December and 2014 Plans

The cold has caught me off guard, although I guess in the long run it has all turned out okay.
My wood stove is cranking out the heat and the wood pile looks big enough to get us through the season.

Last Thursday I ripped the remaining, and now dead, tomatoes from the hoophouse and seeded some new crops. I know it was warm that day because I was working in a t-shirt and was plenty warm. I planted some tatsoi, kale, and more varieties of mustards and then covered them with ag fabric to hopefully speed along their germination and growth.

Monday of this week was a blustery and cool day, but not cold as was yesterday and as is today. I was happy to be able to dig out the rest of the carrots because the ground wasn't frozen, and was happy with the quantity I got. They are now safely stored in my garage, drying. I'll layer them in straw when they are completely dry and see if it is sufficient to get me through the winter.

I'm working on getting my seeds ready for 2014 sales, with seeds still needing to be cleaned, packed and labeled. Some people have placed orders already, and although I do have my 2014 Seed Savers pre-packaged seed available now, I'm still working on the rest and am hoping to have it ready by mid-end of January. You won't need it before that, right?

The seed help

Some of the Seedy Saturday invitations have come in already for 2014 and I'll be making the rounds again.

This year I am not organizing Niagara Seedy Saturday as I felt it was time to turn it over to others. Master Gardeners and the region's Horticultural Societies have stepped up to the plate, and I suspect will put their own spin on it. So....mark your calendars!  February 8th, 9:30-3:30 at St Giles Church, Linwell Ave., St Catharines. I will write a complete post with details to follow in January. I look forward to seeing everyone there and I'll have lots of chances to talk to everyone this year at my table, which I haven't had in the past as the organizer. Yahoo!

Early In January I'll also update my website with information about the CSA for next year. Please let me know as soon as possible if your are interested as the spots do fill up quickly (for which I am eternally grateful.)

I'll also get the information out about my spring "Come Seed with Me" workshops here on the farm. These have proved to be quite popular, and fill up every year. It is a great chance to learn, and also go home with everything you may need to plant your 2014 garden. It's dirty fun!

And last but far from least will be the updated information about my seedlings available for purchase in the spring. There will again be an opportunity to preorder your favourites, and that list will be available by February this year. Hope you like what you see....there will be some "new" and exciting ones.

Yesterday was Week 12 of my fall/winter CSA and the carrots in the baskets were freshly dug, the greens freshly picked. No doubt at all that the storage veggies are getting down in quantity, but surprising, even in this cold, the greens just keep on growing. I find it just amazing, and it sure makes me happy.

On a very chilly and overcast day like today I leave the ag fabric over top of the crops during the day, but on sunny days when it heats up inside, the covers come off and the greens just love it.

I've got a chair set up in the hoophouse for me too. I seem to thrive in the sun on cool winter days also. The temperature can rise to the 80's and 90's, (F), and heat just goes right through you. If you close your eyes, you can nearly hear the waves on the beach.

I'm looking forward to making plans for the new year. Optimism is the true gardener's best ally, and the chance to do it all again the next year, but to do some things just a little bit differently.

A CSA share