The Calendar
The labour year on Brandenburg sand
The field, the garden, the kitchen and the animals side by side, month by month. The shaded months are the year's narrows, when the household's hours run short.
- The spring narrow, mid-April to the end of May
- The harvest narrow, late July to mid-August
- The autumn narrow, mid-September to Martinmas
| Month | Field | Garden | Kitchen and cellar | Animals and water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Coppice cut and hauled. The charcoal clamp built. | Seed sorted, the year's order written. | Salt pork, sauerkraut, the cellar checked weekly. | Hay and tree hay. The sow due in February. |
| February | Manure spread on the rye. Tools filed and set. | The hotbed made, onions from seed under glass. | The still, if there is one, takes the cider to schnapps. | Farrowing. Lambing begins. |
| March | Scions grafted at bud swell, the orchard pruned. | Peas, broad beans, the first carrots under cover. | Rennet from the calf, the first fresh cheeses. | Calving. The cow back in milk. |
| AprilThe spring narrow | Lupin sown. Potatoes trenched from the middle of the month. | Seedlings bedded out, the frost window watched. | Malt, and the small ale for the field. | The hens laying, the broody hen set. |
| MayThe spring narrow | Potatoes ridged, rye in flower, the scythe hung ready. | Everything out after the Ice Saints. Hoe, hoe and hoe again. | Elderflower cordial, the last of the cellar. | Grass. The goats kid. Shearing. |
| June | Hay, the first cut. The clover ley. | Onion sets, cabbage transplanted, the net against the carrot fly. | Butter and ghee at the flush. The wheel begins. | The pig on pasture, the calf weaned. |
| JulyThe harvest narrow | Rye cut late in the month, the scythe out daily. | Cucumbers and the first pickles. Garlic lifted. | Jam with beet sugar, the solar dryer full. | Milk at its height, the cheese cave filling. |
| AugustThe harvest narrow | Wheat and the summer grains, threshing, the flax pulled. | Tomatoes bottled, onions cured on the Darren. | The jar and the botulism block. Vinegar started. | The second hay. The sow bred again. |
| SeptemberThe autumn narrow | Potatoes lifted and the clamp built. Beet lifted late. | Cabbage for the crock, roots to the cellar. | Sauerkraut. Cider pressed, and the keeve. | Pigs fattening on whey and windfalls. |
| OctoberThe autumn narrow | Rye sown, the orchard picked, the coppice marked. | The garden cleared. Leeks and kale stand. | Cider, wine and mead. The smokehouse lit for the eel. | The eel run at Tegel. The pond netted. |
| NovemberThe autumn narrow | Martinmas closes the accounts. The pig's day. | Garlic planted, the beds mulched. | Salami, blood sausage, lard, tallow and soap. | The goose. The cow dried off at the turn of her year. |
| December | The woodpile measured, the tools counted. | Nothing but the kale and the cold frame. | The Christmas carp, the feast, the Evening. | Everything indoors on deep litter. |
The household year is about 4,000 hours of work, the kitchen's 1,100 of them. A draft from documents 121 and 133 and Chapter 18's three narrows. Every line is still to be checked.
From Documents 121 133 · Chapter 18 The Village