I had a blissful 12 days off from work for winter break. I really needed to relax – I’m a teacher, and the Thanksgiving to Christmas push was particularly brutal this year. But I didn’t spent much time lounging; every moment not spent with friends and family was spent outside, attempting to tackle the ever-growing list of farm tasks.
Food Production
A few weeks ago, I planted new seeds in my cold frame, opposite the productive plants from the fall. Unfortunately, due to the cold winter temperatures, germination was poor. Since germination takes more warmth than the actual growing process, I decided to try starting seeds indoors and then transplanting them into the cold frame. My adopted mom next door conveniently has an awesome greenhouse, so I borrowed a bit of space to start some seedlings – and they are already starting to germinate!
In the meantime, I made a rookie mistake – I let snow accumulate on the cold frame for several days. Since the sunlight was blocked from entering, the temperature dropped into the 30s and the plants were largely unable to photosynthesize. I only had a few lettuce plants left and they aren’t completely ruined, but this has definitely stunted their progress.
My grocery store started stocking organic Murasaki sweet potatoes, among a few other varieties. I’ve had success growing sweet potatoes before, but here in New England they need every second of growing season that they can get – you can buy some extra growing season by using grow bags or large containers and giving them an indoor (or in our case, an in-greenhouse) head start.
For $3.49, I decided it was worth the gamble to try to grow my own slips. They’re nestled in shallow soil layered on top of shredded paper and misted daily. If this doesn’t work, I’ll pick up another pack and try to sprout them in water. The benefit of starting so early is that I have plenty of time.
Resource Acquisition & Preparedness
My lesson about snow and cold frames was aptly timed. I was presented with an opportunity I couldn’t pass up: 24 wood-framed windows of various sizes posted online, free for the taking. The previous owner left windows in the hay loft that I figured I’d use for more cold frames someday, but they are insanely heavy and I wasn’t sure how I was going to go about getting them down to the main floor. These are much more manageable in size; not only should they be functional, but the building process will be a great learning experience.
I’ve been struggling with my Ego electric chainsaw, and in a fit of frustration one day I attempted to get my dad’s old Stihl chainsaw running. I failed and wound up bringing it in to a professional; it turned out to have a cracked fuel line, so I’m glad I brought it in!
In the meantime, I figured out the problem with the Ego. I felt like something was wrong with the tensioner, because the chain was slipping terribly every time I cut anything. It was taking hours to get one Gator-load of firewood because I would cut something, take the entire chainsaw apart to get the chain back on, cut one more log, repeat. It almost seemed like the chain was too long for the bar, but that didn’t make sense – surely a metal chain can’t stretch, right? Wrong… $9 later I have a new chain and the chainsaw works spectacularly. Problem solved.
Since then, I’ve been bringing in a lot more wood, but it’s still never enough.
Aesthetic Utility
When I first moved here, I shoved a box labeled ‘bathroom’ in the linen closet. Every time I needed something, I would grab it from the box and put it on one of the shelves. It was a disorganized mess. On more than one occasion, I went to buy something like toothpaste only to later realize that I had three forgotten extras from a previous Costco run.
The shelves are deep and the bathroom lacks any other storage, so I was concerned about making everything accessible – that’s part of why I put it off this long. In the end, the solution was simple and took 25 minutes. It feels great to have a functional space.
Moving Forward
I’m a bit behind in posting these updates, so I already know the future – spoiler alert, it involves firewood.
Talk soon,
KC