Roots, Salt, and Citrus: Pre-Spring Rhythms at Fanny’s
Hello friends and welcome back! The days are getting longer, the sun is staying a bit later, and the desire to get my hands back in the dirt is growing! If you’re here, you may be feeling the same pull toward the earth.
Step into the quiet rhythms of the off-season as I share a bit of my life and how I spend the winter lead-up to spring.
The Blueprint (Garden Plan)
As I prep for the new growing season, it felt important to audit my inventory and see what favorites needed restocking. Beyond the basics, I found myself dreaming about what new varieties I might introduce to the garden this year - those ‘trial’ plants that often end up being the stars of the season. This year, I’m particularly excited to introduce Rhinish Pickle Cucumber. This is an heirloom variety prized for its crisp texture in pickling recipes!
Tackling this task took the better part of a day. It was a slow, tactile process of curating my seed archive - picking through packets, reorganizing by category (vegetables, herbs, and flowers), and clearing space for the new. To keep the vision organized, I’ve been logging everything into growveg.com.
I discovered this site a little over a year ago, and it has become my digital garden journal. While I initially used it to map out spacing for each bed, it has evolved into a living record of my gardening whims! Even when I deviate from the plan to add an unplanned row of tomatoes, the site helps me keep the chaos beautiful and organized.
One of the most helpful features of this digital transition is the Seed Inventory Tracker. As I entered the seeds I have on hand, the site automatically generated a timeline for my specific growing zone. While the layout isn’t 100% finished, having a general map of where my crops will go takes the guesswork out of the spring rush.
One of the most valuable benefits of this digital record is the memory it holds for the soil. As you can see in the plan above, the site uses red circles (on the far right) to flag where I shouldn’t plant tomatoes or their relatives, like potatoes, this year.
By tracking where every plant lived last season, I can naturally reduce pest and disease issues without any guesswork. It’s a quiet, scientific way to ensure that when spring finally arrives, the garden is as healthy as it is beautiful!
From the Dirt to the Dough
While the garden sleeps, the kitchen remains the warm, beating heart of my home. This off-season, my baking has been a balance of perfected staples and new curiosities.
On one hand, I’ve tested a recipe for Brat Buns—ensuring that signature pillowy texture is ready for the first backyard grills of spring. But the quiet of winter also invites exploration. Just a few days ago, I stumbled upon Kladdkaka, a Swedish chocolate cake I had never heard of before. It’s a dense, 'sticky' masterpiece that has quickly become a favorite in my recipe testing. It’s these little discoveries that keep the 'Heart Made' spirit alive during the long Wisconsin winters.
The staples and the surprises: Golden Brat Buns alongside a dense, chocolatey Kladdkaka.
As the calendar turns, we are quickly approaching the busy season of outdoor markets. While the staples are returning, I’m currently deep in my collection of canning archives, dreaming up new flavors to bring to the community.
I’m looking to offer more than just our signature small-batch jams this year—I want to bring a full palette of garden-inspired jars to your table. It's a season of discovery, from the heirloom seeds in the dirt to the simmering copper pots in the kitchen.
The Atelier: Salt, Citrus, and Spring's First Blush
Beyond the market prep, the winter off-season is a time for my own 'flavor sketching.' In the quiet of my kitchen atelier, I’ve been leaning into the more intricate side of the 'Salt and Citrus' philosophy—perfecting the small-batch details that make a simple meal at home feel like an occasion.
Currently, my personal focus is on crafting seasoning blends that balance earthy salts with bright, botanical notes from last year's harvest. While these are just for my own kitchen for now, the inspiration they provide often finds its way into the jars I am preparing for you.
The true star of the testing bench this week is Spring’s First Blush. This Rhubarb Orange Marmalade is a vibrant, tart-yet-sweet combination that captures the exact feeling of the garden waking up. It’s one of the new flavors I can’t wait to bring to our community as the market season begins.
As the days continue to stretch longer, I’m so looking forward to sharing these new rhythms and flavors with you. Everything is being prepared with a slow, 'heart-made' intentionality.
As I wait for the rest of the garden to catch up, I’d love to hear from you. Are you already sketching out your garden beds, or perhaps you’ve discovered a new 'sticky' favorite in your own winter kitchen? Drop a comment below and let’s share our off-season rhythms.
Coming up next on the blog: We’re moving from the digital blueprint to the actual dirt. The fall-planted garlic has officially broken ground—a vibrant, hardy reminder that the new season is here. Join me next time as I clear space for our brand-new garden beds and share the first official steps of our 2026 'Great Seed Starting.
With heart,
Fanny