Seed therapy

Usually, by the time the calendar reaches the end of February, I've reached the end of my rope - in terms of winter. Not that I don't like winter - because I do.
Just not too much of it!

The same sort of snowfall that brought a smile in December now brings a frown.
The feeling of satisfaction that comes after plowing our driveway is replaced with grumblings of "not again!"
And the prospect of bundling on layer upon layer of bulky clothing to beat the cold becomes too daunting - far easier to just stay inside.

My tried & true remedy for these February blahs is to plant seeds ... to dig my hands in the dirt and imagine spring, and summer, and greenness, and warmth. Depending on my mood, which depends on how long & severe the winter has been, I often start seeding too early. I come by this honestly. Apparently my grandfather could never wait to seed his tomatoes and regularly ended up with massive plants long before the weather allowed him to transplant them into the field.

This year was just the same ... but totally different!

In terms of the weather, winter never really came.
We only had a couple of small snowfalls - certainly not enough to tire of it.

I plowed our driveway just 1 time - mostly because I wanted to, not because it really needed it. But the blade sits there ready & waiting.

And it hasn't been very cold at all. Certainly the fruit trees would have preferred temperatures a little colder, and more consistent.

This winter was different because both my parents passed away.
Mother died suddenly & unexpectedly in late November, and Dad already in failing health followed her last week.

I miss them a lot!

It was my parents who taught me how to plant seeds. I remember Dad pulling small furrows through the garden soil, then showing me how to drop the seeds in one by one using the width of my hand to get the proper spacing. We started with the bigger seeds - peas & beans - and as my skill increased, we moved to smaller seeds - radishes, beets, carrots. Planting corn was fun because we walked barefoot down the furrow, using our feet to measure the distance between the seeds. Potatoes too. And after he covered the pieces of seed potato we got to walk on the row to push the soil down.

This winter I started my seeding quite early in February. We've already been eating pea shoots & sunflower shoots, and the lettuce & other greens are almost ready too. Herbs & onions are up.

 I needed to dig in the dirt, touch the seeds, feel the warmth of the sun, see the new, green shoots poking out of the soil, and smell the damp, warm air in the greenhouse - to nurture the seeds, and to let them nurture me.

And to remember ...

Elsie Thiessen    Sept.12, 1926 - November 28, 2011

Peter Thiessen    Jan. 6, 1919 - Feb. 21, 2012

Summer harvest - winter eating

It's January and I'm hungry for some fresh fruit.

The last of the fall apples are still hanging around - but soft & wrinkly, and without much flavour. It's applesauce this week or out they go!

The chickens have been enjoying the final few Bosc pears - they don't mind that they are mostly brown & mushy rotten. They're hoping for the apples too!

There are still some Christmas clementines left in the fruit cellar - fuzzy grey and without juice. Some boxes were pretty good, but others not.

The grocery stores have been featuring sweet cherries lately, and of course every kind of fruit imaginable is available on their shelves.

But I don't think so ...

We will not buy out of season, imported fruit in winter. Local apples and maybe some oranges and bananas (sometimes) are all we will purchase this time of year.

Right now, what I really crave is one of our own peaches - red, ripe, sweet & juicy, warm off the tree, the kind you have to lean way over to eat so the juice doesn`t run down your shirt!



However, this is what the peach orchards look like today ...

How crazy is it to see green grass in mid-January!

And here is what I wish they looked like ...

And this is what I'm dreaming about ...

Good thing some of the summer harvest was tucked away for winter eating!

While I cannot take much credit for this, I am thankful to Lorie for the effort she put into canning and freezing peaches.

Of course they are not as good as fresh - but they do taste really good this time of year!

Notice the different colours of the peaches.

Some are Babygold peaches. These are our favourites - for flavour, colour & texture - but they are the most work to can. They are not freestone and must be cut off the pit. Even with blanching they do not slip their skins and must be peeled by hand with a potato peeler. When there were still canning factories in Ontario, Babygolds and similar varieties were the peaches that were put into cans. But we do not even grow Babygolds and have to get them from another farmer.
Many customers who can peaches have their favourite variety - Redhaven is the best known & loved. Others prefer Starfire, Jayhaven, Loring ...
Jubilee is an old cultivar that we stopped growing probably 35 or more years ago. But some people still remember how well they canned and ask for them.
Lorie will can any kind of peach. She will use whatever is available when she has time to put some away.
The palest peaches in the picture are white flesh peaches. While they may not look quite as pretty in the jar, their taste is just fine.
Most of our peaches were canned with the peels - saves a lot of work and they also turned out great!

We also freeze peaches.
Wash them, slice them - don`t bother peeling them - and place on cookie sheets in a single layer. Freeze them overnight, then scoop them off and bag them. They stay loose and we can use however many we need. This sure beats freezing them by the bag or container and then having to thaw the whole frozen clump, and watching them turn brown as they defrost.
I like to put some in a bowl and microwave for a few minutes. Usually I eat them plain - no sugar or anything.

Sometimes I will drizzle a bit of maple syrup on top to satisfy a super sweet craving,

... and I`ll pretend it`s August and I`m eating fresh peaches off the tree.

Winter harvest

I like winter!

I like the more relaxed pace of life - a welcome relief from the summer's gruelling schedule.
I like that the work can usually be done today ... or tomorrow ... or even next week.
The constant push of the harvest is just a memory!

So when there is talk of growing & harvesting crops throughout the winter (an increasingly common practise), I get really uncomfortable.
I enjoy the seasonality of our farm - planting, growing, and harvesting in spring, summer and fall.
Not winter!
Winter is for catching our breath, relaxing, planning, dreaming, rejuvenating ourselves.

As long as we just grew fruit, winter farming was never an issue. Fruit trees are set in their ways and only produce in the summer. The winter was for pruning not picking.

When vegetables were added to our farm, we could push the seasons. What & how could we grow & harvest sooner in spring and later in fall? With many farmers' markets now opening sooner and closing later in the year, stretching the harvest season becomes a necessity.

And so the other day I was out picking spinach - fresh from the garden.
Our last seeding of lettuces & spinach was so beautiful in fall, that in a moment of weakness we covered it - just to see what would happen.

With our incredibly mild winter so far, it has done very well.

Of course, even the greens left uncovered are still looking pretty good.

We're still digging carrots too. And then there's the kale ...

I have mixed feelings about it all. While very exciting to be picking fresh greens in January, do we really even want to consider doing it on a larger scale? Should we start thinking winter CSA?

I guess I'm getting old - and probably lazy too!
Perhaps I should lie down, have a rest, and think about it some more.








.

Oh Christmas tree!

I confess ...
We've never had a real Christmas tree.
At least not recently.
The last time I remember having a real tree was probably about 40 years ago!
Then my parents discovered the pleasures of the artificial.
Mom liked that it never shed needles, didn't need watering, and always looked good (?). Dad liked going to get a tree from the basement instead of shopping for one in town, and paying for a tree only once rather than every year.
Us kids liked that we could set up the tree early in the season and it would last & last ...


Lorie & I have continued the family tradition.
Our first Christmas tree came in a box, purchased with wedding money. Most of the decorations were wedding gifts (that's what happens when you marry in
mid-November).
The tradition continued for 25 years.
Then it ended!
Set up & decorated in our living room right now is a real, living, great smelling, needle shedding (not much), water sucking, genuine Christmas tree.
And it was cut on our own farm!

Here's how it happened ...
Living on a fruit farm, we grow lots of trees, thousands of trees, fruit bearing trees - but not evergreen trees.
I like growing trees. We've planted lots of shade trees around the yard, added nut trees & paw paws in the orchards, transplanted & nurtured volunteer seedlings that have sprouted in the garden, and even gathered throw-aways from a nearby nursery.

Quite a few years ago I bought some tiny little evergreen trees - cedars & spruce. They came in the mail and were only 3-4 inches tall with just a few roots. The plan was to enjoy growing them and then someday use them for a windbreak. The plan worked well and so I bought some more. As they have grown I've moved them around - to get them out of the way, and to slow them down until they were needed. Some have died, others were set out to their permanent spots, and some were left to keep growing - unwanted, unweeded, uncared for - squeezed between the greenhouse that's never been finished (don't ask), and a compost pile. Their purpose seemed only to provide shade for the chickens in the heat of the summer.

Until now!

Despite being crowded & therefore somewhat misshapen, someone saw potential, even beauty in their greenness.
We examined them from every angle, used our imaginations, then chose & chopped. Dragged into the house and set up, we again examined it from every angle, used our imaginations, and finally decorated it.
Perfectly shaped it is not. But we think it's beautiful - our very own, grown at home Christmas tree.

May your own Christmas traditions - new & old -  bring you pleasure and happiness as you celebrate the holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Anniversary trip

I like to be at home!
I like my farm ... I like my bed ... I like the comfort of my daily routine ...

But I also like my wife - actually I love my wife.
So when a trip was suggested - to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary - I decided to like travelling too.

We compromised ... driving, not flying ... away for more than a week, but less than 2  ... looking at farms, but also the ocean ... no cooking allowed!

We began with a few days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, driving around and enjoying the beautiful Amish farms and taking in a live show "Miracle of Christmas" at the famous Sight & Sound Theatre ( www.sight-sound.com ).

 covered bridge

 pumpkins (musquee de provence?) left unpicked in the field

Amish farmer mowing corn stubble

Then it was on to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where the weather was sunny & warm, the ocean beautiful, and the week very relaxing.

 The ocean in front of our hotel

 Sunrise from our balcony

This was in our hotel. Our morning routine included

a coffee and a long walk on the beach.



Here's a crop we don't grow on our farm ...

 Fields of cotton in South Carolina

Bales of cotton ready to be shipped

Combine on a busy highway

So glad we don't farm terrain like this in Virginia

A popular picture spot - Mabry Mill along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

We both agreed - it was a great trip!

... It's also great to be back home!