I must chalk all this crazy weather up to- well – winter! One of our team members commented that she was ready for some warm weather – so am I. I do, however, like winter with its own brand of beauty and its own rhythm.
I like shoveling the walkways and stacking firewood for the winter fires, but there is one winter chore that must be done in a timely manner or else! It is keeping the snow off the greenhouses, thankfully that is an infrequent occurrence. One of the challenges in our area is that the snow is wet and can flatten a greenhouse quickly. When I, unexpectedly, woke up last week to 4 inches of snow, my first look was out towards the greenhouses. All was well.
We are about 3 weeks away from starting our lettuce and onion transplants and then hopefully, weather permitting, those seedlings will go out into the field at the end of April. This planting schedule is a bit later than normal, but when I look back through the seasons, it just makes sense for us, to start a little later and avoid all the unpredictable weather that is associated with the winter and spring tug-a-war.
Mind you, this is my plan, and it is subject to change. Mostly because we have always started early, and it is so hard to not take advantage of good weather, when it pops up. But, more often than not the early planted crops usually harvest about the same time as the later planted crops, because they struggle in the early weeks. So, my strategy is to skip that first transplant window in early March and wait till the first day of spring to start. I have also asked Joelle to hide the tractor keys till March 21st! 😊
This week’s Box of Good.
When I look at this menu, I immediately start thinking about roasting vegetables. Carrots, parsnips, sweet onions, green beans and broccoli. Oh my! But I am also partial to steaming all these as well. If I were going to steam the vegetables, I would cut up the carrots and parsnips into ¼ inch rounds and steam them for 10 minutes and then add in the green beans and broccoli and cook for another 10 minutes, drain and add a dollop of butter a pinch of salt and dig in.
Bon Appetit,
-Tristan, Joelle and the Box of Good crew