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Winter cover cropping in the short season mixed vegetable field Choosing the right cover-cropping schedule, one that accommodates the time and space required for growing the main crop to maturity, can be tricky for the small farm. We small farmers usually don't have ample extra space for adopting a multiple year crop rotation plan which puts portions of the field out of market production for a year or more for cover-cropping. In the future, this is my goal as we open up more of our field for cultivation. For now though, I am currently dealing with this common challenge of...

Composting in the Winter   Here in the desert we get most of our precipitation in the winter, when we don't have the warmth and sunshine for much growing. For growing crops we have to store and use winter's moisture to irrigate in the summer. With composting, we can do better. Active compost piles generate their own heat, even in the wet and frigid winter. If we can do some of our composting during the long winters we wont have to irrigate our compost piles much in the summer, meaning a major water savings here in the desert.   While...

Oland Swedish Dry Bean Beautiful little brown bean! It warms me in winter just to hold the sweet little caramel nuggets in my hands. One of our most popular dry beans, this stunning little gem is traditionally used in Swedish baked bean dishes. We LOVE to slow cook them in the crock pot in a rich broth with molasses and honey. Of all the dry bean varieties I plant, this one matures and dries down most quickly. This makes it a great choice not only for my short season, but for climates where fall rains can ruin beans as they...

Why are my tomatoes burning in the dehydrator? When cherry tomatoes are on, they are abundant! It can be hard to get them all used, but when its winter we know we will miss them! My favorite way to preserve cherry tomatoes is to dry them. They dry more evenly and quickly than sliced larger tomatoes in the dehydrator, and the skin makes them into tiny delicious morsels of concentrated flavor that rival any dried fruit. If you use overrripe tomatoes, it is likely they will burn. This is because the acid content of overripe tomatoes, or even tomatoes harvested...

Temperatures at which to harvest: 35 Basil, Basil Seeds 32 Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Zucchini, Cucumber, Winter Squashes, Sunflowers, Non-hardy flowers, Storage Onions, Beans 28 Potatoes ~20 Cabbage, Celery, Celeriac ~15 Carrots, Bunching/green onions, Turnips, Collards, Kale, Beets, Most Lettuces, Spinach 0 Leeks Ripening fruits such as tomatoes and peppers may appear unharmed after a freeze but the flavor will be compromised. The flavor is not as strong, maybe even bitter, and the texture is pithy. Tomatoes harvested from dead vines also lack much of their natural acidity and are therefore not recommended for canning or drying. For storage and biennial...