REST AND RECUPERATION
The short days of winter and cold temperatures naturally lend themselves to slowing down. I truly love the seasonality of being a farmer and gardener in the Midwest. Once December arrives, my thoughts become focused on the holidays and time with family. This space between the past season and planning for the next is a rare period of time best used for rest, reflection, and recuperation. Some gardeners in the southernmost parts of the Midwest may still be harvesting a little, and others may be extending the season with row covers and hoop houses, but everyone has slowed down. As you consider this past season and start to look forward, imagine how you want to change your garden in the future and how much time you want to set aside for it. Gardening is hard work, but it is also joyful work; create a calendar for yourself that leaves room for joy.
PLAN
■ Take a break and give yourself some time to recuperate!
PREPARE AND MAINTAIN
■ Keep your eye on stored crops
■ Keep up with microgreens and herbs if you wish
HARVESTING NOW
Brussels sprouts Cabbage Kale Leeks
FROM HOOP HOUSE
Baby turnips Beets Carrots Frisée Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Radicchio Radishes Salad greens Swiss chard
Reflect and Think Holistically
December is a good time to reflect on the season and think about what you loved about your garden and what you want to do differently next year because it was frustrating or didn’t work the way you wanted it to. Maybe rabbits got under the fence you worked hard to build, or the tomato trellis didn’t hold up the tomato plants the way you thought it would. Instead of looking at these problems as failures, see them as learning experiences and opportunities to try something new. I think of December as a time to reflect rather than come up with concrete solutions. You can work on that when the new catalogs come and you begin to lay out next year’s garden in January and February.
When you think about problems you experienced, think holistically. Was it that you didn’t have enough time, or the soil needed more amending, or the seeds you used were old or from a questionable source? Usually the problems are more systemic. Like with our own health, a lifestyle change often has the biggest impact—if you have indigestion, for instance, you can take antacids or you can change your diet. The same is true with the garden. If a plant is plagued with many pest problems, you can spray it with an insecticide, or you can adjust how the plants are spaced or experiment with amending the soil differently to promote health. Without feeling guilty or like you did something wrong, just meditate on the garden, knowing you did the best you could. Solutions will come to you if you give them the opportunity to show themselves.
At the same time, think about all the successes: how you kept the weeds in check, why your cucumbers tasted so good, and how prolific the peppers were. Sometimes it can be just as difficult to remember how you did something right, as it is to fix something that didn’t work. Make notes in your gardening journal while you still remember the details of the season and revisit that information when you are ready to plan for next year.
Organizing Seeds
One small way to prepare for next season is to get your seeds organized. By the end of the season my boxes of seeds tend to be a wrinkled dusty mess. Now that the focus is indoors, this is a good time to sort through them. Spread them out on a table and see what you have. As you go through the seed packets make notes in your garden journal about how certain varieties performed, how productive or disease-susceptible they were, and how they tasted. If you really didn’t like a particular variety for any reason, get rid of the seeds. Pass them along to a fellow gardener or consider attending a seed swap. Toss packets that contain just a few seeds or none. Separate and discard seeds that you know won’t be viable next year, such as crops like onions that don’t last more than a year or those that are already several years old.
When you’ve narrowed down your pile, make note of how many seeds of each variety you have. This will be incredibly helpful when you start ordering seed in January and February. Once you have taken all your notes and counted your seeds, put your seed packets in ziplock plastic bags. This will help your seeds remain viable by keeping them from drying out and taking on moisture. You can further organize your seeds by grouping families together. For certain crops like tomatoes, I grow a lot of varieties so I like to organize the seed packets (alphabetically if I’m feeling ambitious) in their own containers. I use storage containers with tight-fitting lids that are shallow and long, almost exactly the size of the average packet standing on its side. Place the ziplock bags or containers back in the box and store it in a cool dark place with low humidity such as a cabinet, pantry, or your basement if it is dry.
SKILL SET
SQUASH SEED SAVING
You might think it’s too late to save seeds, but if you have squash stored for the winter, you still have a chance. For centuries, we have been breeding and selecting vegetables for size, shape, color, flavor, and recently for shelf life and durability for shipping. Saving your own seed is your participation in that history.
My introduction to growing winter squash and saving seeds came from my grandfather, who grew only one squash variety (his favorite) and saved his own seeds from fruits with the singular trait he was seeking: length. Over time he managed to create a butternut variety that was almost 2 feet long, with a small bulge at the end where all the seeds were. He would simply chop off the end with the seeds and bake the rest of it. My grandfather handed down his butternut squash variety to me before he died, and I have been diligently saving that seed for years. As a fail-safe, I have even given perfect fruits to friends and asked them to save the seed too. It is gratifying to save your own seed and squash is a great place to start learning the process! Here are the simple steps:
1 Choose your favorite squash variety and select the biggest and most mature fruit that you have. If you have one that is molding or starting to rot you can use it, or just make dinner with the squash you choose.
2 To avoid cutting any seeds in half, crack open the squash instead of cutting it open, if possible. A gentle smash on the garage floor should do.
3 Scoop out all the seeds into a strainer. Rinse them under cool water and separate the seeds from the clumps of the stringy flesh until the seeds are clean.
4 Lay out the seeds on newspaper or paper towels until they are dry, which usually takes 24 to 48 hours. Your kitchen counter will work so you can keep an eye on them.
5 Put the dried seeds in a ziplock bag and label with the variety and date. Store it along with the rest of your seeds and test the germination rate before planting.