Farm Garden in the Off Season

I do think it is warmer this year than normal; with freezing temperatures at times often, but also some 50 degree days, and no snowfalls yet. Still I'm amazed that some things in the garden are still good. Tonight I wanted to try a kale soup recipe from pinterest (Smoked Sausage, Kale, and Potato Soup), so Mike headed out to the garden to collect the kale, rosemary, and thyme, all of which are still growing well. I also used previously harvested potatoes and garlic. Mike still has some carrots and potatoes in the ground that he needs to dig up, although he thinks the carrots have probably been eaten by voles by now.

abundant kale and herbs harvested in freezing temps

I also pulled some homegrown blackberries and raspberries from the freezer to make this Pioneer Woman cobbler recipe. If you're not familiar with the Pioneer Woman, I'd suggest you check out her web site and consider buying one of her cookbooks. If you like real farm food, like desserts made with lots of butter and sugar, delicious meat main dishes, and lots of other dishes, with easy, easy, step by step instructions, you will like her. I have never made one of her recipes that I didn't LOVE!

 

 It's just exciting when we're able to reap the benefits of Mike's farming in the off season. I've been thinking about ways to lengthen the growing season into winter, even considering planting some lettuce seeds outside in November and keeping row covers on them. Given that I still have some lettuce growing now, maybe it's not a bad idea! 

Whether fresh from the garden or freezer, it is great to be able to cook with homegrown produce in the winter!

Fall tasks

I haven't gardened in awhile. We went through a stretch of having these gnats that caused painful bites, and even though they didn't leave any itchy welts, it felt like getting pricked by needles all over! So we've been inside a lot. But now it's November and we're still having really nice days that don't even require a jacket! While we were outside, I decided to spend some time in the garden doing some non essential tasks. It is so glorious to be out in the sunshine digging in dirt! And it's not even Spring! 

Happy fall!