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.
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