Winter Renewal (and Farm Chores)

If there is one thing farmers know about, it's planning their lives around the seasons.  I love reading The Pioneer Lady books by Jane Watson Hopping.  She writes of her community and growing up on a farm with her family.  In her world, winter was a time for regeneration and rest.  The final harvest before the first snowfall marked the end of the growing season and the beginning of slower days. That doesn't mean they didn't still have work to do, but the chores weren't as pressing or as numerous, and there was a little extra time in the day to socialize and reconnect with each other. I sometimes long for a long snow-filled winter where growing vegetable is near to impossible.  In the south, they say we have two weather conditions, hot and hotter.  Because of this, we can grow year round, and it's hard to justify not growing at least a few things when the weather works in your favor.  Winter greens do quite well in our climate and with hoop houses, we can even extend the growing season for many warm weather vegetables.  The first freeze last week finally killed off my eggplant, pepper and basil plants.  Eggplants, peppers and basil in December!  I do try to cut back in the winter and follow the lead of Mrs. Hopping, but that doesn't mean I still don't have chores, just as they did.  

I am in no way a large scale farmer, but my set-up is enough that I recognize the seasons and the activities and chores that come with each one. What farm chores do I do this time of year you may ask?  I still plant winter vegetables, just not as many as in the summer.  I like to plant plenty of greens because they can be shared with my rabbits and chickens.  I clean out all of the garden beds, including weeds and the veggie plants themselves.  I top all of my beds with manure so it can break down over the winter and regenerate my soil (I'm behind in this chore so I really need to get it done!).  I then top all of my beds with wood mulch (Once again, behind!).  In January I start to think about seed propagation and the varieties I want to grow in the new year.  In most years, a seed order is placed.  I plan the layout of each bed, rotating veggies from the year before to other beds to help control soil diseases.  Any maintenance that needs to be done around the farm is completed.  And, if I have a large project planned, it gets done this time of year as well.  My ultimate goal is to prep and get everything ready for the spring and summer, but most importantly, it's to relax a little.  

Nature takes this time to renew itself; we should do the same.

Happy homesteading,

Candace