Many people ask me what happens to my business in the off season.  Most farmers I know use the winter months to get some much needed rest and to recharge for the coming season.  We also use this time to get some of our financials in order, get organized and make our seed orders.  This winter I've been taking two classes.  One is an Holistic Whole Farm Planning course for Beginning Women Farmers.  I was very happy to be one of twenty women in the State to be accepted for this course which is offered through NOFA.  I have met a group of incredibly bright and determined women and I'm learning about the triple bottom line and making holistic goals for your farm or business.  In Holistic Whole Farm Planning the farmer doesn't just look at the financial profits but also the social and environmental bottom line.  In other words, do the decisions that you are about to make fit with what you want for your life and your family.  Do they feel right in your gut?  And do the decisions you make help the environment or your community? 

I'm also taking a course on nutrient dense crop production given by Dan Kittredge with the Real Food Campaign/Binderies Food Association.  This course is offered at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Tarrytown, NY which is on the Rockefeller Estate.  (A most beautiful place for a class.)  I'm learning that our soil is depleted of vital nutrients and minerals and that there is a connection between soil health and human health.  Plants that are grown in nutrient rich soil are naturally more disease and pest resistant, just as someone who is healthy has more resistance to colds, flu and other illnesses.

Over the next few weeks I will be heading out to all of my gardens to clean them and prep them for the coming season.  I have begun soil testing and will be direct sowing lettuces and peas soon. 

Working in nature has taught me that when life is in balance there is health and happiness, when life is out of balance there is illness and disfunction.  Nature offers us a blueprint to the rhythms of life.  Spring is coming and it's time for me to stretch...both physically and metaphysically.  Next time you're outside, take a minute to notice the perfect balance and rhythms that nature has to offer and see if you can find a way to use nature's blueprint in your life.