Gardening and Our Off Grid Greenhouse

A greenhouse is not essential to gardening, but it sure makes a difference in being able to start plants earlier. It also may even be able to give you the option of trying plants suited to a zone or two warmer than you could produce without a greenhouse.

This off-grid greenhouse is tucked into the west and north sides of the hill, leaving it with both east and southern exposure, an ideal location. The greenhouse itself has the clear roof panels. It was built first and the larger building with the solar array was added later—more on that tomorrow!

The asparagus fronds left to go in August shield it on the south face from the intense heat that time of year.

Note to the left of the greenhouse how the grapevines stretch out along its face. These also shield the greenhouse during summer on its south face, as do the berry plants next to the front door which faces east.

On the flat, tillable acreage is the garden. Horse drawn implements are lined up along the fence.

They also had a single horse breaking buggy. When I first saw it, I thought it was a fore cart (A horse drawn cart which is used to hitch other implements too. That way you can use more modern farm implements. Some fore carts have battery power and even gas engines to run modern equipment.) as I have one that I have used not only for breaking horses to drive, but to haul logs from the woods up to the wood lot.

Mine is a convertible fore cart using both a pole for a team or thills for a single horse. Many Amish mow their lawns with a fore cart hitched to a series of reel mowers. A fore cart is the way to go if you are actually going to use horses.

They had a 7 foot deer fence around the extensive gardens. Costly, but necessary if want a harvest in the wilderness. An antique wheel barrow adds to the ambience.

An old drive through granary was converted to common storage and garden tool storage.

Having taken a tour of the greenhouse and gardens, the last leg of our journey on this homestead will be the home based businesses that allow the residents to remain on the homestead without an outside income.

This is part of an off grid series, where I take you on a tour of the off-grid home without solar assist and a walk around the farm.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out the other posts featuring their: home without electricity, masonry heater, off grid water system, and homestead businesses.

My hope is that you will enjoy the experience as much as I did and perhaps learn, or remember, a bit of an older/newer lifestyle.