First Frost, First Fire

As October winds down, we have already had four light frosts on the Farm. With the first frost warning, all of us down at the Garden were hard at work harvesting any remaining crops that would be killed or damaged by frost.

First on the list were our peppers, both sweet and hot, followed by pumpkins and Winter squash. Then on the morning of our first frost, we lit the first fire of the season in our wood burning stove.

I love this time of late fall when it’s cold enough to warrant a fire.

As Winter approaches, there will be a number of days spent working in the Garden Shed, tending to our Winter projects. The main task being the shelling of seeds from our Summer crops.

Our seeds serve two purposes. First, the beans, field peas and butter beans are used by our chefs in their culinary creations for the Winter season.

Second, and the most important of all, is the seed preservation project which ensures that our seeds will be available not only for replanting the following Spring and Summer, but also as seed stock for future generations.

As we get into November and December, we often have cold rainy days which are unsuitable for outdoor work. Those are the perfect days for shelling and grinding corn, along with the continuing work of shelling out seeds.

The warmth that comes from our wood burning stove adds a wonderful cheer to a damp, cold day.

On some occasions, we will lay a cedar bough on top of the stove, which releases a familiar scent of the upcoming Christmas season.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener