Winter has fully settled in, and the ground is frozen hard. Last summer is now just a memory, though we can recall the brightness of the sun in the sugars of our stored squash and in the hay that sustains our livestock through the colder months. If you keep livestock, they’ll still need daily care, but the labor is usually lessened. Calving, lambing, and kidding season will be here soon, but the regular work of rotational grazing is on hold for now. Those of us with green thumbs may be tending windowsill herbs, growing microgreens, or caring for indoor citrus trees, but, even still, the work tends to be less.
While the gardens and pastures sleep, we have time and perspective to plan and envision the coming year. What will this next year hold for you? Have you ever sworn off gardening at the height of the busy season, deciding it’s too much work to grow and harvest and preserve? Or, you may have decided that this year’s garden will be a little smaller. It’s funny how a little break lets us forget some of the hard work and remember instead those juicy heirloom tomatoes warm from the garden or the baskets full of snap peas, less expensive and more delicious than anything we could ever buy at the store. So, we return reinvigorated – ”2025 will be my best garden yet!” And chances are it may even be a little bigger. If that’s the stage you’re in, allow us to guide the crafting of your grand gardening plans. Wren Everett shares tips for planning your garden so you can save your own seeds from your locally adapted and favorite varieties, allowing a whole new level of independence. Speaking of locally adapted, “Dry Land Farming Methods” will help you choose plants and start them right, even if the weather isn’t helping.
There’s more to dream of too … perhaps 2025 is the year you start or expand a backyard flock of chickens. “How to Raise Chicks” will set you up for success, and those fresh eggs alongside your heirloom tomatoes and snap peas will make for some of the best meals you’ve ever had. If you’d like to expand beyond a garden to a whole food forest, check out “How to Plant Pawpaw Seeds.” And make sure to plant sources of food for the pollinators as well – ”Why We Need to Protect Native Pollinator Habitat” has some suggestions.
As you look ahead to the future, if you’re dreaming of a larger transformation, whether in the coming year or the coming decade, we hope the tale of an Alaskan cabin build inspires you. Or, if you want to start right where you are, check out I Can Make That, our new department where we’ll publish crafts suitable for anyone.
So, cozy up with a hot cup of tea and a thick slice of chocolate chip sourdough and enjoy this issue! Big or small, we’d love to hear what you’re dreaming of doing next; share your goals with us at Letters@MotherEarthNews.com.
Warmly,
