Perhaps this is an unexpected November sight -- lines of newly germinated arugula for eating all winter! Yum yum!
Unlike most modern Americans, Casey and I tend to think of November as the start of winter. I wrote about this a few years ago in another newsletter — how these next three months mark the lowest photosynthetic potential of the year. They’re the months when we get the most rest, and the months in which we are most likely to experience inclement weather events. For us, they are winter, even if the calendar says it begins in late December.
That being said, I believe that Pacific Northwest winter is a little understood season. It is certainly under-represented in literature and arts. I like to read seasonally appropriate picture books with the kids, and everything related to winter features snow, ice, and crisp sunlight falling on bare branches. When we sit with these books on our laps on gray, damp days, I often temporarily long for that iconic cold season that exists in the midwest and northeast of this country — where farms really do “shut down” for months at a time, because the ground is frozen solid and snow covers everything several feet deep. There is some magic in that kind of crystal white winter that is not present in Oregon (at least, not very frequently!). In order to provide something more appropriate for our winter reading, I daydream about someday writing a picture book of my own, featuring gray skies, damp ground, and green trees.
Because, of course, we have plenty of winter magic here too. In fact, in spite of those brief longings for snow, winter here are so full of potential. The natural world certainly takes a break, but it never ceases. Animals stay lively. Plants grow. Our climate keeps things chugging along, albeit at a crawl compared to in other seasons.
Years ago, Casey and I taught some classes on winter gardening in the northwest based on our experience growing vegetables year-round in this region. Even experienced gardeners in the classes often expressed surprise at all the potential they had been missing out on! No surprise, since — again — farming and gardening books and catalogs often feature other regions. In our reading experiences, we often found ourselves learning from farmers in the northeast or California — both fundamentally different places! Certainly, here in Oregon we will never compete with the productive capacity of California’s never-ending summer, but so much grows and thrives here in the cold season.
We were lucky to be introduced to the joys of year-round vegetable production during our time at Cedarville Farm in Bellingham, Washington. Then we stumbled across a used copy of Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest by Binda Colebrook (at that time it was out of print, so this was quite a find!). Now it seems growing produce outside all winter has become more common, which is a huge positive shift for our region. Gardeners and CSA members can enjoy fresh, local, seasonal produce year-round!
For the uninitiated, eating winter produce in Oregon is a treat that requires some adjustment. No more going to the store for tomatoes in January; instead our plates are filled with the vibrant colors of roasted parsnips and carrots, braised kale, and radicchio salad! Alliums abound (onions, garlic, leeks), and greens and roots rule. For us, it is one of the best food seasons, even though it is the least familiar to many mainstream diets. The foods are easy to learn to love, because they all shine best when prepared very simply (roasted, braised, sautéed). This is the season of food we are just entering now, and it is exciting to look forward to the next few months, knowing that delightful meals (and CSA shares) await all of us.
It also gives us great joy to walk through our fields this time of year, simultaneously enjoying that ‘calm down’ vibe of winter while still witnessing incredible vitality in the fields themselves. This Sunday, I was struck once again by the awesomeness of living in this part of the world. Our family took a ramble around the farm to look for mushrooms, watch animals, and generally enjoy ourselves outside in the amazingly warm November sunshine (who knew?). While we were out there, I took some photos to share with all of you. Enjoy your virtual November field walk:
First: cuteness! Some piglets were born on the farm a couple of weeks ago. They are doing great, and mama takes good care of them. She wasn't too happy about me taking this photo even!
We have sown calendula in random places all over the farm — it attracts beneficial insects to our fields and blooms year-round!
Has anyone noticed how clean and delicious this year's Brussels sprouts have been? We have all been eating them up, including the kids. Such tasty treats.
Our garlic has sprouted! It will hang out at this small size for much of the winter and then really start growing in spring.
Even the strawberry plants have fresh green leaves right now. It's been a spectular fall, with lots of mild, spring-like weather, and the plants have responded accordingly. No strawberries until the real spring though, of course.
We've begun harvesting the first of the "celery root" for our family. This homely vegetable makes the most delicious puree. That might not initially sound amazing, but trust me — it is out of this world good. This is a staple winter veggie around here.
A close-up of even younger arugula seedlings. These will be for very early spring harvest.
Another sign of the new food season — Casey and the kids picked up the last walnuts from beneath our tree last weekend. Then we cured them in the food dehydrator, and now they are waiting on our counter for a kid snack!
It's been a while since I featured one of our cats in a farm photo. They are still around; the kids love them so much. Here Mokum is basking in the sunny glow of a greenhouse.
Thanks for coming along with us! There is always more than I can capture in a few photos, and I’m sure you would all grow weary of my snapshots if I stopped to get images of every single cool things on the farm. Wonder is everywhere.
Next week is our last pick-up for the 2013 Veggie CSA season. It’s been a good one, and once again a year that taught us new things about people, food, and how to best operate our farm. We hope you will rejoin us in 2014 to enjoy the fruits of these winter fields. And, in the meantime, we have our one last pick-up and the our 2013 Thanksgiving “Holiday Harvest” (see below for order info).
Finally, very important: We are going to host pick-up at a slightly different location for the last two weeks of the year, staring tomorrow! We will still be in the Granary District, but we will set-up across the parking lot from the normal shelter (toward downtown) at the Cellar Ridge workshop door. Look for our white box truck! This is likely to be our pick-up location for the 2014 season, and we wanted to give it a try first! Thanks to the Cellar Ridge folks for giving it a try too!
Enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
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2013 Thanksgiving Holiday Harvest
How it works: If you would like extra produce for your family’s Thanksgiving or pantry, select items from the list below. Email us the desired types and quantities to farm (at) oakhillorganics (dot) org by Sunday evening (Nov. 17). We’ll harvest it for you and bring it to pick-up on Tuesday, November 19 for you to pick up with your normal CSA share. We’ll total the price at the time too (orders over $100 receive a 10% discount). Folks who are not current CSA members are also welcome to place an order — pick-up occurs in the Granary District from 3:30 – 6:30 at the Cellar Ridge workshop space — look for our white box truck. Also, it’s most likely that we will offer a second Holiday Harvest just before Christmas. We will send out an email when that comes! For now, here is the Thanksgiving list:
- Seasonal salad mix ~ $8/lb
- Arugula ~ $8/lb
- Kale ~ $2.50/bunch
- Chard ~ $2.50/bunch
- Mustards ~ $2.50/bunch
- Collards ~ $2.50/bunch
- Parsley ~ $1.50/bunch
- Brussels sprouts ~ $3.50/lb
- Cabbage (choose red or green) ~ $2/lb
- Kohlrabi ~ $1/lb
- Asian pears — Small but juicy and sweet; great for fresh eating or for sauce/cider ~ $2/lb
- Carrots ~ $2/lb
- Beets ~ $1.50/lb
- Sunchokes ~ $2.50/lb
- Celery root ~ $3/lb
- Yellow cooking onions ~ $2.25/lb
- Pie pumpkins ~ $1.50/lb
- Butternut squash ~ $1.50/lb
- Oat flour — a gluten-free flour that can be substituted 1:1 for normal flour in quick bread recipes ~ $5/lb
- Corn flour — a gluten-free flour that is great for making pancakes and quick bread recipes ~ $5/lb
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Meet this week’s vegetables:
- Salad mix
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Peppers
- Kale
- Mustard greens — Mustards are hot when raw — warning! But, when cooked, they wilt down easily and become deliciously mild. We think the flavor goes especially well with pork products. We went through a period a few winters ago when we ate mustards at almost every breakfast, often accompanied by bacon or ham (and eggs). Such a great combination!
- Brussels sprouts
- Beets
- Carrots
- Parsley — Parsley is a fantastic winter herb — the variety we grow will continue to do well all winter and perk up again in the spring. Chopped parsley is delicious thrown into any dish, but it also makes a great replacement for basil in pesto. To keep it seasonal, we often replace pine nuts with walnuts. It’s delicious for dipping carrots into or for garnishing pretty much anything.
