From the Cellar to the Sky

This was the first winter that we used the cellar and a freezer for storing veggies grown here.   I never stored vegetables for the winter before.  With both of us working full-time off-farm, there didn't seem to be the time.   This is not much of an excuse, as I have friends who work long hours and store vegetables.  But, it was our excuse, and I hold to my excuses firmly.

Now I wonder why in the world I took so long to start.   It is February 19th.  In the photo are some of the veggies I brought up this morning from the cellar, chopped up, and put in a crock pot for a beef stew supper.

We are keeping lots of veggies quite nicely without any refrigeration or blanching.  I know this should not be a surprise to me, but somehow it is.   I grew up with refrigeration and store-bought vegetables.   We also have a further selection of vegetables from the farm in the freezer.

Are the veggies in the cellar perfect?  No.   A few have gone bad.   Some of the carrots now have a bit of rot that can be cut away.   I don't need perfect.   I know very few people who do, and those tend to have stomach aches.

For awhile, after the ground froze, the good veggie peelings were getting thrown out with the trash.      I didn't want to buy and try one of those big turning-composting contraptions, and hand turning a frozen pile under snow is difficult, particularly as you get older.  We aren't keeping animals capable of generating enough manure to keep a pile warm.  I tried one of those small, stationary, vertical compost bins for awhile, but it seemed to be viewed as a casserole dish by the local raccoons.  

So, now we have put an old covered trash can in a garage, and the good compost-type stuff is getting tossed there.  Will this practice attract someone unwanted into the garage?   If so,  I need a plan B, which I don't have yet.   But, I do have lots of nice old vegetable peelings and coffee grinds, that may make it into a compost pile in the spring.   Good.

I'm a planner and a great worrier by nature.  Actually, I am the designated family worrier.  I do an annual budget and track all expenses, both for the family and the farm.   I object to tossed coffee grinds.   I follow people around who are sniffling and push tea and honey on them.  I object to George (husband) wearing sneakers rather than boots in the winter, although it does not seem to make him sick.  I wonder if we will run out of wood for the stove before spring.

I don't worry about the price of gas, because George worries about it.    I do not believe in duplicating worrying.   The fact that neither of us can do anything about the price of gas is immaterial.    Worrying is in our nature. 

I was just reading the entry from Cold Antler Farm, a blog I enjoy.   She (the writer) is not a worrier, and has accomplished a lot, which is wonderful.  She took on a farm with no savings and is making it work.  She has pushed through lots of mistakes.  She might get the pony she has always wanted, and soon.

The owner of Cold Antler Farm is younger than I am, has been farming longer, and probably has less arthritis in her hands.   I like reading her blog.  Maybe her last entry will give me courage to try more things here.  Isn't it wonderful when people give you courage?

Why didn't I start putting up vegetables sooner!    Maybe a little less planning and worrying is in order.

I want a pony.   Chunky, strong, and cheerful pony.   Ok, there, I said it.