the humidity is low and the temperatures are in the 90's like they are today, the flowers dry out in a day or two."

When the lavender is dry, Opper knocks the flowers off the stems by whacking them on a table. The flowers then go through a homemade air blowing machine for a final cleaning.

Lavender is a member of the mint family. It contains oil that can be used for air fresheners and medicinal purposes. Romans were some of the first to use the flower.

"Romans were aware of the fact that it relaxed people, and it's based in science that certain brain waves become more active when you breathe lavender," Opper said.

Now is the time to get your fresh lavender. If you want to take the drive up Highway 16 along Cache Creek, you can pick some up in Ramsey at Cache Creek Lavender Farm.

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