This time of year always begins at the kitchen table.
Outside, the ground is still cold and the pasture looks quiet under winter light. The barn feels slower. Mornings carry frost. But inside, seed packets start to gather across the table, a notebook opens, and plans begin to take shape.
Planting time is coming quickly.
In eastern Tennessee, once the soil finally warms, everything moves at once. Our clay and shale soils do not offer much margin for delay. When conditions are right, you have to be ready. That makes winter an important season on the farm, even if it looks dormant from the outside.
Winter is when we think.
Farming has a rhythm that you cannot ignore. There is a time to prepare, a time to plant, a time to tend, and a time to harvest. Then the land rests and the cycle begins again. Modern life does not always honor that pattern, but the farm does. Living inside that rhythm changes how you approach the year.
Seed selection has become more intentional for us over time. We no longer choose varieties based only on what looks good in a catalog. Instead, we think about what handled last summer’s humidity, what struggled in our shallow soils, and what we actually used in the kitchen. We consider what stores well, what supports soil health, and what fits into our rotation alongside poultry.
Some choices are practical. Storage onions, dry beans, and reliable tomato varieties that tolerate heat and inconsistent rainfall. Other choices are experiments. Something new to test. Something we have never grown before. Farming requires a willingness to try, observe, and adjust.
There is something steady about planning the garden while the fields rest. Holding a seed reminds you that growth begins long before it is visible. The farm may look quiet right now, but preparation is already underway.
Around the table, the girls point to their favorites and make their requests. We talk about fresh salads in late spring, salsa in midsummer, and shelves lined with jars in the fall. These conversations shape more than the garden. They shape the season ahead.
Planting time is approaching, and that carries a certain kind of anticipation. The work will come soon enough. For now, winter gives us space to choose what this year will become.