Gus and Mary Picardo have been eating their own homegrown lettuce since February. By mid-March, they had tomatoes growing on more than four dozen healthy plants. The couple got a head start on their garden when they stayed home because of the pandemic. They generally spend three months each winter in Florida. This year they fired up the furnace in the 18-by-48-foot greenhouse in their backyard just after Christmas.
“I’m used to being in Florida and golfing and enjoying the outdoors,” Gus Picardo said. “I’m not one to sit around the house all winter and do nothing. I’d go nuts. This gave me something to do.” And the greenhouse has a feel of Florida, Mary Picardo said.
The furnace in the greenhouse is set to 60 degrees, but even in winter, the sun can boost the temperature much higher. “We have to open the door sometimes or else we’d have condensation dripping from the ceiling,” Gus Picardo said. The cost to heat the greenhouse is about $150 a month. “It’s cheaper than going to Florida,” he said.
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