INTRODUCTION
Barlow Roots Newsletter - 2/20/2025

We finally got some snow! It is honestly still pretty pathetic but we got enough for the cross country ski trails to groom and so we’ve had some fun skiing the past couple of weeks. Elias (15) after waiting for snow all winter, broke his arm snowboarding on a frozen grassy hill and had his cast put on the day before it snowed. Talk about bad timing! He’s still been able to get out and CC ski with us a little bit. We are a little more active these days on social media. Here are some links in case you care to follow along.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BarlowRootsHomestead

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barlowrootsmarket/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barlowroots/

Enjoy this weeks newsletter!

HOMESTEAD UPDATE
Too Cold for Outdoor Work, Indoor Projects!

The kitchen sink is in! It is amazing how you age different things become exciting. I can’t count how many times Ingrid has commented on how much she likes the new sink. HAHA! The project went mostly smooth, though one extra trip to Menards was necessary for supplies. The sink is deeper and more heavy duty, we like it a lot. I was sore for 2 days afterwards after being hunched over and laying on my back in all sorts of odd positions. Good bless the plumbers of the world.

We had a great trip skiing last week. We went out to Balsam Branches Ski Area, which is north of us a little bit, and has more snow. It was about 15 degrees, which was a warm up compared to where we were! We all skied classic, with Ingrid toting the baby on her back, she is a more stable skier, otherwise I would gladly take her! It was a beautiful afternoon in the woods and good to get some exercise too! The baby conked out in the backpack and got a good nap while we skied. You can see a little video of the adventure HERE.

Our temperatures here this week have been cold. Like barely above 0 F. However a big warm up is coming this weekend. I was telling Ingrid how amazing it is that the human body can acclimate to temperatures that cold. You know its bad when 5-10 degrees starts to feel OK. 30s and 40s are going to feel like summer! I am thinking on Saturday we will get our maple trees tapped. We have 20 or so trees that we tap. It might take a bit for the sap to start running but last year we missed the early run because we thought it was going to get cold again and it never did. So this year we are just going to put them in. The sap runs when temperatures are below 32 at night and above 32 during the day.

The process is pretty simple. We use a drill and drill a shallow hole into the bark of the tree. We then insert a tap using a rubber mallet, on the end of that tap we use a piece of tubbing that leads into a bucket. On the larger trees we often run multiple taps. We collect the sap from the buckets into a large IBC tote. We usually try to save the sap and then do one big cook over a long weekend. We cook the syrup over a wood fire. I will have more updates as we go through the process!

MARKET GARDENING
Grant Approved! Seed Stall Transformation

GOOD NEWS! We were approved on our grant application for a new high tunnel. I will admit I was definitely working on alternate plans, but we are feeling really blessed. Now of course the work begins. We need to finish up all the paperwork. Then the USDA will forward us a portion of the grant and we will get our tunnel ordered. We are praying for a nice warm spring so we can get our previous tunnel taken down and the new tunnel put up in its place. We will then put up the previous tunnel in a new location. There are a lot of logistics that need to go right for us, and with spring being so unpredictable weather wise we just don’t know how things will end up! So we will hope for the best!

We knocked out another big project this weekend in getting our seed starting room ready for the season. Last fall we purchased an old laboratory refrigerator that we are planning to use as a germination chamber for our seed trays. It will create the perfect conditions for seed germination. If we need it warm in there we will have a little crock pot with water in it and if we need it cooler we will just turn on the fridge. There is of course more nuance to controlling all those variables but that is the basics. It took a little work to get the layout how we want it in the new space but overall we are really happy with how it turned out. It will take a little fine tuning for us to get the new system dialed in but ultimately we are hoping for more consistent germination which will lead to more full beds, more finished crops and more sales! We put together a YouTube video of the transformation you can view it HERE.

FAMILY
Mourning the Past, Looking Forward to the Future

I am back with another post about family. 🙂 As our eldest son has turned 15, I have turned reflective, maybe a little too reflective. 🙂 The thoughts of the years that are behind us are heavy on my mind. Those fun years when all our kids were young and all they wanted is to be with mom and dad and you know, all the rest. Don’t get me wrong we have the best kids. And they still want to be with mom and dad, most of the time. But it is hard not to think of the past and be just a little sad about those years gone by.

Those memories are still so fresh, it feels like I could wake up tomorrow and be right back in it. But time marches on, and you can’t get those years back. I am SO thankful that Ingrid and I chose this lifestyle with me working at home and her home with the kids teaching them. We have taken advantage of every moment and had breakfast, lunch and dinner together as a family nearly everyday. I have ZERO regrets with how we have lived, which brings me comfort.

To get through some of this stuff I try to focus on all we have to look forward to in the future. The fun and adventures yet to be had. We have many conversations with the kids about making the most of this time in their lives. What a beautiful, carefree life they have, no need to rush into the next phase. Enjoy being kids! We also talk about maintaining peace and joy in our house, the hormones are running and there are days where this is a challenge. Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and find some gratitude for all that we have.

For me now I am focusing on gratitude. It is hard to be sad when you are focusing on gratitude. Gratitude for all I have, for all the support I have, for a beautiful wife and 4 beautiful kids. With our youngest who will be 2 in just 2 days I get to do it all over again. WHOA! We are so supremely blessed and looking forward to a very bright future.

CLOSING
Spring is Coming!

Spring is coming! It has been cold here but we’ve got a forecast that is looking very spring like. No matter how dark, snowy or cold the winter has been, spring has always come. The snow will melt, the cold will recede and the trees and flowers will start to bud. It will soon be time to put seeds in the ground! Our winter hibernation from heavy work is about to be behind us as we step into another year running our homestead and market garden. I am working on getting our pigs ordered, the goats are pregnant (hopefully) and I have already placed an order for our meat chickens. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us this year, but before we can start…. we await spring, coming sooner than we thought!