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Field Notes – Winter 2012
February 7, 2012
Greetings from the garden!
My calendar says late January, however it appears that the weather gods didn’t get the message, as the forecast for today is 63 degrees.
Winter provides gardeners time for reflection and planning for the coming spring. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M. (EDT). On the first day of spring—the vernal equinox—day and night are each approximately 12 hours long (with the actual time of equal day and night, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring a few days before the vernal equinox). The Sun crosses the celestial equator going northward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west. Sounds like this would be a good time to calibrate your compass. What it tells me is that my “planning” window is closing quickly; spring is just 49 days away!
All the fields at Harmony Farm have been “put to bed” for the season. We still have garlic in the ground (straw covered) that will be harvested in the early summer. Beyond that everything is fair game for the deer and other critters at the farm. The warm weather extended the season and allowed us to harvest Russian Kale, Swiss Chard, Leaf Lettuces, and Turnips into early December.
This spring we will be adding another 500 lavender plants and harvesting (for the first time) from plants that were planted in 2008. Look for Harmony Farm Lavender in the GAIA gift shop in 2012. Our lavender is both USDA Organic and Demeter Certified Biodynamic®. To learn more about Biodynamic® Farming visit the Demeter website.
We expect to have another productive season of organic hay from the upper fields. In addition, we will continue to have a small organic/Biodynamic® certified vegetable garden this year, with more emphasis on medicinal herbs.
All this “planning” is great, but I must admit that I’m looking forward to more days of 63 degrees and the heat of summer. It will be here before we know it!
Rich Dinsmore
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