Out with the Old--In with the New

Well, out with the old, anyway. I just made applesauce out of the remaining apples from last fall, saving a few good apples for fresh eating. Amazing that they hold on that long, in our cool garage. We've just finished the applesauce I canned last year, and we're starting in on this year's supply.

The last of the potatoes are hopeless: wilted, with long sprouts heading off in all directions. Compost! I did see Colorado potatoes at Whole Foods lately, so maybe I can get some late season potatoes. It's really about time to plant potatoes here.
I'm relying more on the Colorado organic millet and quinoa that I have, and the terrific Colorado organic pinto beans.

I have one hard-shell Hubbard squash waiting for me. Squash is not really my favorite food, and it's hard for me to find a way I really like to eat it. Maybe I can make a soup with the garbanzos I have, squash, spices, and canned tomatoes that we have on hand.

In the frig: two daikon (a little pithy now), a little Napa which makes both salads and cooked dishes. And one and a half leeks. We're down to the bottom of the barrel on fresh vegetables.

But--hope is on the way. As Myrto pointed out (thanks!), in Boulder you can buy fresh spring greens already. And they're not far away here. Drake Road farmers market in Fort Collins is reputed to be opening April 19!

Our brand-new LoveLandLocal food buying cooperative is going to be buying a case of fresh Colorado-grown organic butter lettuce. I've signed up for six heads myself.

If I could get organized with a cold frame, I could be PICKING fresh greens for myself, right outside our back door. I hope to be putting that together this summer. Eliot Coleman has a great book: "Four Seasons Gardening", if you want to learn more about it. In our temperate climate we should be able to eat fresh greens from our yard at least 11 months out of each year.

For those that might be worrying about us, I am allowing Exceptions of canned organic U.S. tomato products, and (just for early spring) peas both frozen and fresh snap. These are just to tide us over until the summer crops are in. I'm being careful that we do not suffer malnutrition. This summer, I'm going to put up a lot of local tomatoes, and peas if I can find them, so we don't run so short next April.

Our apricot trees are blooming now; bees are visiting them. I have hopes for apricots this year, my first crop from these trees. Last year the little darlings bloomed mid-March! My nanking cherry shrubs are also in bloom. They make cute little cherries with cute little pits, ripe in June, the first fruits on our property. It would be a lot of work to make a pie, but they're great fresh eating.

Happy Spring!