February 2, MIDDLE winter

We are inching along towards longer days and the season of bitter greens and ramps. My friend Old Man Cowan said we should be half way through our wood piles and hay.  Most of us hit that mark a couple weeks ago after harsh weather at the end of December and early January.  Im still doing research about the varieties of plants to grow out in 2018, so many decisions to make, all of which are much easier now that we have an added value kitchen at the farm.  The greatest season extender and pressure relief valve for a produce operation is the added value kitchen. Its an enterprise onto itself, with more work and more expenses but the overall effect on the whole farm is less pressure and an increased sense of resource management.   Season extenders such as cold hearty variety selection, hoop houses, mulching, etc are all very limited in overall impact on the farm, where no matter what, nature is the boss.