And for the year of doom…

So supposedly in 2012 the world is going to end. I’m just hoping civilization ends. That would be well enough for me.

As I do every year, I forgo the usual new year’s resolutions and go with goals for the upcoming growing/foraging/preserving year instead. Here’s what I have in mind for 2012 (in case you care):
- Forage the backyard. I spent 2011 studying up on what was edible in the yard. Now I have a good idea, but taking the time to hike out to the back of the yard and collect things at the correct time of year is another matter entirely. I’m especially interested in harvesting the cattail out back, though I’m concerned about the runoff they’re standing in.
- Figure out what’s wrong with the pollination rate in the back garden. Something is going on. We get tons of flowers, and so few fruits. I mean, we should have had a million tomatoes. We didn’t. Whether this is due to inconsistent water or some kind of lack in minerals, or that they spray for mosquitoes round here and that kills all the bees, we have yet to decide. But we’re going to try to figure it out next year.
- We’re finally going to have a go at all the families we skipped out on last year: garlic, onions, all the brassicas, and potatoes. We ordered broccoli, onions, all sorts of things we avoided last year.
- Can some damn spaghetti sauce.
- Make more salsa for christmas related gifts.
- Can more soups for the winter.
- Keep up with the cucumbers (ie more consistent pickling).
- Try and prevent the melons from exploding. Not having a hurricane would help.
- Store more potatoes, and figure out how to store them outside the fridge… in the garage, perhaps?
- I’m also going to shoot a gun and start a fire from scratch. Goals from last year I didn’t achieve!
- Finally, I really need to commit to actually eating fermented foods… I very rarely actually want to eat them. I make sauerkraut and then, enh, don’t want to eat it. But I think this is essential to my diet…
- … as is cutting out pasta. That’s a big 2012 goal. Cutting out pasta, more white flour (I eat very little as it is), and cutting back on wine… I’m thinking if I limit myself to eating pasta when I make it fresh that would really cut it back, since I have almost no time to make it fresh. Of course pasta is my stress food, and what I tend to fall back on when I’m freaking out and way too busy. So we’ll see how that goes.
- Oh, and get more chickens!