And so the clock keeps ticking...

     It is the middle of December, the snow has begun to drift, and the sections of commercial farm land surrounding my home are looking like barren wastelands of white.  Here I sit thinking about what I am going to do for my garden next spring.  There is a lot to do between now and then.  There are things like creating information cards for tomatoes and writing promotional information for the market stand which get put off all summer because there is always something else to be done.

     I have already spent hours deciding which tomatoes, leeks, onions, peppers, and more that I would like to grow this season.  I will leave which varieties a surprise for later.  Sure I could just go to the local department store in spring and grab a packet off the shelf of your ordinary tomatoes, but anyone can do that.  I am hoping to make a difference in a way.  To open people’s eyes to what nature has given us.  In our minds when we think of a tomato, we see a bright red firm skinned fruit.  It has no blemishes or cracks.  It has no lobes or character at all.  You can buy those ‘perfect’, unripe, bland fruit at your local supermarket.  There is a whole world of tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables, out there other than the hybrids in the store.  Take a little time to visit www.tomatofest.com and you will see what I mean.  They have hundreds of varieties.  They are all different shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and tastes.  I wish I could try them all.  …. And I don’t like eating raw tomatoes…  It is this diversity that makes me marvel at nature and makes me shake my head in disappointment when others take no notice.  I sold several types of tomatoes last season and of course the pretty tomatoes sold the best to the average consumer, but the people that kept coming back were the ones that tried the other tomatoes.  The ones like the Black Krim, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, and Brandywines.

     I have also started laying out the gardens to make sure I have space for everything.  I am limiting the size of the gardens based on the amount of work involved to maintain them – weeding, pruning, trellising, and picking are all important.  I also plan to increase the number of bee hives I tend to this season, so I have to add a little more time for them.  One more factor affecting my work load this season is going to be my involvement in the market management.  There is a good chance that I may have to carry a fair amount more of the responsibility – all without the help I had from Alicia. 

     There is a long road in front of me at this point that all deserves attention.  It is not too early to start by any means.  It won’t be long until the time comes to plant seedlings and start pulling weeds.  The holidays are getting close and there will be plenty of distractions with all of the other things I am involved in like the fire department and the ambulance service.  I have a lot of ideas to bring that will take a lot of time on a work load of a single individual.  On the other hand, I think the market management will be best handled by a good group of market member.  There is a lot of good energy in the vendors and volunteer that can be nurtured into a productive organization.  If we would have a few individuals with one-fifth the passion that I have had recently, we could make almost anything come together.

     For now, I will keep working on materials for the market stand, choosing plant varieties, looking for recipes, and creating a network of people to make it all happen.

Making horseradish

     Tonight, I made some horseradish sauce for the first time.  It was very easy.  I had dug up the tops of the plants making sure to leave some good roots in the ground so it will start again next year.  I waited until the frost had sufficiently froze the tops which took a couple cold nights.  Horseradish is a tough plant. 

    It grow very well.  Many articles that I read said it is best to wait a year before harvesting much, if any.  I planted my roots from Jung in the spring and this fall had some nice big plants.  Three of the five actually took but it was plenty.  I put a couple of the extra pieces of root in the row where it didn't take this year so next year I should have it filled in.

     Okay, back to making the horseradish.  Like I said it is very easy.  Wash it well, peel it, stick it in the blender or a food processor and chop it up.  Let it set for a few minutes.  The longer it sets the hotter it should be, that is before adding the vinegar and water.  You can find recipes online but the one I found used two to three cups of horseradish, one half cup of both vinegar and water.  Blend it all together and put it in jars.  Now what gets easier than that?

     Be careful working with it.  It can be very intense.  When I was peeling the roots, I had no problems but as soon as I began to blend it my eyes would burn when the lid was opened.

     I did not try any yet.  I plan to make some ham sandwiches with it tomorrow.  I will see if I can give a few jars away at work, since one jar will likely last me a while.  I made about half of the roots into sauce.  The rest I put in plastic bags and put in the freezer to make at a later date.  Over time, the sauce will loose its flavor.