Winding Down
With the arrival of cooler temperatures and farm tasks slowing down, this will be the last weekly Farm Journal Friday post of the season. But, don’t worry! I will still post to the Farm Journal as we have exciting things happening on the farm (and maybe as I have some tasty, made from scratch recipes to share?!) and will pick-up Farm Journal Friday weekly posts again in the spring. If you want to stay more up-to-date with the going-ons around the farm, be sure to give the Mystic Hills Farmstead page a like/follow on Facebook and follow us on Instagram (@mystichillsfarmstead). If you are not already subscribed to the Farm Journal, be sure you do that so you will be notified when there is a new post this fall and winter. I look forward to staying in touch with you!
This week has been WAY slower for us after the busy season we have experienced on the farm. It feels really good to slow down, knowing our freezers full of meat and storage room full of veggies will sustain us for a long while. In the slowing down, I have enjoyed getting to spend more time with Kade again (who was being babysat off and on for nearly 3 weeks as Jack and I finished all the crucial tasks we needed to get done before winter), and have even had the chance to read a book or two (let’s be honest though, I think I’ve read 3 books in the last week). Even with the few tasks we need to complete on the farm before winter arrives looming over our heads, I feel like we are in a really good place for next year. I am looking forward to planning everything we are going to grow and raise on the farm in my free time this winter.
In addition to relaxing and hanging out with my favorite toddler, I also got a bit of work done around the farm and planted our garlic this week. I LOVE everything about growing garlic. Not only is it completely amazing that one clove of garlic turns magically into an entire bulb of garlic (what?!), but I love how easy it is to grow, and the fact that it is planted in the winter and then comes up in the spring all tall and mighty as the snow melts is just so cool! I am really, extra excited about the garlic I planted this year because a majority of the garlic seed I bought is from an organic farm in Michigan that has some of the biggest seed garlic I have ever seen. This means that I could have some seriously large garlic next year, which makes me very excited. I am also growing Elephant garlic for the first time this year- and the cloves are HUGE- nearly the size of my palm. I’ll show you a picture below so you can see. If it isn’t obvious already, I really geek out over garlic and I cannot wait to see how all the different varieties do next year.
I really enjoy the fluctuations of the seasons and the mirroring fluctuations in work load that we experience on the farm. Spring, summer and most of fall are so busy and tiring, that by this time of year, I am always ready for the slowing down and looking forward to when I look out my window and all I can see is a blanket of white. By the end of winter and our mini “hibernation”, I am always rejuvenated and ready to take on the next season with new vigor and renewed hope. I look forward to what the future will bring on the farm. Until then, you can find me cozied up next to the fire, dreaming-up and planning for what 2021 will be.
Until next time,
Farmer Kinzie