We have made a road trip to Amish greenhouses near St. Charles, MN, an annual event. Several different Amish families have constructed greenhouses on their farms as a revenue source and the forms are located close enough together that is easy to pay a visit to multiple greenhouses.
This is not a cost-effective venture, but on a nice Spring day just spending time on the farms of these interesting folks is worth the trip. I really like to take photos of my experiences, but understanding the reluctance of the Amish folks to being photographed I also read up on what is considered appropriate.
The greenhouses are beautiful and plants were available at very reasonable prices. It was a little early for vegetables so we stuck mostly to purchasing flowers.
This area of Minnesota is a great study in contrast. You have the giant farms making use of massive farm equipment next to these smaller Amish family farms maintained by horses and equipment suited to this level of horse power. The greenhouses also are unique in that they are heated by wood stoves inside of boilers to maintain the heat. Elsewhere, horses are everywhere.
This final picture says more than might think. This is a receipt for one of our purchases. This was completed by a teenaged Amish girl who seem to always take care of the payments. These girls seem so shy and tend not to look at you. Everything is done by hand. They generate this old fashioned, carbon-paper receipt and add up your bill without use of a calculator. They prefer taking cash, but are very careful recording the tax they must pay. Render onto Caesar ….
