Beets in the Freezer

We have harvested the beets, pretty tiny haul compared to last year, but we have a backup plan.

Buckwheat is taking over. It is tall and falling over into the pathways. I think this winter we are going to add t-posts every 10 feet or so along the rows so we can run twine when the plants get too tall to keep them from tipping over.

We try to get a lot done at the farm when we are there. One of the tasks I tried to get started on was cleaning out the chicken house.

That is a wheelbarrow load of chicken manure, picked over wheat straw and paper shreds, in a broken wheelbarrow. Yep, the bolts that hold the axle bar on have worked loose, one was lost (I haven’t bought a replacement yet) and the bracket literally snapped off the remaining bolt. We shouldn’t complain. That wheelbarrow has lived a hard life for the last two years. In fact, I would say it is probably the most over-worked piece of equipment on the farm. It might need a little tune-up.

We don’t have pigs right now, so we are feeding the table scraps to the chickens, who absolutely love it.

But we can only get so much work done in the morning because that is school time for the kids. We have a little school room set up in the workshop, which is awesome because they can run and play in the gym between subjects, but the adult really does have to be there to help. Can’t be out cleaning the chicken house, because if the kids get stuck on something, instead of coming out to ask about it they will just start playing and wait for you to come check on them.

But thanks to Evie, we did manage to get the beets harvested (mostly, there were one or two stragglers under the nasturtiums.

All that farming can wear a baby girl out.

Next step is to peel the beets.

And then boil them until tender.

We let them drain during supper,

And then vacuum packed them in one quart packs.

And there they are, in the freezer, next to all the carrots and parsnips. Only 5 quarts this year, less than half of last year. However, this year we are experimenting with winter beets.

Planted 8/21, direct seeding, 250 pelleted seeds of Chioggia Guardsmark variety from Johnny’s Select Seeds.

We also planted about 250 Napoli carrots for winter carrots as well.