Here’s my first real harvest — I’ve been eating a little bit out of the hoop houses, some spinach here, a couple of scallions there, some komatsuna as it came in, but this is the first real harvest of the season.

Today I picked a big bag of scallions, probably the equivalent of two big supermarket bunches, a huge bag of spinach, a big bag of arugula, two re-purposed tortilla bags full of broccoli rabe thinnings, and a big bag of mixed Chinese greens. Enough for the week at least.

Here’s to give you an idea of the difference the little hoop houses make. Inside each of them all was green and warm and humid. Outside. Well, let’s just note that it snowed a few moments ago. The peas are only just beginning to sprout, I have a few radish seedlings, and some overwintered onions. Other than that, nothing is growing out here in the endless winter we’re having this year in Montana.

The other interesting thing is that the poor baby chickens were out in their playpen when it started to snow — I ran out to get them, and for the first time, they seemed to get it that I’m not there to kill them. They ran over to my side of the pen for a rescue and although I still had to “chase” them down, for the most part they came willingly. That’s a first. I’m pretty bored with teenage chickens who need to go out every day, but they’re still little enough I think the big hens would kill them, and all this handling can’t hurt.