Ristau Family Farm

Ristau Family Farm Growing lavender, fresh blooms, and small-town charm—with help from two spirited Jack Russells. Family-run mini farm in Emmett, Idaho.

Family farm in Emmett, Idaho 🌾

Follow along for a peek at our harvests, and farm projects. Lavender, chickens, gardens, and two very opinionated Jack Russell's.

05/22/2026

moved on to planting super lavender today 🌱known for strong fragrance, long stems, and vigorous growth. planted 72 beside our grosso rows today. anyone here grow super long term?

05/22/2026

finished planting grosso and officially moved on to super lavender 🌱
apparently lavender naming conventions are just confidence levels now 😂
from what we’re learning, super lavender is a lavandin hybrid known for larger plants, long stems, strong fragrance, and good oil production. basically the overachiever section of the field.
progress:
72 supers planted
3 rows in
questioning our life choices only slightly 😅
they’re going in beside the grosso rows, and eventually we’ll have more planted over by the chicken coop field too.
we’re still learning as we go, so if you grow super lavender tell us what you love (or hate) about it 👀

05/19/2026

grosso lavender may sound a little… questionable 🤮😂
but it’s actually one of the most popular lavender varieties for oils, dried bundles, and that classic lavender smell everyone loves 💜
today we planted grosso lavender from Victor's Lavender
102 plants i think… because i’m too tired to count and didn’t feel like doing the math 😅
little by little this field is starting to look like a real lavender farm.

05/17/2026

Morning update 🐣
We woke up to 6 out of the 7 pheasant eggs hatched overnight and honestly… they are ridiculously cute.
A few days ago these eggs were sitting in a cut alfalfa field behind our house after the farmer mowed. Mama pheasant didn’t make it, but some of the eggs still had live chicks inside, so we brought them home and fired up an old incubator we had saved.
This morning we moved the babies into the
brooder while the last egg still works on hatching.
We may be farmers/hunters… but that just means bigger hearts 💜

05/17/2026

Went for an evening walk in the field behind our house…
and found a pheasant nest after the farmer had cut the field.
Mama pheasant didn’t make it. That’s part of farming sometimes.
There were damaged eggs with full chicks inside, so we grabbed the old incubator Shaniko rescued from the trash a while back.
Seven eggs made it into the incubator.
Two just hatched it took three days.
Now we can hear the others peeping and chipping away inside the shells.
Will update when they are in the bruder box 🐣

05/15/2026

Meet our first lavender 💜
It’s Phenomenal.
That’s a pretty confident name for a plant.
This variety is known for being one of the tougher lavenders:
• handles Idaho heat, cold, and wind like a champ
• grows larger than many lavender varieties
• has long flower stems and a strong classic lavender smell
• and bees absolutely lose their minds over it
Also fun fact:
Lavender is part of the mint family.
Which honestly sounds made up.
And yes… technically you can eat this variety.
But fair warning:
Phenomenal lavender is more “strong perfume” than soft bakery lavender 😂
So while it’s great for teas, syrups, and desserts in small amounts…
too much starts tasting a little “grandma’s fancy soap.”
These Phenomenal starts came from Lazy River Lavender and we’re expecting our White Spike lavender from them later this month too 💜
Right now it’s just 27 baby plants and a couple people figuring things out as we go…
but hopefully someday this turns into rows and rows of purple out here in Idaho.

05/13/2026

Just a casual breezy day out in Emmett where the trees are fighting for their lives and the weeds still somehow survive. 💨🌾

05/11/2026

Day before graduation and the shooting range was closed… so we ended up at the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, WA instead 😂
Most of the lilacs were already past peak bloom, but you could still smell them from the parking lot before even getting out of the car.
The gardens were started in the late 1800s by Hulda Klager, who became known for creating hundreds of lilac varieties by hand over the years.
Peaceful little hidden gem and honestly a pretty good backup plan.
Zac’s review:
‘Oh wow… impressive.’ 🙄😂

”

I used to think motherhood was about being needed.The snacks. The rides. The late nights. The “Mom, watch this.” The lit...
05/10/2026

I used to think motherhood was about being needed.
The snacks. The rides. The late nights. The “Mom, watch this.” The little hands reaching for mine.
But nobody really prepares you for the quiet transition that comes later.
The part where the kids grow up and build beautiful lives of their own. Where conversations get shorter and their worlds get bigger. Where suddenly the house, the holidays, and even motherhood itself feel… different.
And if I’m honest, sometimes it hurts.
Not because I want to hold them back.
Not because I’m not proud.
But because for so many years, being “Mom” was the center of who I was.
Now I’m learning something new:
Love doesn’t disappear just because it changes shape.
Maybe motherhood was never supposed to be about being needed forever.
Maybe it becomes quieter.
Softer.
Less about being the center of their world… and more about knowing you helped them build one.
Still doesn’t mean the quiet isn’t hard sometimes.
So if another mom out there is feeling a little tender this Mother’s Day too… you’re not alone. 💜

05/09/2026

Current farm status:
manual watering EVERYTHING because the drip system still isn’t set up 💀
Trees, lavender, pots, starts… all getting hand watered one wagon trip at a time.
Farm life is funny because one minute you’re dreaming about lavender fields…
and the next you’re outside questioning every life decision while dragging a hose across an acre.
At least the plants are thriving 😂

05/07/2026

Marking out lavender rows today at Ristau Family Farm 💜
What sounds simple on paper turns into a whole different project when you add Idaho heat, measuring tape, math, and two very different personalities 😂
Smallest row will hold 3 lavender plants.
Largest row will hold 27.
We’re getting closer to finally planting our lavender field here in Emmett, Idaho and honestly… seeing the rows laid out makes it feel real now.
Next up: finishing the chicken coop side and getting plants in the ground next week.
Anyone else discover farm projects take twice the time and three times the opinions?

Address

Emmett, ID
83617

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Friday 7:45am - 7:30pm
Saturday 7:30am - 7:30pm
Sunday 11:30am - 4:30pm

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