the november garden ~ let's hibernate.

Finally. It's time to hibernate. I do love the cozy time of year more, but I think some of allure is how well we've been able to prepare throughout the other months. There really is something about growing your own vegetables and hunting your own meat that you then enjoy through the Winter. No, we don't eat exclusively what we grow and hunt, but to have a year where we harvested a total of 608 pounds of what we will consume is something, isn't it? {At a modest guesstimate of $3/lb. if we had purchased these harvests outright we're looking at almost $2,000.}

Jesse was able to go hunting in early November. His uncle has property in northern Missouri, and a large group of relatives was able to hunt and get 4 deer - 2 of those were Jesse's. I originally thought this would be a nice get-away for him, and didn't really care about him bring home meat, but it is nice to once again have venision after a few non-hunting years. 

I'm determined to not only photograph what I grow, but how I use what we grow. So there is the idea that I will have a post or two throughout the Winter of doing just that. It's really with the intent of me developing the habit of acknowledging the work I do to use what we've harvested. The light in one's home is different than natural light outdoors and photographing food just isn't the same as plants {at least to me!}, but I am going to give it a valiant effort. 

November was about the final harvests of onions, carrots, eggplant, cabbage and kale. It was building arches for next year's squash, distributing our own compost to the garden beds, spreading leaves on those beds and enjoying outdoor fires. 

We are again thankful to have the space to garden, the resources to plant, the health for the work, a relative's land on which to hunt, the tools to preserve the fruit, vegetables and meat, and the wisdom to do these things {which we didn't exactly bring to our marriage, but grew slowly over time}.

2020 Harvest Total: 608 pounds

Meat Total: 82 pounds

Doe - 27 lbs. Buck - 55 lbs.

Produce Total: 526 pounds  

Strawberries - 20 lbs.

Raspberries - 2 lbs.

Blackberries - 9 lbs.

Kale, Spinach, Endive, Brocoli Rapini, Swiss Chard, Beet Leaves, Japanese Giant Red Mustard, Chinese Cabbage Greens - 104 lbs.
Beets - 4 lbs.
Fingerling Potatoes - 10 lbs.

Norland Red Potatoes - 26 lbs.

Canela Rusett Potatoes - 34 lbs.

Yukon Gold Potatoes- 20 lbs.
Red Inchelium Garlic - 10 lbs.

Carrots - 20 lbs.

Onions - 4 lbs.

Snow Peas - 7 lbs.

Roma Tomatoes - 118 lbs.

Beefsteak Tomatoes - 25 lbs.

Cherry Tomatoes - 13 lbs.

Cucumbers - 13 lbs.

Eggplant - 25 lbs.

Squash - 39 lbs.

Green Beans - 21 lbs.

Sweet Peppers - 2 lbs.

Other Harvesting
Seeds: Kale, Snow Peas, Poppies, Coriander, Cosmos, Zinnias, Black-eyes Susans

Herbs: Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Mint, Parsley, Chamomile, Lemon Balm, Raspberry Leaf, Dill, Cilantro, Basil, Rosemary

Cold Storage: 

Potatoes, Kale, Garlic, Onions

Freezer Storage

Tomatoes, Pickles, Strawberries, Blackberries, Snow Peas, Green Beans, Basil with Olive Oil, Cilantro with Olive Oil, Beet Leaves, Carrots, Squash, Shredded Zucchini