Spring is coming...

Longer, sunnier days, seed catalogs in the mail, beginning of daylight savings, spring break from school, Buckwheat ski classic...enjoy and let's put off that spring cleaning a little bit longer...

and it's still cold out brrrrrr

I did pull my carrots in December and they were perfectly sweet and crisp and nothing had eaten them before me.
Brought the oregano and rosemary pots in end of November. Oregano got very leggy right away (set on floor, reaching up for light) but the rosemary doesnt seem to be minding the low light so much.
Time to sprout seeds for fresh homegrown greens, and how about trying to brew your own kombucha. It's very easy and I have scoby to share...

Baby, it's cold outside!

Keep warm, keep safe. Drink lots of water. This wind and dry cold will dehydrate you. Stay hydrated to ensure proper nutrient distribution and body temperature regulation. Stay well!

Still raining...

Most of the leaves are off the trees (throw some into your compost), we've had a frost that killed off the cilantro and other herbs that were still out (but my rouge d'hiver lettuce is fine). I'm going to wait for a second to pull the last of the carrots.

Time to think about indoor gardening: dividing and re-potting house plants, sprouting seeds for salads and mung beans for pad thai.

Autumnal Equinox

It's raining out--again, or is that "still"--must be close to the equinox...
Time for some hearty, warm food. Like the winter squashes we're starting to bring into the store. My favorite, the kabochas, arrived Tuesday. Bake one of those and enjoy that rich texture with some of Strauss's wonderful european style butter. We also got rutabagas in. Makes me hungry for a nice stew with the new crop potatoes, and onions, the rutabagas, and Muir Glen canned tomatoes--because here, we never have so many fresh tomatoes we would "waste" them, cooking and canning! Go get some of Lemon Rose Bakery's rolls to soak up your stew broth. Then with a full tummy, you'll be ready to settle in for some book time...I know this great little library where you'll find something for your every reading interest! Enjoy autumn!

Vegetables, vegetables everywhere!

We have okra in the store this week, and these crazy looking watermelon radishes that I look forward to trying. From our home gardens we are eating peas and carrots, lettuce and herbs. I just ate a pie cherry, I'm not even telling where that tree (or the 3 others I know about in town) are located! But I will tell you raspberries are almost everywhere--almost every alley way, hillside, and highway. Enjoy! And freeze/can/dehydrate for winter eating pleasures!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Ya, ya, ya...
It is more difficult in Skagway--we have no curbside pickup--but we do what we can. And what You Say Tomato does is offer bulk items to reduce packaging, re-use plastic bags for check out, and collect glass and aluminum which we take to the City's recycle center on Fifth Avenue. We also collect unsellable produce and coffee grounds for compost, most of which goes to the community garden. If you have goats or chickens, we're glad to have you bring a labeled bucket to collect this produce for them. Our corrugated cardboard is collected and taken to the City's bailer to be shipped to a recycler. Questions or suggestions? Let us know!