tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post1608897051897831656..comments2024-03-27T15:44:43.564-08:00Comments on What Do I Know?: Why Farming In Bethel Make SenseStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-22408008713469149652011-10-17T15:05:58.579-08:002011-10-17T15:05:58.579-08:00Steve, I thank you for sharing this.
Whe...Steve, I thank you for sharing this. <br /><br />When I was a kid living on a farm in Northern Germany's coast of the North Sea (in the time of the dinosaurs mind you!), farmers stored potatoes, sugar beets and rutabagas in fairly shallow underground "ditches" lined with straw before being loaded up with the vegetables, covered with more straw and then a berm of dirt. In today's world, they still use basically the same storage methods, but add blue tarp over the top of it all, held down with old tires. Not pretty, but effective.<br /><br />These root vegetables are not only used for households, but the potatoes are cooked for pig feed, and the beets add forage to the dry hay for the milk cows stalled up during winter.<br /> <br />Coastal areas of Northern Europe mitigate the Eastern continental weather. as does the Kuskokwim area, and it seems that these methods of providing fresh vegetables, milk and meats during long winter months would be worth pursuing.<br /><br />Another crop used in Northern Germany is kale.<br />it grows rather rapidly, and over there it is only harvested after it has been "hit" by the first frost, because the cold temperatures break down the bitterness of the leaves. Broccoli is another crop that seems to do well in a short growing season, so there could be more than merely white and red cabbages.<br /><br />Anyway, this is great news. I fervently hope it will catch on, as it not only provides for a more varied diet, but also cuts cost as transportation is regional.<br /><br />fromthediagonalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com