Carol responds:
An alternative to doing without is to explore local year-round gardening
with cold frames, tunnels, and unheated or solar heated greenhouses. Elliot
Coleman, author of "Four Season Harvest", does this in Maine and provides
his own winter veggies plus veggies for local restaurants.
I respond:
I have heard Elliot at organic meetings in Vermont , read his books and
admire him greatly. He has made his living growing vegtables in NH,
Vermont, and Maine for over 30 years in sites as cold as zone 3, and with
the success of his books, I believe does his "ski season vegtables" more to
prove it can be done than economic necessity, though he says he likes to
relax and enjoy the summer unlike other New England organic growers.
Current Mother Earth News has cover article on him and he sells his winter
commercial plan directly for $15 : Elliot Coleman, Harborside Maine.
To be sure it takes energy to build his green house frames,make plastic
which lasts 3 to 5 years, gas to rototill and certainly fuel for local
delivery but
minimal compared to the commercial California system Dan Bowen discribed.
Compared to the monster glass Dutch greenhuses of late rolling on rails he
is low teck and simple handy man construction.
Congratulations Carol on your winter vegtable production. I was away half
of Dec and Jan and let my small glass leanto greenhouse freeze. All I can
pick is salad burnett (reccomented by a friend with heirloom herb business
who said it was a ourdoor winter kitchen garden herb for most colonial
gardens zone 6 and south) . Despite temps as low as 20 at night I can pick
cucumber flavored leaves for salad, soup or dip.during warm days.
.
