Winter continues

Hope for the farmers (and eaters!) — plants growing in our greenhouse! Grow, babies, grow!

This last week brought us Groundhog Day, Imbolc, and the Chinese New Year — three different cultural celebrations that all celebrate/observe another significant shift in the calendar. We’re now officially in the second half of winter (or the first bit of spring, depending on how you calculate such things). Photosynthetic potential is increasing quickly these days, which has been notable in our daily life as we now sometimes eat dinner before dark (all depends on how quickly I get it made!). The sun has even peeked out a few times, and — wow — it packs some real power. We go into our greenhouses on those days and just soak it all in, enjoying the same splendor that is encouraging our little plants along.

But, winter does continue (at least, according to most people’s reckoning). I honestly don’t even know whether Punxutawney Phil saw his shadow this Sunday, but all across the nation winter weather prevails. The new phrase “polar vortex” has certainly increased our gratitude for our own winter experience this year, but nonetheless we have not been spared the challenges of this season. And, our own weather forecast predicts the return of extreme cold temperatures beginning tomorrow. NOAA tells us that we’ll be dropping back into the teens, so today Casey and company once again “winterized” the farm — row covering chard, etc etc etc.

Last week brought us another sad blow when we found that Pele, one of our new calves, had passed away rather suddenly and mysteriously. When animals die like this (which they do), our minds of course immediately start spinning on all the alternate scenarios. What could we have done to prevent this mysterious death? That is the question (most useful for considering future actions). And, in this scenario, we can think of one thing that may have prevented it, but of course, we really don’t know.

The other time a calf born here died mysteriously, it was born of the same mother cow (our lovely wonderful Annie). Genetic weakness? Coincidence? We probably won’t know until next time she calves again, and we will do a few things differently to hope to avoid it. One thing we have found to be true: baby animals are vulnerable. Most often, they are sturdy beyond our comprehension, but sometimes they are not. Sometimes we get nostalgic for the days when all we had to worry about were vegetables — sure, conditions can sometimes cause problems (ahem, such as extreme cold weather), but a wilting bed of purple sprouting broccoli just doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as the untimely death of an animal. But, we may feel less philosophical about vegetable loss after this cold spell.

I must say, after December’s cold spell, some folks expressed relief that it was over. At the time, I felt more cautious — a lot of cold months were still to come. And, here we go — hunkering down again for almost a week of truly wintery weather. Time to give the animals extra hay, knock ice out of water troughs, and practice our calm deep breathing while we watch the fields freeze over once more. Stay warm this week everyone! And enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

  • Chard — An old friend visited us this weekend, and we served him all sorts of fun farm food. He is a farmer himself and simultaneously used to such treats and quite appreciative of them too (especially this time of year!). We served him our usual breakfast of eggs plus cooked greens, in this case chard. And he marveled at the sweetness, almost disbelieving that it came from the greens themselves. This is a gift of the season, when the plants increase their sugar content in order to better survive the cold. What a treat for us eaters.
  • Kohlrabi — We continue to enjoy our chopped salads with kohlrabi as the base. The kids continue to enjoy eating slices of kohlrabi.
  • Winter squash — We are nearing the end of our stored winter squash supply. I recommend savoring this week’s offering, because it’s likely the last until this upcoming fall. Last week I cut thin slices of squash and roasted them on a pan with some oil until the whole surface was slightly browned and the flesh soft. With a bit of salt, it was divine. The kids, Casey, and I ate it up lickity split.
  • Rutabaga — Rutabaga also makes a wonderful component of a chopped salad, but more often I peel and chop it and add it to any kind of stew dish I might be making.
  • Carrots
  • Onions
  • Garlic
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