One of the things that attracted us to the farm and the house was the sun room that stretched along the southern side of the house. We knew it would help heat the house and figured we could at least have a place to overwinter our tender plants like hibiscus. But we didn’t expect to be able to grow tomatoes! Or beans, cucumbers, greens, and so on. It has been wonderful to have fresh vegetables. I am especially excited by the tomatoes since I refuse to purchase store bought tomatoes in the winter.
Bob has been helping the plants along by acting as the polinator, using a small artist’s brush to transfer the pollen. There is also a lot of watering involved as everything is in a pot and we also have to keep track of the temperature as it can actually get too hot. I added a few pots of herbs–lavendar, purple sage, greek oregano, and patchouli–that will hang out until spring. I’ve been using the thyme, parsley and basil that we brought in to add freshness to our meals. My challenge is to remember to water them, a chore to add to the morning routine along with feeding and watering the chickens and walking the dogs.
Of course, the sun room also allows us to cut down on our heating bills as it warms the rooms downstairs quite nicely. We’ve also saved a bit on heating water as we discovered that the old solar panels on the roof work as well so when we have a string of sunny days, we can turn off the electricity to the hot water heater and still take steamy showers.