Winter FOOD!

The most common question I am asked these days is, "are you winding down on the farm?" As much as part of me would like to answer "YES!" to that question, there is simply too much going on to be winding down at all. While the pace has slowed down a bit, we are still harvesting!
Our winter CSA is off to a great start. They received carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, turnips, onions, squash, potatoes, and garlic in their first pickup on Monday. Not to mention gorgeous greens from Back River Farm.
We are also working with area restaurants, (check the sidebar to see the restaurants who use our produce) and gearing up for the Holiday and Winter Markets sponsored by Seacoast Eat Local. Plus there's garlic to plant for next year's harvest, and that ever present back-burner project: cleanup! So with the help of a root cellar, and a little luck, we won't be winding down for some time. Cheers, let's eat!

Cruelest month?

We finally broke into the last of our storage squash. This one wasn't a squash (technically) but a Marina di Chioggia pumpkin. We made delicious baked pumpkin "sandwiches", and they were just as good (or perhaps maybe a little sweeter) than they were back in November. We tend to hoard our storage crops (except onions, we eat them like crazy) which I am sure stems from some sort of primal instinct. I treat them like gold in a vault all winter.




Come April, the sprouts are sprouting full of promise and it's time to eat up our winter stores. So it's down to the freezer to eat up those delicious sunny tomatoes, & sweet berries. And over to the pantry to crack open those mason jars stuffed with salsas and tangy pickles. Really, though it is just an effort to make room for future harvests, so here's to it!

spring thaw

It's been years since I remember having snow like we've had this winter. As much as I hate to, I am going to have to relent: hang those snowshoes back up in the barn, and get back to work (or at least blogging about work.) All good things must come to an end (to make room for more good things, of course.) Each season has something to offer, and while I appreciate snow and the quiet beauty of winter, I do enjoy this extra daylight we now seem to be lavished with. While spring hasn't by any stretch of the imagination "sprung," as the freezing precipitation against the window can attest to, there are a few signs popping up here and there as the earth edges towards calendar spring. We have enough onions started in the greenhouse to feed a small militia. We also have some flowers, lettuce, and a bunch of herbs. It is amazing how fast things grow. In a month or so, we should be overrun with tomato seedlings. And there's always pruning to keep us busy outdoors too, although I must admit, this task is much more enjoyable when it isn't sleeting out.