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No Winter Greens, but Smoked Meat and Garlic

Posted at 2:23 PM on November 10, 2008 by Autumn Long (2 Comments)

November is flying by, and winter is fast approaching. It's looking very "wintery" around here. I broke down and bought some non-local (but organic) lettuce at the grocery...I know, I'm a locavore loser. Gone are the days of sauteed zucchini as a side dish to every dinner. The fall garden I was so proud of a few months ago did terribly. Slugs ate what remained of the plants after the deer munched off their tops. After that trauma, none of the poor little seedlings put on any growth. I think my kitchen garden is in too shady a spot for fall planting, anyway. Oh well, there's always next year to try, try again. Until the day comes when we build our dream greenhouse, I'll have to resort to non-local lettuce for my winter salad fixes.

On a happier note, we managed to plant next season's garlic over the weekend: three pounds of hard-neck (Musik) and one pound of soft-neck (Inchelium Red). It's good to get that final gardening chore squared away. Also, I picked up our hams and bacon last week from a local smokehouse. The nice lady who operates the place cures and smokes pork products in addition to many venison products, such as venison sausage and pepperoni. She does pork only as a sideline, but she does a very good job. We tasted the bacon as soon as we got it home, and we were extremely pleased with the results. I look forward to eating some ham this holiday season...which is coming soon!

If anyone knows of local greens out there, give me a heads up! What's on your locavore menus for upcoming holiday dinners?

Comments (2)

Dear Autumn,

I am sorry about your garden...so much work and hope...

We have a lot of kale and collards and other greens around these parts....not oganic but very tasty.

I have tried putting up a raised bed with an elevated floating row cover and planting some lettuce...so far a huge amount of weeds have germinated...i wonder if some people are just not meant to have gardens.

Have you tried sprouts :)??

Best regards, Vera

Posted by vera schabicki | November 17, 2008 11:32 PM

Hi Vera,
I'm very envious of your long growing seasons down there in the Cotton State. We've got snow on the ground and you're germinating lettuce! (or trying, at least) I'm blessed to have been raised in a family of gardeners, and to have lots of friends and relatives who are experienced gardeners, so I have lots of mentors to help me with the ongoing learning process of gardening. I don't think one can ever be a perfect gardener; it's always a challenge and always filled with suprises. For folks like you who might not have the support network that I do, I would recommend your local extension agency as a great source of information about food production, harvesting, and preservation. You can contact your local extension agent for everything from soil testing to growing-season guides and information about canning and freezing your produce. They also might offer classes of the Master Gardener type. Good luck with your ongoing efforts!
Cheers,
Autumn

Posted by Autumn Long | November 18, 2008 3:27 PM