Well, a lot has happened in the last month. First off, I lost my job, so I'm even more excited about becoming more self sufficient. The economy is such that it may be a while before I can find something comparable to what I was doing before.
Thankfully we are still eating the potatoes I harvested last month. They work very well to mix in with store-bought. We also have foot-long carrots that we're pulling out of the garden. They're nice and sweet. One carrot is enough for a dinner vegetable for the whole family. The kids still love them raw, so that's how we are eating them.
As for an update on my stevia plant. It didn't over winter inside well at all. It died from the bottom up despite giving it light and water. Not sure I'll grow them next year. The seeds didn't germinate well at all, and if they don't overwinter here, it is a fairly expensive process. We tried a bruised leaf steeped in our tea, but it wasn't very sweet. Anyone use stevia leaves effectively?
Well, last week had nightly temps down to 18 degrees, blowing the theory that we don't get temperatures below 20 in the Puget Sound Area. I wonder if they'll revise our rating? Thank goodness we did all that work on the insulation, furnace and windows over the last two years. Sure is coming in handy. Of course the ground is rock solid. Haven't tried to harvest a carrot, but it could be challenging right now.
Stay warm everyone, and start ramping up for spring.
