What is winterizing anyway? Let’s find out.

By now we have enough food in the larder to feed us if the snows come. So, I turn my head to the preparation of the farm for the winter months.

Just to be clear: I am not a prepper, nor am I part of any doomsday group or political party (not allowed - as an immigrant, remember). I am a gardener, a farmer, and a writer, dedicated to helping households maximise minimalism to create resilient, sustainably managed spaces - urban or rural - that are gentle on the planet. I live this way because I am good at it, with years of experience and so I can write about it.

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Preparing our farms and homes for winter is simply practical.

Let’s face it, food and water and shelter is always on our minds. And continuously on the minds of our animals. We’re conditioned that way, aren’t we? Planning, gathering, growing, harvesting, storing for ourselves and our animals and birds - these ancient rituals run deep in all our cultures. Maybe you’re buying it while I’m growing it, but the end result is the same: we’re all thinking about food and how it gets to our tables. Food. Water. Shelter. Happiness. All are sustained with good planning and a little hard work. And properly managed, all have the potential to help our planet heal.

But none of it comes easy. Farmers work hard, too. We need to physically prepare the farm for the cold weather.

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Secure the farm for the winter

We have grown our food across the summer. It is harvested. And stored. Now we winterise the farm so all our animals come through the winter healthy.

Winterizing refers to the process of preparing a vehicle, home, or other structures to withstand cold weather by implementing measures to prevent damage from freezing temperatures.

We have no real idea what the weather will bring. So a good farmer prepares for it all.

Repair and Prepare Livestock Shelters.

The 100 year old barn (too old to insure even) needs its spaces reconfigured for winter. Every animal needs to have access to shelter plus a door to the great outdoors whatever the weather. Deep bedding for cows, pigs and hens. Water troughs need heaters to prevent freezing. Plus a plan for daily scooping.

Store Feed and Supplies:

Organize and store feed, hay, pumpkins, walnuts and get the grain grinder into a protected area. The ground feed goes into big drums so the mice and critters don’t rob me blind. Have three weeks feed ahead in case of inclement weather.

Encourage Light

We need to make sure the animals and birds get as much daylight as possible during the long winter months. This promotes natural rhythms and (at the risk of anthropomorphism) happiness amongst the animals. It is not natural for any animal to be inside all winter unless they are hibernating. So. Clean barn and hen house windows. Replace glass in milking room window. Check and replace light bulbs in the barn and the sheds and the feed corner which means crawling out onto the barn rafters (lovely).

Tidy the Farm Environment (this is where I am at now)

Remove debris and tools and attachments from fields and gardens and return everything to where it belongs. This prevents loss under snow and protect equipment.

Water

Find and install the water heaters into water containers for all animals and birds. Submersible pond heater for the bloody fish who give me nothing but joy.

Winterize Equipment

Perform maintenance on machinery, check fuel supplies, and store hoses properly to prevent freezing. Test-run the generator. Have diesel on hand. (In case of power outages). The water hoses have leaks and these create frozen danger spots in the dark of winter so fix hoses. (After each use in the winter they are drained and hung on posts ready for the next warm day). If the warm (above freezing) day does not come we carry water out to the animals in buckets from the kitchen.

“And that is not all - oh no - that is not all”

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Winter Security in our Homes.

As I maintain food and shelter and water security for my animals we also need to maintain winter security for our selves and our homes. And this is probably a post for another day but while I am here:

Nowadays we are horribly and frighteningly dependent on the supermarket for our food.

Most supermarkets operate on a just-in-time inventory system, meaning they have limited stock on hand to reduce storage costs and maintain freshness. This system relies heavily on regular deliveries to replenish shelves. If deliveries cease, perishable items like fruits, vegetables, and dairy could run out in a couple of days, while non-perishable goods might last a bit longer but would still face shortages within a week. (grocerydive.com)

As we know when there are disasters the trucks stop rolling and the supermarkets run out super fast. So - grow a garden - whether on your balcony or in the backyard. Teach your kids to grow food. Or buy in bulk and store some.

Store food in your home. Be a squirrel.

Remember Celi’s golden rule: Only grow food you will eat. Only store food you will eat. There is no point putting down gallons of sweetcorn when no one likes frozen sweetcorn.

Everyone will store their food differently. So find your way. I freeze. In three big freezers. If I had a person in the kitchen to bottle fruit for me I would help but it takes me all the time I have to farm and write about it. So I freeze my extra produce. And yes I do see that this needs electricity hence the generator.

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I travel

Another reason why I have the farm rolling like a well oiled machine is that in the winter I travel. I have no family of my own here in the USA so in the winter I do the rounds of my people and ground myself back into my New Zealand culture.

Sometimes I feel like water running down a ditch - slightly out of control but busily going somewhere!

So I ensure that the animals and my husband’s family and my farm hands families have secure shelter, good food, and a sensible system to manage the farm and households in my absence.

We all do this. We all should do this. Play the game of Life Chess. Think ahead. Be ready for a freeze. Be prepared for challenges. Gently prepare and strive for independent food security and have enough to share.

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The Walk-About.

Most importantly.

The first good frost hit the ground on Saturday morning. Not a killing frost yet. (And yes that is a thing). This was the kind of frost that sweetens up the greens like kale and broccoli and brussel sprouts. But the animals did not even flinch. They are fast growing heavier coats as their own preparation for winter.

Cows

Cows love cabbages and pumpkins.

They are still in the fields. It takes some serious cold weather for me to open the barn doors for them - I prefer their manure to be in the fields doing good for the grass not in my barn where I have to carry it all back out on a daily basis.

Plus they have heavy coats. They are wearing shoe leather after all.

Tima and WaiWai

Wai is presently very annoyed with me because I have had to lock him back up in his little paddock.

He found a big pile of corn in the field and proceeded to stuff himself with a months worth of calories. Small breeds of pigs like pot belly’s do not need a lot of grain. So he is back on a diet!

Freebee and Jude

Jude (the big black Berkshire) has been a bit limpy this week.

I put aspirin into a ball of bread and feed it to him twice a day to bring down the inflammation. His foot is not hot though he is a huge old hog with very big teeth and it is difficult (read scary) to give him a very thorough examination. I believe much of his problem is his weight. As well as thickening up their coats hogs lay in the fat for winter.

FreeBee is a better weight (his breed mostly) but hates the winter. he hates to be cold. So when the cold arrives I will shift them about until they find the perfect spot to ride out the winter.

The Barn.

As I mentioned above the barn will get all fixed up and set up for the winter. But it is very old and drafty and a bit like an old colander. So I work on internal walls that will shelter the animals from drafts.

Drafts are actually more dangerous than open fields to the health of an animal.

The Pops

Doing super well on their veges and hay.

So far they are the perfect pig! I let them out of their enclosure and they run about the fields for a while digging stuff, visiting cows and other pigs then appear back at my side wherever I am working ready to go back to their house for lunch. So well behaved.

The Layers

This time of year I stop taking litter out of the hen house and put more in. Their floor is concrete and we build a deep layer underfoot for the winter. And that layer is created by leaves and wood chips from this years prunings.

Before:

After:

Layer number one down. New layers go in every week until the chickens are a foot off the ground then in the spring we haul it all out (the wall comes off I use a tractor) and it goes into the 2025 compost heap.

They still spend most of the day free range. And are laying more eggs too.

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Love Celi

SubStack Posts that impressed me this week:

For the scientists:

Climate Scientists Sound the Alarm About the Atlantic's Crucial Conveyor Belt

For the gardeners:

Create a Biodiverse Garden and Let a Little Wild In

For the foodies:

Your permission to play with food