On Sunday past we received a small gift from Mother Nature in the
form of a mild and sunny day, the first day in months to record a
temperature in the low 40’s. No snow, no gusty winds; just a
relatively pleasant day. I’ts about time. This has been the hardest
Winter in decades, perhaps a lifetime. I let the “girls” out of the
chicken coop, grabbed a shovel and dug my way into the vegetable
garden. After some heavy shoveling I reached my destination; the
late fall/winter greens bed. I covered this bed in the fall with plastic to extend the growing season and to overwinter some crops for early
Spring.
After having spent the winter completely covered in snow, the
tunnel wasn’t exactly photo ready. Hey, it did stay together and for
that I am thankful. Another two or three weeks and we will be enjoying
our first crop of the new year, Mache. Mache is very popular in France,
Belgium and other temperate zone European countries. The common
name for it in the States is “corn salad”. Mache grows as a rosette with
a nice mouth feel and a mild nutty taste. It has become one of our
favorite greens and we look forward to Mache season every year.
We celebrated the day with some steaks on the grill, the first of the year.
With Spring less than a month away, it’s time to start some seeds under
the lights. The party is starting!
All the best,
Greg
