I’m often asked, “What exactly do you do all winter long?” and I understand why. It’s pretty obvious what keeps me busy during the growing season, but winter must be ‘down time,’ right? Well, yes and no.

There are many days in January and February when I don’t venture to the garden at all. It sleeps peacefully under a blanket of snow, awaiting seeds and care in the spring. The unheated hoop house, however, warms up nicely on sunny days, and I’ll be planting early crops of kohlrabi, beets, and greens in late February. They get multiple fabric coverings and will start very slowly, but take off in April, and it’s so lovely to have fresh produce in May. The bulk of the garden planning and seed ordering happens before Christmas, but there are months’ worth of tweaks, as we deal with international organic seed shortages and evolving markets and realities. Winter road trips include a drive to pick up supplies near Charles City, seed potatoes in March over near Madison, and sometimes a farming conference or two. January through March is paperwork season on the farm, and I deal with all the applicable tax papers from the previous year, organize the record-keeping and filing papers, and set up (hopefully) better systems for the coming season. We update the website, consider all the promotions that need to be sent out, and meet with the produce reps at our wholesale accounts. This week, I’m folding 1000 paper boxes for cherry tomatoes! We continue to prep and make weekly deliveries of storage produce to the Oneota Coop and other wholesale accounts, and there is a lot of winter cleaning, fixing, and organizing related to the farm. It’s also a time to firm up our garden crew for the year. This year, we are looking for one person to fill out our crew – do you know of someone looking for an amazing, hard, and rewarding outdoor job this year? Have them get in touch soon!

The best part of winter is getting more family and home time. I bake more bread and try new recipes, clean the basement and fix things, attend lots of school music and sports events, hike and sled the neighborhood with the kids and the dog, play music and hone my cribbage skills. Sara and I even have time to go out for dinner or make a short trip together and can engage in more relaxed conversations and walks than during the growing season. I still maintain a violin studio, teaching a couple of days a week in the off-season. Then, there is the wonderful Oneota Valley Community Orchestra to rehearse with and a few fiddling gigs. Folks talk about how busy their lives are in retirement, and I feel like I get a taste of that in the winter months when the gardens are resting, but life is plenty full.