Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Farm Report nine days before Winter Solstice



carrot crop. planted 31 Mayo. dug 10 Diciembre.
scarlet keeper. atomic red. jaune obtuse du doubs. muscade. tonda di parigi.

rows of fall greens: torasan komatsuna. cima di rappa. giant red mustard. marzatica. kyoto mizuna. champion collards. golden ball turnip. rutabaga.
thriving with a simple plastic blankie when temperatures plunge into the teens.
fresh salad greens daily.

twenty nine half pints apricot raw vanilla jam
results from last week in the kitchen
raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, red currants, and elderberries await alchemic act resulting in jars of jam and jelly
therapeutic nourishment for the soul.

as winter settles in
seed catalogs arrive in the mail
research book towers threaten to topple
reflection on lessons learned this past growing season
hopeful lists of fruit trees and nut trees, different varieties of heirloom vegetables, canning recipes, hoop house, adding bee colonies, saving and sharing more seeds.

rain is falling,
nine days before winter solstice.

9 comments:

Sue and Spike said...

Nice!

coloredsock said...

AWESOME. i love reading your farm reports because i never seem to be on top of recording ours. :) tulsi and i are making a farm report journal for papa's present. :) maybe that will motivate us. :)

kerin rose said...

wowza!....I got tired just reading this long list of all these goodies!....and now do you have to put them all up somehow?.....


what a gorgeous haul!

xo

Peggy wilson said...

The carrots are beautiful! I recently purchased some organic carrots (Bunny brand) at Green Acres in Briarcliff. I must say, huge taste difference than from the 'regular' brands in the grocery store. They were so full of flavor. I can only imagine how great YOUR carrots are by comparison. PLUS your photographs are outstanding!

Kelly said...

Thanks for all the comments. Yes, keeping a farm report journal is hard. This year I was diligent about the practice. Writing every day, even if it was a scrap of paper with a quick list that I could translate into a full report later. Am glad that I created this journal because I refer back to each year at a particular date to see how it compares to this year's pattern.

The carrots are in the fridges. So sweet they are, that I am loathe to adulterate this flavor by transforming them into pickles. I think we will just eat them raw. Should stick some down in the root cellar in straw or leaves to see how they keep. Good research to add to the journal .

Peggy, I am a recent convert to raw carrots. Never did I like the taste of the grocery store carrots. Dead flavor. Dry. I can imagine that the carrots you found at Green Acres were a huge improvement . Look for them at a farmer's market in the late spring and into the summer. Surely someone harvests into the fall as well around here.

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Kelly. Just stopped by from Voodoo Café to say that I enjoyed your interview with Ricë. Looking over your blog, I especially like your endangered species series, a gentle way to remind people. Bravo!
I also am an artist living on a small farm, and am into gardening (but not vegetables)...in Tunisia (expat American). And my husband gives me just about the same haircut--the only way to go!
best, nadia

Pattyskypants said...

Love the heft of those carrots! BTW, you will probably get snow Monday.

Pattyskypants said...

I love the heft of the carrots! Make juice! Snow on Monday! xxoo

Kelly said...

Nadia of Tunisia, do you need an assistant ? I have wanted to visit this country for many years. What grows in your garden ?

So snow is heading this way. Yes, perhaps some green juice is in order. I could even freeze it in ice cube trays . Hmmm. Haven't done that yet.