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["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>]

> And, you have said you have a greenhouse.  Do you have any fresh 
> vegetabhles that grow inside the greenhouse through your very cold 
> winters, or, is it just to keep plants 'alive', so that they will produce 
> in the spring?
It's too cold here to grow anything through the winter in an unheated 
greenhouse. I've grown some greens, they don't really grow much in the 
winter, but they will 'hold' and I can pick them all winter (water is a 
problem; the pipes freeze, so I shut them off and drain them). There's no 
point in growing more than I need, because there's no where to sell in the 
winter. The greenhouse is about 2 climate zones warmer than the outside, so 
it's just getting to the point now where it won't go below freezing at 
night. I have a lot of fig trees in there; they are forming leaf buds 
already.

I also tried planting potatoes early last fall; I had a bag of commercial 
potatoes that sprouted on me, so I planted them in the greenhouse. They grew 
until December, then got frosted. I'm curious to see what they'll do now 
that it's warming up.

I also have a small greenhouse (12x12') that is set up for aquaponics. I 
plan to start some pak choi and chinese cabbage in there next weekend. They 
grow very well in an aquaponic system.

> Animal husbandry , even on the small commercial scale, is quite a feat for 
> one person, I would think...............
I find that the animals are easier than the garden. I have a small 
commercial garden (less than 1/4 acre, intensely planted), and it takes time 
every day in the summer just to keep it tended...several days of rain can 
put me way behind (and make the weeds grow faster).

The animals take intense spurts of attention, followed by days or weeks of 
needing nothing from me..in the summer, I don't even see them for days on 
end, if they are up in the woods. I have to go find them, just to make sure 
they are still there. Now that I have my new fence (about 35 acres fenced in 
5-strand high tensile), I don't worry about them getting out. Not having to 
chase escaped animals has made my life so much easier.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga Co. PA