The Gothic Homesteader

 Gardening inside, that is what I must do if I am to keep growing items past October in the high desert of Northern New Mexico.  Last fall I bought a greenhouse , but for some silly reason I never opened it or used it.  So it safely made the move from Arizona to New Mexico. A few weeks back, before our first snow on November 5th (a dusting), I moved my Purple Queen Setcreasea and the healthiest of my Purple Sweet Potato Vines inside for the winter.  They joined my Shamrocks and Robby's baby Barrel Cactus inside the greenhouse. Currently, we have no herbs, but I'm looking to fix that. How did I make it from a plain, boring greenhouse into a "Gothic Greenhouse"?  First, I used purple and black pots for my larger plants for both inside and outside use.  Then I gathered fun items from the Halloween, Day of the Dead, and Party stores, and combined them with a few black dragonflies from last Christmas, giving the greenhouse a whimsically Gothic feel as u...

It came today! All 5 foot 3 inches, by 2 ft, by 1 ft of growing wonder!  My very own apartment sized greenhouse, which I bought for all of  $31.48  from  Amazon.Com .  It paired with my sunny picture window and a plant light, and we should be growing food in no time.  Now I must be about gathering pots, seeds, and get to planning on what we will be growing. The first greenhouses built in Roman times, were very similar to cold frames today.  It was simply a frame covered with the oiled cloth known as specularia or sheets of selenite. Cucumbers, the main food grown this way, were wheeled into the sun by day, and under the covers by night.  Technology continued to change and grow until the 1500's when a Dutchman invented the first practical greenhouse, which continues to advance change to this day!  Who knows what will come next? Greenhouses are such a blessing, especially being Gothic Apartment Homesteader.  And believe it or no...