The Greenhouse in April

April photo - honest!

The greenhouses are slow to warm this season.  

Why are the doors on the side?

Here is view of one of the two doors from the inside during the first week in April

MELT!

There is noticeable snow melt, however.

Will they come back?  Wait and see

 

The single digit low temperatures during March meant the green houses cooled down, and even with fiber protection we had some damage and loss - a first.  Ken is waiting to see if these red cabbage come back from the roots

Filling in where he lost a plant

But Ken has been transplanting, and watering and covering things inside the greenhouses.  

 Ken inside, Oscar out side

And as Ken works transplanting, Oscar stays busy - he patrols for rabbits, squirrels, and other varmints.

Ken moving fiber to get at plants so he can water

Now this week things are really starting to grow.  

Direct seeded plants coming up!

It is an exciting time of year.





 

Ken offering to tie up the containers so I can take more than two

 I traveled down to check the progress and take some snapshots.  Once I saw how dry it is inside the mobile tunnel, I offered to take back some empty water containers and seedling trays that Ken had hauled down under a towel using a sled.

Sled with transplant trays and water containers

I returned with four of the five gallon containers  filled - whew.  I am out of shape and it was a workout!  I will really appreciate the irrigation pond once it thaws.

First Greens from hoopettes

This has been a slow spring.  Many people have expressed impatience.  I have not.  Winter is my slow, introspective time of year and I savor it!

Last year's early heat and resulting problems like frost nipped apple blossoms reminded me that a slow gradual warming during spring is optimum.

And now I savor a first for the season: Ken picked some of the first spinach from under the hoopettes.  We had some of the number two leaves for lunch.  There will be some in tomorrow's CSA boxes.  Delicious.  More will be coming soon.

Maple Syrup Begins

Ken listening to Prairie Home Companion

Every  spring there is magic!  First the days lengthen, then ice and snow drip, birds come singing back to us, the earth softens and emits that wonderful smell of moist soil.  Mud season and maple syrup season arrive.  Many wish for spring early; I don't.  I want to savor each part of the reawakening, and rebirth of life, from eggs to broody hens to chicks.  From mud to snow crocuses to blooming fruit trees.  What is the rush?  If I wanted 70's and sunny all year I would move to San Diego.  I am a transplanted New Englander - stubborn and content with less.  Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without...

Wood fired syrup - some people use oil or gas

My birthday is in March.  I was born between snow storms.  And some years around my birthday I was lucky enough to visit my maternal grandparents in Vermont during "sugaring off" - maple season, the season when a person can enjoy being outdoors, feel spring coming and smell the aroma of maple sap boiling down to syrup

Warm enough to take off the gloves

Ken enjoys making maple syrup, and I am glad.  He plows through snow to tap all the trees - drilling holes, pounding in taps, hanging buckets, and when we are lucky collecting sap.  Sap run is based entirely upon the weather.  

Sap is running

When we have clear sunny wind - free days in the 40's and cool nights in the 20's the sap goes up the tree in the day and down back into the roots at night.  During each trip up and down the tree some of the sap drips out the spout into a bucket.  Last year it got into the 80's in March and the trees budded out - result:no sap to collect and no syrup.

It is hot enough to boil!

Once the sap is collected it is boiled down in a large flat pan that is called an evaporator.  It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.  This means watching the fire.  Scorched sap is worthless.  We have never come up with a way to salvage it.

This is a time of great transition from winter to spring and garden season.  I hope you can enjoy it as much as we do!

Sauerkraut and Huevos Rancheros - Local food

Spring is later than usual this year, so we have yet to dig the over wintered roots.  What are the locavores eating these days?  Sauerkraut and eggs!  

After starting to make tortillas, huevos rancheros was only a matter of time.  Spring is prime egg season, and the hens are all laying eggs.  I make lots of dishes with eggs this time of year: deviled eggs, pickled eggs, custard, sponge cake, and Ken made a souffle for my birthday.  Huevos rancheros is a combination of ingredients with a focus on tortillas and eggs.  Here is what I did:



Heat the tortillas

Spread with homemade cream cheese

 

Add a meat/bean layer - I used our beans cooked with pork in a spicy sauce with onions and garlic
 

Top with basted eggs, chopped parsley, Ken's  hot sauce, and crumbly homemade cheese

 

 





Sauerkraut is a traditional food; people salted food to preserve the food and its nutrition.  Sauerkraut from the crock that has not been heat processed contains all the original vitamin C with a bonus of new lacto- fermented probiotics.   People who do not eat dairy often use lacto-fermented also known as cultured vegetable to promote healthy digestion.

Once in a while I even cook sauerkraut for a change of pace.  I saute onions, add the sauerkraut and simmer a few minutes.  I also stuff poultry with sauerkraut; it tenderizes the bird, and adds great flavor.

Thank You and Good-Bye

Our cat of about ten years has died.   We feel gratitude for the time we had with this sentient being. He was great with people and vigilant on rodent patrol.  We could not have asked for more. 

We are seeking a new kitten for our team here at the farm.  Cats here are neutered / spayed, fed twice daily, and live on a working farm with farmers who are here both day and night.  It is a good life for a cat.

Thanks for any help you can provide us in our search

CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the snowy gardens!  This box has greens, carrots, potatoes, onions, shallots, celery root, and the last of the garlic and beets.

Field Notes.  Snow and cold - or should I say a normal winter.  After last year's days of eighty degrees in March this season's nights of single digits in March seem really cold.  

Although I hear many complaints, I prefer this season's weather for many reasons:

• After drought, snow is moisture that often melts slowly enough to soak in and make a real difference in the water table
• Snow acts as an insulating blanket, so usually snow means the frost has not gone so deep into the ground, and once snow melts the frost is out so we can get into the field.
• Early heat often confuses plants so last year many bushes and trees bloomed early.  Once cold weather returned it nipped apples, plums, cherries, etc so less fruit at harvest.  Also greens like spinach and lettuce will bolt - send up seed heads.  That means the end of harvest.

Ken has tapped the maple trees, and as of this point the season has not really started.  Prime syrup season is warm, sunny wind - free days in the 40's with night time temperatures in the20's so the sap goes up and down the tree.  This week looks promising.  Last year's early heat also meant that the sap rose and the leaves budded out, so there was no sap to collect and boil down.  Fun fact: it takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup.

Ken has been planting and moving plants up to larger soil blocks.  During the cold nights in March he had fiber over the seedlings in the greenhouses.  This week he plans to move more out to make space for the heat mats and warm windows for the next batch of plants.  And he intends to transplant more in the greenhouses as well.

Goose and chicken eggs

From the Kitchen.  We have been eating eggs in many forms as this is egg season.  All the hens are in full production right now.  I brought deviled eggs to our Easter meal.  This year I added a bit of powdered ginger to the yolk mixture and got compliments.  I have also made a couple batches of custard, one sponge cake, and some pickled eggs.  


Pickled eggs are hard boiled eggs with shells removed that have been placed in a brine.  I usually do one of three favorite recipes: the first is a traditional pickle brine with some vinegar, mustard seeds, peppercorns, garlic and sliced ginger, the second is a brine with beet pickle juice added so the eggs are sweeter and the whites become an interesting shade of pink, and finally a tamari ginger recipe that is salty and the whites become tan.  I keep the eggs in jars in the refrigerator, and pull them out, slice them and add them to salads or just eat them plain.  

And Ken made me a birthday souffle a couple weeks ago.

We are still eating roasted vegetables with meat.  I pop the meat in the oven and clean onions, potatoes, and carrots and cut them in chunks and add them to the pan about an hour and a half at 325 or for less time if the meat is done and I can raise the oven temperature.  I stir every few minutes.

This is also a time to make fritatas with left over cooked potatoes.  Fritata recipes vary.  I usually saute onion, add beaten eggs and then cooked cubed potatoes and place in oven.  Some people also add greens and or cheese.

'Til Next Week, 
Judith

And the Goose Egg Season Begins!

The first goose eggs

It has started.  Each year for a brief time, geese lay eggs.  Often I ship a few to my parents.  They tell me goose eggs make the BEST omelettes.  Ken says they add great lift to cakes and make the smoothest pudding.  And I think goose egg mayonnaise has the richest flavor.

Goose eggs and two chicken eggs for size comparison

A goose egg is about the size of three chicken eggs.  Order now before the season ends.