Sat, Nov 29, 2008 · Filed under Autumn, Fieldwork, Harvest, Storage, Veggies
Despite the six inches (15cm) of snow on the big garden, fieldwork goes on. Today, I harvested about 30lbs (13.5kg) of Jerusalem artichoke out of the partially frozen ground, just to be sure planting stock is around over winter in case I need it. Since we don’t have a root cellar or walk-in cooler, storing crops in the ground as winter comes along is a risky but useful alternative. There’s still lots of carrot, parsnip, and some more chokes out there. Until the ground is frozen several inches or more down, it’s possible to harvest, although too much snow can make the whole thing a little crazy. Once thoroughly frozen, I’ve found carrots get killed off and thaw to mush, while parsnip and chokes withstand freezing just fine, staying alive and available again in spring. So far, though, everything’s still cool for digging. You can see the ice crystals in the frozen crust (above), but below that, it’s all cold, friable soil and plump, healthy choke tubers…
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Tue, Nov 25, 2008 · Filed under Autumn, Farm lab (research!), Fieldwork, Harvest, Veggies
Every season there’ve been hardy veggies left to the cold and snow, and this season, it’s a record quantity, with nearly 2,000′ (610m) of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and kale that mostly started sizing up just as the farmers’ market finished at the end of October. It seems like a waste, but it’s only a typical garden gamble on the weather (I was trying for an extra, really late crop). The risk was clear back in August, and we didn’t get enough sun to push things along a tiny bit quicker. We did harvest a lot of the Red Russian flat-leaf kale (above), for a good four weeks, and one round of 1-2 lb (450-900g) cabbage (a nice size for a meal for one or two). And there’s been a lot of personal-use picking in November. The rest is a giant farm lab experiment, more exploration of the snow-on-veggies effect…
More than the snow, the many nights of extreme cold (-15°C/5°F) that came with it this year really blasted these guys, wilting them and burning leaves and buds. So, none of the crops are too firm or pretty, BUT, they’re still alive: for the most part, there’s good color and texture. The kale, always super-hardy, did the best from a let’s eat some perspective, with good texture and great taste. The broccoli, while a little wilty on the stems and burned on the buds, also tasted great, fresh and flavorful. The cauliflower did the worst, the heads really damaged by the freezing and thawing, too mushy for me to bother with a taste. (Eating raw was fine, but how would this all cook up? We may see…) We’d already reaped most of the filled-out cabbage, so the rest aren’t going to go anywhere from here…
What’s all this odd information worth? Not much, I guess, I’m not planning on deliberately planting for snow harvests. But checking things out is always fun, no experience goes to waste, and there is at least one advantage to knowing there’s still good eating out there: the laying hens will be feasting on a fabulous greens buffet for a while!
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Thu, Nov 20, 2008 · Filed under Autumn, Fieldwork, Harvest, People, Veggies
What’s a little snow when there’s crispy-sweet CARROTS buried under there? Lynn (the new Celebrity Farmer) and Raechelle headed up the field late this subzero afternoon, digging forks in hand, and scored sackfuls of Nelson and Napoli, no problem. It’s been well below zero (32°F) recent nights, and for the last couple of days as well, but the ground isn’t nearly frozen, and the layer of snow, fresh from overnight, actually acts as an insulator and helps soften it up. For now… The season’s not over until we SAY it’s over… :)
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Wed, Oct 22, 2008 · Filed under Autumn, Farm lab (research!), Veggies
The sun was out today, and although it wasn’t too warm (about 5°C/40°F), most of yesterday’s snow melted off pretty quickly. On the remaining crops—brassicas, carrots, some herbs, and parsnips (above)—the brief overnight blanketing of snow did what several nights of sub-zero weather hadn’t managed, wilting them down without killing them off. It’s interesting to watch the accumulating effects of cold on hardy crops. Tastes and textures change, different veggies behave…differently. I don’t imagine this is somethig that veggie growers and gardeners generally explore as the season ends: crops are harvested or tilled under, and that’s that. Here, though, there is no giant cooler for long-term cold storage, and I try not to waste, so the field is the best place to hold crops as people continue to drop by for the last of the season’s fresh veg! Meanwhile, it’s cool to watch the cold effects and learn…
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Tue, Dec 25, 2007 · Filed under Harvest, Tools, Veggies, Winter
Got the idea this morning to get something REALLY FRESH onto the Christmas dinner menu. A fat local turkey, plus squash, potatoes, carrots, beets and onions from storage (in addition to a ham and industrial veggies from the supermarket) didn’t seem quite enough. But what could I find? The bed of Brussels sprouts left standing when the snow hit was…still there, not fully buried, and possibly perfectly preserved in a frozen state. Remembering a harvesting lesson of the past, I headed up the field with short, stiff saw in hand and bagged three (once again, the saw did its stuff!). Unfortunately, between the snow and the leaves, the sprouts were too well-mulched and probably never really got frozen solid, or at least, froze and partially thawed a few times. Many were damaged and discolored, but some were definitely…fine (I tasted a few raw on the spot). In the end, between the rather unappetizing, damp mass in a bucket waiting outside the kitchen, and all the other cooking to do, this time around, the good sprouts never got sorted, and it’s on to the frozen compost heap for the lot. But there’s more out there for another try… This is not exactly part of the Professional Market Garden side of tiny farming, more like my personal garden-addicted behavior, but it’s all part of learning!
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Sat, Nov 24, 2007 · Filed under Autumn, Veggies
Another installment in the snow-covered series: Winterbor kale! I’m so used to rollercoaster weather and the new winters that never really get started, it’s kind of a shock to have this much snow for three days in a row in November. And there’s no melt-off in sight, with the 15-day forecast predicting little sun and day temperatures hovering under 0°C (32°F). Picked a few pounds of the kale today, it’s still holding up, particularly the young new growth. It won’t last long if it stays frozen day and night. All this watching of cold-weather crops is bound to come in handy…sometime!
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