The weather here in the Worcester hills is giving us a taste of spring, and the bug has bitten me to begin planning out our farm plots. Vegetables enough for about 200 people, grain crops for grinding flours and making straw bales (construction projects), room for goats, sheep, cattle (dexters and hopefully some belties), swine (Tamworths for superior bacon and nice little hams), and poultry - chickens and turkeys for eggs and meat, geese and ducks for eggs to decorate and feathers for crafting. There will undoubtedly be guinea fowl at some point to keep the bugs down, and help the other critters avoid nasty parasitic infections.

So today, I have my gardening books, USDA maps, calendar, calculator, coloured pencils, paper, catalogs, and magazines out. I’m taking up half the kitchen table with my bits and pieces. No one seems to mind. The house is filled with the aroma of a Sunday beef roast, and I’ll be making a Yorkshire pudding when the meat comes out to rest. That seems to be compensation enough for commandeering the largest piece of furniture we own. We may have to eat in the sitting room…
I found this nifty planning guide for figuring how many seeds or seedlings you need per person of a variety of lovely veggies. The Farmer’s Almanac online has some nifty features to use, including a customized planting calendar for your zipcode. It doesn’t have all of the varieties listed that *I* would use, but is pretty handy for a starter.
There are beehives to order, Pepere’s sugaring equipment to check out, and wetlands to explore for wild cranberries (not uncommon in our neck of the woods), and fiddleheads. I’ve begun sourcing fruit trees, shrubs and plants that will take up residence where corn grew just last year. I’m in love with Bali cherries and heirloom apples - Bramleys (big as a baby’s head and fabulous for baking) and Pippins (wonderful dessert apples for eating fresh). I’ll be checking out others like blueberries, grapes, strawberries, pears, and northern peaches. I’m interested in seeing about growing chestnuts for flour.

I’m pondering where to plant the asparagus crowns and rhubarb plants. I’m contemplating where to put the herbs, and where to locate the flowers for cutting. There are extensive perennial gardens around the new homestead, but I want to add some annuals and everlastings to the mix, too. There is already an abundance of lilacs and hydrangeas. The latter will be harvested and dried for selling in the shop. I also have loads and loads of seeds from Tasha Tudor’s garden - poppies, hollyhocks, sweet peas, morning glories, and of course, forget-me-nots. I’m excited about planting lilies and great big peonies (which remind me of my grandfather), dinner-plate dahlias (which Brian loves), and masses of daffodils (which will mercifully have to wait until fall).
A funny thing is happening this time round. As I look at our seed and seedling suppliers’ catalogs, I find myself skimming over the nightshades. They were always staples in my grandfather’s garden. You just didn’t have a garden without tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. You might be able to do without eggplants, but not the others. Nightshade veggies were always my favourites, too. Too much of a beautiful thing isn’t good for my health, though. I will certainly have some of those in my plan - other folks we grow for will enjoy them. But I have become more creative about what we will grow to eat. I have begun imagining new recipes from those ingredients we will have.
It is changing what my marathon cooking recipes will look like, too. When I started thinking about it more, I realized that most of my freezer dishes had tomato products or glutenous pastas in them. I’m trying to reduce our consumption of both. I’m not so worried about the dairy products as we will be using pastured dairy products that are fresh and raw from heirloom cattle or goats. The cooking classes I give at the farm will certainly reflect this new mindset. I’m going to explore those comfort food recipes I grew up with and begin to experiment with substitutions that will work for my family while maintaining that taste and texture we love.
And strangely, all of the thinking about flowers and veggies, and critters has got me thinking about redecoration. What on earth? My brain is a strange place to be - even for me sometimes. I’m all about the red. It goes nicely with my favourite colour - yellow. And red comes in lots of delicious shades - cranberry, poppy, strawberry, cherry… Now we’re off down another road where I will be choosing paint colours, wallpapers, and fabrics.
Perhaps I have too much time to think with all of this sitting awaiting the arrival of The Pea (hmmm, another veggie)? It’s good fun though.