A Cost/Benefit Analysis of a Greenhouse
The Farm is no longer productive. The berries have all but stopped, the herbs have been gathered and are hanging from the rafters as they give up and dry already. The last of the apple peelings are drying in the greenhouse. Oh. Yes. Well, I guess that part is still productive. In the greenhouse there is row after row and shelf after shelf of our winter greens. Or they will be. Right now it is just dirt. Dirt I have to keep moist and warm. This will be the first year for the greenhouse for us. We’ve had cold frames in the past with some success, but this is new. My sister-in-law gave her opinion on the greenhouse and weather or not it was a good idea to keep one–“When I’m done, I’m done,” she’d said. And in a way I agree with her. The cool of Autumn and the cold of Winter have always been restorative. You can’t do work because there is no work to be done. When you’re done, you’re done. And with the coming of the greenhouse, I am now not done. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. Time will tell, I suppose. And, really, it’s just a small greenhouse. I’m sure it will make no difference at all.
Today I do the shopping. Not everything we eat gets produced here. We have no source of milk or cheese or butter (Oh, how I miss my sheep), and until the greenhouse gets going, we are getting our greens at the store as well. Remind me of that next year. That I have to plant a bit earlier. So there is no gap between garden and greenhouse. And there is a certain young man living here who insists on store-bought cereal. And coffee. And chocolate. You know. The staples.
Each time I go in (the store), I am more and more shocked concerning what things are costing. How can the average family live? I have no idea. That’s part of the reason I do this, not just for myself, but for you, too. To do my part helping people learn how to grow and cook their own food. It’s becoming increasingly more important.
Which brings me back to the greenhouse, I suppose. I guess I’m not quite done yet after all.
