The Dormant Farmer

Recipes: Potato Gnocci

by Dennis Fisher and Joe Fisher

 

At least once a year someone asks me what farmers do in the wintertime. Usually I tell them that we hibernate just like bears, an answer that satisfies some people. And why not? With the exception of lifeguarding, it is hard to imagine a more seasonal occupation than ours.

Nevertheless, we do not sleep all winter- even though some winters I wish that I could. Bears don't sleep all winter either. It isn't healthy for a farmer to stop moving at any time of the year, and most of us can't afford to anyway. We may hit the couch for a while after a really busy fall, since rest is important and we use our bodies harder than most people. But we don't stay dormant long.

So what do we do?

Some of us get "off-farm" jobs. Many of these are farming related, and some are not. A friend of mine milks cows for a Jersey farm in Corinth. There are a lot of farm-sitting jobs when farm families want to get away, because yes, we do take vacations.

I know quite a few people who work at either Johnny's or Fedco, picking seed or plant orders. The busy time at our local seed companies is the slack time for farmers. The "Seed Order" is a major event every winter. At Fisher Farm we order most of our seeds from Johnny's or Fedco, unless there is something we want to grow that neither company offers. Beginning about this time of year, there are flower seeds and alliums to start. Soon those with heated greenhouses will be firing them up.

There are off-farm non-farming jobs. Some of us waitress, cashier, teach, or work in construction in the snowy months. One farmer I know drives an oil truck. And there are always a lot of seasonal jobs around the holidays for farmers who want to pick up a little extra money to tide them through the lean times.

Winter is the time we socialize. Our friends and relatives with normal lives have long gotten used to the fact that in summer we have no time for them. It's hard for us to tell visitors that we need to work when they want to play. In winter we get back in touch with the people we have been neglecting all year.

There are meetings and trade shows to attend. MOFGA and other farm organizations offer workshops and classes. A grower I know goes to Texas every year for a flower conference. At the Belfast Farmers'Market's annual meeting we elect new officers and consider new growers and products, publicity and events.

There is also on-farm work to consider. Animals need to be fed and milked. Snow must be removed and snow damage repaired. A lot of farmers have woodlots where they work in the winter. Farming and logging have always been conjoined professions, since farmers could use their draft animals or tractors to skid logs out of the woods in the wintertime. I know quite a few farmers who log with horses or oxen, a very low impact, sustainable way to use woods resources.

Winter is also the time to make products to sell in the summer and to get ready for the new season. Jim Freyenhagen will soon be tapping trees to make his maple syrup and sugar. John Spinney is carving woodenware. The Antakis are making soap. Cait Hunter is caring for her pregnant goats. Ed Hamel is tending winter-grown spinach. Herb Schartner is pruning his apple trees.

Above all, we plan. Next years' gardens will be bigger than ever. We will grow more produce than before, and we will grow it better. We will farm better, and sell better. Our projects will succeed, our animals with thrive, and our time and labor will be spent thriftily and well.

Winter may be winding down, but the piles of potatoes in my cellar show no signs of abating. Here's a recipe to help use up the tubers of 2000.

 

Potato Gnocchi

1 pound potatoes

2 cups white flour (approx)

teaspoon salt

1 egg

Peel the potatoes and boil until tender. Drain, cool and peel, then rub them through a sieve to rice. Mix in the flour, salt and egg to form a soft dough. A little more flour may be needed to make a smooth dough.

Roll the dough into a rope about 1 inch around. Slice into 1/4 inch thick discs and form into smooth dumplings. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the dumplings and boil them until they float to the surface. Do not overcook them or they will become soggy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve immediately with tomato sauce and cheese.

The Belfast Farmers' Market will reopen in May.