This week Aunt Jeanette writes:
Actually you get two stories for the price of one this week, but you will see how they are related when you have finished reading.
The first story is about two boys – my husband, Dan, and his younger brother, Steve. One of the dishes their mother served for dinner was mashed turnips. You know the kind – disguised to look like mashed potatoes. Well, Dan and Steve did NOT like the mashed turnips. Their directions from their parents were to clean their plates and then they could leave the dinner table. Apparently their mom and dad got tired of waiting for them to finish eating because they retired to the living room. After a believable amount of time passed, Dan and Steve showed their clean plates. Imagine everyone’s surprise several years later when they moved the old freezer, and there was a sizeable pile of mashed turnips behind it! (I can’t help it – I chuckle every time I hear that story!)
Now, imagine MY surprise several weeks ago, when I overheard Dan making phone calls and inquiring about planting – of all things – TURNIPS! Of course there is more to this second story. The seeds we planted are actually a mix of turnips, radishes, rye and rapeseed. We are not planning to eat any of these things. They were planted in an effort to be good stewards of the land that has been entrusted to us. Our corn and soybean crops died this year as a result of severe hailstorms. The turnips, radishes, etc. will help retain the nitrogen already in the soil that was not used by our crops. They will also prevent nitrogen from going into the ground water. Another hope is that our cattle will feed on them during the fall/winter months since there will not be any cornstalks, fallen ears of corn, or beanstalks for grazing.
I will keep you posted on how this cover crop develops, as it is a first time experience for us.
And don’t be surprised if you hear a story about me slipping out to the field, getting a turnip, cooking it, mashing it up, and serving it to Dan – just for fun!
Until we walk again …