A December 31st Harvest & the Hoop House
A long, long time ago I had many requests to share photos of the hoop house. Just when I was about to share them winter set in with temperatures in the single digits over night. None of us checked our little winter garden for several weeks and I had written it off as a goner. So I avoided sharing photos once again.
Then December 31st came along and with it temperatures in the mid-30s. My husband took our boys outside to play while I made breakfast. When he came back in he joyously announced "there’s stuff growing in there!" I was beyond excited. Quick-throw-my-boots-and-jacket-on-and-get-out-there-asap excited.
It turns out that while that cold snap prevented our stuff from growing much more, it did preserve it for a new year’s harvest. A bowl full of kale, spinach, lettuce, an onion, and even a few radishes really brightened up our end of the year menu.
We ate green salads that night with the waning apples I picked up from the market in October. It seemed like the best salad I ever tasted. Two nights later I added the kale to a stir fry of grass-fed beef, carrots, and Jerusalem artichokes. Green never tasted better.
Our fresh vegetable supply is dwindling. As I write this I am thinking we have one carrot, two apples, a bushel of potatoes, and the greens in that hoop house left. Winter squash and fermented and dehydrated vegetables will do for now, but the gratitude we had that morning for a bowl of freshness is something we have never had when lettuce comes home in a plastic sack.
Yay! How exciting! Can’t wait to try one this winter!
What part of the country do you live in? USDA growing zone would be sufficient, just curious if I could pull this off, because I live in a very cold area (zone 4). And what materials did you use to construct it? Thanks!
Brandis – We are in the midwest, though I am not sure of what zone.
I was so excited about your hoop house efforts that I was determined to try something here in Colorado. We are at about 5,500 feet. We have a finished basement, with very deep window wells (4 1/2 – 5 ft deep) that are covered with a plexiglass top. I chose to use one on the north side of the house so that the sun wouldn’t warm it up too much. I packed onions & delicata squash into a styrafoam box, wrapped the box in a heavy packing quilt, placed it all into a contractors heavy garbage bag. I opened the window and placed this creation right close to the side of the well and as close to the window as I could. Then I closed the window and said a little prayer. I did this in the middle of Nov. Jan 4 I got in there for the 3rd time and everything was still OK except for one squash that had developed a bad spot. Now I know it works and next year I will be storing a lot more down there. I keep a thermometer in the box and it has never read colder than 45, even when our temp dropped to 0, which is perfect for storing winter veggies. Makes me feel like a clever pioneer lady. LOL
Faith – That’s great, thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for the post. You are truly inspiring. This fall we made raised beds, but didn’t get them filled yet so we couldn’t do a hoop house. That’s ok because next year we will be ready.
This morning I did the start to your soaked oatmeal. I only had cracked oats, but it should work the same. This will be my first time soaking grains so I am excited to taste the results. My 4 year old daughter helped me put it together, which I think made it all the more funner (yes I know this isn’t a word, but it just seems to fit better). I explained to her about the digestive enzyme inhibitors and how we are doing this to neutralize them. She listened really good, but seemed to be annoyed with me when I couldn’t tell her how it was going to taste. 🙂 And the best thing. I did this all before running to work. I know that I can feed my family nourishing food even though I work full time.
Thank you for the recipe all the information and the inspiration.
Waggie – I now use cracked oats as well for this recipe because we decided to buy the whole groats instead of the more processed flakes.
That’s so inspiring! I want to try a hoop house next year. I had planted some kale in the fall, eaten a bit, and never got around to pulling it up. We got several inches of snow twice in late December, and when it thawed, my kale was there, still thriving. I had no idea it would survive a blanket of snow. I added some to a salad I had that day and, as you say, it was the best kale I’d ever had. We’re going to be sauteeing some tonight. So very exciting to see the resiliency of vegetables!
Congratulations! I moved a few things inside for winter (dug them up and put them in pots – celery, parsley and stevia), but those fading now and I really miss my fresh salad greens. I’m debating on how soon I could grow cold tolerant greens in our tiny greenhouse.
I’m so jealous of your kale! There’s nothing like kale, year-round. I’m both impressed and inspired for next year!