Winter Preparations

We are now preparing for Winter.    Last night was the beginning of a week projected to have overnight lows in the 20's to low 30's.    We put down tarps on frames over the primary greens and tuber growing beds.    We covered new beds temporarily.     We have planted winter-hardy greens and more beets, carrots, kale and some horticultural crops.    They are covered and look well this morning.

With our low tunnels over the working beds, our salad greens should be able to give continuously,into January.     Others will overwinter and be on the market before most produce growers can plant their beds in ;the Spring.   Production typically slows down this time of year, but it is regulated by the plant's cold tolerance.

The new salad greens mix has more lettuce than during the peak drought months of June, July and August.    It also has smaller leaves of the following plants:

• Swiss Chard
• Collards (baby leaf)
• Kale
• Kohlrabi greens (baby leaf)
• Broccoli (baby leaf)
• Mustards
• Mizunas
• Arugulas
• Mints
• Parsley and Cilantro
• Beet greens
• Turnip greens
• Radish greens
• Carrot top (baby leaf)
• Pak Choy, Bok Choy, Dae Cheong Chae

The new lettuces and the sprouting spinaches will provide contrasting colors to the deep, dark greens, maroons, browns, reds and oranges of the mix.

Beets and carrots are normally sweeter and darker in the early winter.    Turnips are milder.    

Our second plantings of Purple Majesty, Mountain Rose, All Blue, my All Purple strain, Yukon Gold and All Red potatoes will survive the frost, but the plant aboveground will not.     These potatoes will be dug shortly.     The sweet potato harvest has been surprisingly good, given the drought.

For our CSA clients, we have put up record quantities of:

• Raspberry, strawberry and rhubarb mix jams and syrups
• Apple chips (dehydrated apple slices)
• Pear chips
• Salsa
• Green Tomato relish
• Stewed Tomatoes
• Catsup
• Pasta sauce
• Apple jelly
• Apple butter
• Apple sauce
• Frozen rhubarb, berries, okra
• Canned Pear halves.

They will begin receiving baked goods, including Doris' pies, specialty breads, multi-grain and cracked wheat breads, her hot and cinnamon sugar coated peanuts.

Our friends at Tomato-Tomato continue to receive the salad greens on alternate days.   They are beginning to buy Doris' jam assortments in decorative gift baskets. We are looking to expand the offerings at Bambi's Green Acres, a well known Omaha nutrition store and hope to announce two more restaurants using our salad greens mix in the coming days.

Next on the agenda is cold storage of the harvest.    Sweet potatoes are filling up the fruit room, as are potatoes.    Tomatoes are ripening slowly in the garage and are checked almost daily.   

We are placing our Spring seeds purchases and will be polling the restaurant clients to see what we should add.    In the meantime, allow me to recommend Dante' Pizzeria Napolitana in the Shopps of Legacy on West Center in Omaha.    In addition to our salad greens, they are the masters of fresh, handmade pastas, the freshest Mozarella cheese, made in the restaurant, and an assortment of Italian specialty meats and cheeses.    Small wonder Dante' Pizzeria is in the top 10 restaurants in Omaha month after month.    I see their craftsmanship every time I deliver.    Trust me, they don't cut corners.    This place is the real deal.

Good eating to you all!