ALLEGAN, Mich. — Paul and Renee Donohue don't look like farmers. The former Las Vegas residents decided the desert life was not for them anymore, and after an RV trip around the country, they landed in Michigan and haven't looked back.
The Donohues, owners of Twin Flame Lavender Farm, are the latest example of micro farmers in southwest Michigan. They don't have thousands of acres, but they've managed to make a go of it with the small area of land they farm.
From beekeepers to corn producers, the micro farm trend is surging in Michigan, and the Donohues, with their penchant for lavender, are making money and having a great time.
According to Paul, lavender is now the couple’s passion, but they had to jump through some hoops to legally micro farm.
"This is a residential area, and we had to get a Michigan right to farm certification in order to be able to do this here, Then, we also went through and got our Michigan environmental certification, showing that we don't use pesticides, harsh chemicals, fertilizers and things of that nature. They're so strict that if you get a pile of organic manure, you can't put it in the same place two years in a row," Paul said.
Paul is originally from Long Island, New York, but spent some of his childhood in southwest Michigan.
"I only intended to go in the Navy for four years in 1977 and actually made a career out of it and did 22. I just never thought I would come back here," Paul said.
However, he is glad he and wife, Renee, have started a career so late in life. They enjoy the plant, the process, and the opportunity to do so much with the lavender.
While we were walking along the small farm, I was surprised that I didn't smell an overwhelming aroma of lavender. In fact, the most prominent smell was earthy and green. Visit a lavender farm like this one and you soon find that there is more than one kind of lavender plant, something Renee learned pretty quickly when taking on the micro farm.
"There are over 400 different varieties of lavender, and they all have their own unique characteristics," Renee said. "In our main field, we have Vera, which is an herbal and herbal taste and scent. We have Munstead, which is a floral taste. Then, we have Hidcote Blue, which is a citrus taste in scent. It's actually a natural sedative, so it's naturally calming. The Munstead actually is my favorite lavender that is floral lavender. It's actually very intoxicating when you are harvesting and working with it."
Renee and Paul have found numerous usages for their lavender, from soap and oils to food and drink.
"All of our lavender is English lavender that we harvest and produce, and that is also culinary lavender. And it has also very high therapeutic value, lavender, so we actually do make a lavender extract that we put in our baked goods for the Saugatuck Market. And if it's done right with a proper lavender, it tastes very yummy."
The Twin Lavender Farm is small, but preparing the plant for production is extremely time-consuming.
"Most lavender farms, they distill for essential oils. They have the column still, and that is called steam distillation. We actually only distill for the water, and it's called hydro distillation. The process of steam distillation takes only about 15 minutes to make the water. With hydro distillation, it takes 12 hours to make one gallon of water. Our hydrosol is very high quality hydrosol, and it's the lesser known of the two steam distillation products," Renee said. "Everybody knows the essential oil, but hydrosol has the same therapeutic benefits as essential oils, just not as volatile. You can put it directly on your skin. You don't need to mix it with a carrier oil. With essential oils, you have to mix it with something called a carrier oil, so you mix it with an avocado oil or sweet almond oil. With this, you do not have to mix it with anything. Paul mentioned that because it's a natural sedative, so you can use it for so many things. You can use it as a facial toner, you can actually use it as a no-shampoo alternative."
The Donohues have just entered this process with the hope of slowly expanding. They have a small outbuilding to sell everything from soap, to oils, to linen spray. They are very active at the local Michigan farmers’ markets, and they have a very active and successful online business.
There are several other lavender farms in the area and people are discovering that this plant — which deer and rabbits spit out of their mouth — has no natural predators, unlike the state’s popular blueberry and cherry crops.
When you think of lavender, your mind may race to the gorgeous Provence fields of France, but look at the label next time you buy a bottle of linen spray. There's a chance it may have come right off the shores of Lake Michigan, and you'll enjoy it just the same!
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