Mild Winter Weather by Tom Motley

The wind blew so hard the other night in Collin County that, while we slept, my hard-to find rain-proof cover for the outdoor box rib-smoker was completely ripped off all its Velcro tethers. Who knows how far the thing traveled during that night-long wind-storm.  It reminded me of the constant gales and blows up at my old Merit farm. The wind blew all day, every day up there. Farmers in that part of Hunt County are accustomed to the local phenomena that if your hat blows away, wait a few minutes and some other farmer’s hat will blow into your hands. (The correct heads and hats are reunited at the annual community Holiday Hat Exchange).

Early February this year was downright civil here in Collin County, garden-wise. This, despite the fact that we probably kept the beds covered more nights (and days) in late December and the first three weeks of January more than any winter in the last seven or eight years.

We have been farming and gardening long enough, however, to not be lulled into an illusory la-la land of sustainable faith in balminess right on through springtime. In other words, we keep the freeze-cloth close by at all times, even when local WFAA Weather and the almost always reliable John Deere Ag Weather sites promise, say, ten days in a row of kind climes in North Texas.

Mother Nature in February and early March can slam the door on kindness faster than Carrie’s tough-love Mom can lock the troubled teen in her frosty time-out closet.

In March, She might dump a ton of sleet and freezing rain on our pretty gardens, followed by a tornado to heist our organic, raised beds and airlift the whole works to somebody else’s property in another county. There’s just no telling.

But today was a glorious day in the garden. This morning, Becca harvested lush Asian collard greens, crispy Chinese cabbage, red and curly leaf kale, Italian ‘wild’ arugula, winter cilantro, Greek oregano, beautiful broccoli flowerets and leaves (with bright yellow, edible flowers), and fragrant chocolate mint. 

Before leaving for her usual volunteer shift at nearby Children’s and Community Health Center,  Becca had kindly made everything ready for me when I got home from classes this afternoon. So all I had to do was deliver the herbs and produce to Chef Craig Brundege (Square Burger) and Chef Robert Lyford (Patina Green) in downtown McKinney, and enjoy brief visits with each.

I planted Yukon Gold potatoes this year on Valentine’s Day, more out of nostalgia than anything, because that’s when Granddad Motley planted seed potatoes in Hill County. With global warming (why do I always think ‘global warning’?), I probably could have planted a month ago and would have still been okay; after all, now that North Texas has been officially declared a Zone 8 region instead of Zone 7. we’ve all had to adjust our planting schemes, including choice of dates and produce.

My neighbor, Tyler, tells me that he’s planting banana trees and pineapples this year because of the dramatic zoning change. More power to him. I rented the old movie The Hawaiians for Tyler so he could organize a raid on French Guiana pineapple plantations, as did Charlton Heston, to obtain heirloom stock.