We love winter on the farm. In Middle Tennessee we only get snow occasionally, and that makes it more special to us. We inevitably turn that occasional snow into snow cream, and hope to have at least a few trips down a steep hill on a sled before it’s gone. Winter is the time of peace. The growing season has ended, leaving a stillness that settles into the grass that is now gloriously brown and no longer in need of mowing. Plants have completed their life cycle or have gone dormant. The other months are a marathon and winter is that serene moment after you cross the finish line and you can enjoy knowing that the race is over for a little while. Winter is a time to rest from the planting, mowing, trimming, and harvesting that fills the non-winter months of the year. There isn’t too much time to rest, though. Winter is also the time to prepare for the next marathon. Here are some things we’ve been doing to get ready for the spring.
Checking our equipment
This includes changing the oil and other fluids, replacing air filters, and greasing up the moving parts in the lawn mower, trimmers, chainsaws, auger, tractor, and the list goes on. Just giving everything a good general once over while March is deciding if it belongs in winter or spring.
Fixing broken equipment
Like a flat tractor tire, or two in our case. Even though those tractor tires are old and cracked so much you can almost see through them, they can still be useful. We put tubes in ours and they’re in working condition once again. The starter on the tractor also stopped working. Since we had the time, Jamie YouTubed some info and got it running again. When checking our tiller, Jamie noticed a few broken tines so we ordered new ones, and they will soon be replaced.
Planning out our garden
We are trying to learn from last year’s mistakes and working on improving our soil. We aren’t attempting corn this year because of the delicious corn we get at the Fairview Farmer’s Market. Last year the jalapeño plant was the most productive one we had, so we will be adding more of those for sure. We’ve also ordered the seeds for the plants we are growing from seeds.
Blackberries
Our blackberries are God-given and plentiful so we don’t have to do a thing to help those grow. Access, however, is sometimes an issue. Last year we reached as far into the bushes as we could and endured the briars and chiggers, and we still weren’t able to get to all of the berries. This year before the greenery in the woods thickened for the season, Jamie did some strategic clearing with his tractor and bush hog. We now have access to all the blackberries we can see. It should be a plentiful season!
Working trees
There is always something we can be doing for our tree farm. This month we are fertilizing the trees that made it through the winter, and in the next few weeks we will be planting another round of trees. So far we have white pines that are thriving and a handful of Murray Cypress that are still alive. This year we will be planting more Murray Cypress and will be experimenting with some new species of trees including Blue Spruce and Canaan Fir.
By the end of the year we will be exhausted, so anything we can do now–while we still have the energy–will make the marathon a little easier. Much like the people holding the cups of water cheering for us to cross that finish line.
