May 1982 RAIN Page 3 Readers Respond If peace broke out, we wouldn't have to run harder and harder just to stay in the same place The pace of change would ease and things would slowly become less complicated we would no longer feel driven to pursue things ,we do not really believe in we would not judge prosperity by, nor expect, escalating material wealth The decisions of the money managers would directly involve'the values of the people whose money they manage, not only $'s The money managers would take responsibility for their collective influences as well as their individual effects we would all judge our success by our ability to compliment each other's work rather than to compete with it. —Phil Henshaw Brooklyn, NY A picture of peace would have small groups of men and women obtaining locally and noncompetitively almost all their material support from noneconomic, though mutually beneficial, relationships where snobs would be the first to pick up a shovel or clean out the barn because that would be the most dignified thing for them to do. It would be more valuable to care well for a small piece of land, using hand tools or relatively simple technology than to teach in the schools. Anyone seeking more than their meals or a pittance for doing public service work would be automatically disqualified from serving the public. (Now that would decentralize things!) Should anyone desire to teach, that would have to be as a gift to the community; a gift that the community could refuse. If all sounds outrageous to me, but I wonder if anyone thinks it would be easier for nations to disarm than for the professional lions to lie dovym with the lambs or whether physical disarmament would not cry out for some sort of social disarmament as well? —Frank Hubeny Dexter, ME Did your greenhouse tomatoes collapse and die last January? Did the melons never make it? White flies take over? Slugs decimate the seedlings? Have you got the Solar Greenhouse Blues? Wonder what's happening to your investment? No one ever said it would be easy once you got the glazing on and the vents operable, but is there even hope? Take heart! Here in Portland, a couple dozen greenhouse owners have been sharing their trials and tribulations (and successes) in what we jokingly call "solar support groups," more formally "The Solar Greenhouse Society." It was all the brainchild of Nancy Benner, greenhouse designer and gardener. She'd been walking her clients through the period of adjustment when nothing seems to be growing right, when it occurred to her that they all have some good ideas of their own. All that was needed was an opportunity to share them. So she sent out invitations to owners she knew, and the group was up and going. At the first meeting they began to exchange not only ideas, but seeds, catalogues and genuine expertise. Local horticulturists came to the meeting and classes were arranged for "members" to learn planting techniques, varieties to grow, and ongoing maintenance. At a recent meeting. Bill Head, author offish Farming in Your Solar Greenhouse (RAIN VI:3:5) made a presentation on his hydroponics and aquaculture experiments. Bill is working on a new book on yearround gardening under cover. The "solar support group" was a great source of information for him and vice versa. The latest project of the group is the testing of several seed varieties for Territorial Seed Company, here in Oregon. The goal is to determine which seeds will produce most predictably in solar enclosures in the Maritime Northwest. This specific information is essential to getting the most from your system in any particular climate. Perhaps you should form such an organization in your area. Just think of the possibilities. . . . Portland's group is beginning to buy their supplies together. Shade cloth, window insulators, storage devices and plant mediums are all cheaper in large quantities. You could explore working with your local energy extension (or agricultural extension) to provide them with your information. If all of this seems too good to resist, and you do form a group, please let us know, so we can share your work with other RAIN readers and other greenhouse groups. Write RAIN, to my attention, and I'll pass the word on to Nancy and the "solar supporters.". —Carlotta Collette
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