THE VIEW FROM WILDER HILL

 December 23, 2012

SOLSTICE 2012

A simple hoophouse can keep your household 

supplied with vegetables year round.

            Like many gardeners, in fact, many inhabitants of the Northeast, I feel my spirits involuntarily plummet right about the time darkness descends at 4pm. Many people herald this season as the time for book reading, introspection, and spiritual advancement. This might well be true. Still both my mind and body miss the effortless effort of gardening, even the days when I worked right into the dark and collapsed into bed after a shower.

            In anticipation of this dark season each year, I have learned to seamlessly replace the mind clearing and body strengthening  garden activities with an off season program. It is designed to ward off moodiness and catch up on the care that I denied myself during the busy season. Rather than lamenting the short days and frozen ground, how about sleeping more? A lot more. Americans are a notoriously under slept people. What happens if you actually go to bed at 8 or 9pm, when you feel tired and finished with the day? See if you can find a schedule that allows you to wake up naturally, without the  rude provocation of an alarm clock.

            Now I realize that some people are “night owls”, but whatever winter sleeping schedule you adopt, the goal is to become reacquainted with a more natural rhythm, aiming for between 8-10 hours of sleep each night, and being awake for all the daylight hours. Every day that your work schedule permits, try to be outside for chores or a walk during the sunniest, warmest part of the day. Even a 15 min. walk after work in the dark, or after an early dinner will change the way you feel about the whole day.

            Even with exposure to the winter shy sun, doctors have come to agree that many of us will benefit from the addition of Vit. D to our diets during the winter months. The amount prescribed ranges from 500-2000 IU/day, so check with your health care person. You can but Vit. D over the counter, it’s inexpensive. Along with all the winter soups and root vegetables, make sure that you eat something raw every day. I have a four season green house where I can harvest winter greens, but still enjoy a good cabbage, carrot and celery salad with a light miso vinaigrette. More winter CSAs and farmer’s markets are popping up each year, we truly live in paradise. You can expect the vegetables to be more expensive than those shipped in from Mexico or Califorinia for good reason, but well worth the cost.

Summertime: Hauling seaweed home from the 

shore for the winter vegetables.