Tomato and Winter Squash Month on December, 2024: CSA farms - what about the winter?
December, 2024 is Tomato and Winter Squash Month 2024. Don't Forget Your Winter “ and Winter Squash Month,
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More and more CSA farms do have winter shares. My farm has a limited amount of winter shares that go from November through January here in Ohio (after Mid Jan the weather is often too bad for driving). My farm also does a monthly winter market
We have things mainly from our root cellar-onions, garlic, winter squashes, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, dried herbs, popcorn, dried tomatoes, etc., plus whatever greens are harvestable from our hoop houses.
Not many growers grow all winter long but more and more are practicing season extension. What you get in winter will not be as bountiful as the summer months and likely not weekly. Most winter CSA distribute shares monthly or every other week.
I grow year round and I freeze and can a lot of fruits and vegetable this time of year as things come in. This way I eat locally year round.
You should also be seeking out the growers in your area now that grow through the winter. Since it sounds like you do not have a lot of snow, you should be able to find several.
What vegetables can I plant during these summer months here in So.Cal.?
Corn, beans, cucumber, squash, melons, strawberries....those are what I grew in my summer garden (I am in S CA also).
You can also plant a winter garden with lettuce, cabbage, peas, potatoes.....
Can my 5 month old twins eat blueberries?
Solid food is usually not given until about 6 months, but until a year of age breastmilk (or formula) should contribute the majority of nutrition and calories.
Breastmilk and food is the normal way that babies over 6 months of age are fed, and the combination will not make the babies sick.
Bananas are an excellent first food, as are avocado, steamed sweet potato and winter squash, and perhaps apple sauce or pear sauce. Meat, with its naturally occurring iron, is also a good choice. many people give cereals, but baby cereals tend to be bland and offer little in the way of nutrition. The artificial iron in baby cereals can interfere with the absorption of the iron in breastmilk.
The skins of blueberries may be a problem for some babies, although I don't think that blueberries themselves are a problem (they do stain). Foods like cherry tomatoes and grapes need to be cut up so that they don't present a choking hazard. Also be wary of the skin on fruit like peaches and apples.
For a new perspective on first foods for baby, look at Gil Rapley's website on baby led weaning, or read her book by the same name.