Main Objective: A Year-Round Food Producing Yard (Garden)

Our main objective is to create a space that will produce an ample supply of produce 12 months a year. What vegetables are desirable throughout the year - what do we want grow during the winter months in our greenhouse (tomatoes) and what do we want to grow enough of during the summer months (zucchini) to store for use in December?

As my spouse mentioned this evening... we need to really consider the reality of our project - get away from the romanticism of owning and operating a personal greenhouse. For example, is there a more productive way of producing more fresh veg in our smallish backyard than erecting a full-fledged greenhouse? Dick Raymond and his book Dick Raymond's Gardening Year has come up several times during our conversation... Dick has shown that there are several ways in which to start plants without the use of a greenhouse and he goes on to show the novice gardener how to put vegetables away or store them for use during the off season. Actually, Dick talks about "hothouses" for what appears to be seedlings placed in their own containers covered by plastic... I stumbled upon Dick's "plant bank" section on page 74 that demonstrates how to create your own mini greenhouse. The idea here is that one can lengthen the growing season by enclosing (in the original garden spot) the tender vegetables on the spot without the hassle of moving produce in and out of a full-sized greenhouse.

If you have the time, I recommend reading this book. Dick Raymond's Gardening Year: A full year--month by month, step by step--guide to everything to grow in a vegetable garden by America's foremost gardener.

Backyard Prep (Pre-GeoGreenHouse)

We spent the day working in the yard. We have one access point to the backyard and it was blocked by fence that had to come down.

The "temporary" geothermal hot tub was drained and moved aside to make room and a portion of the deck is blocking our access point and will be moved aside as well in the near future.

The hot tub and fence opening is pictured here.

Next on our list of to do... leveling of the yard, we have investigated the type of machine needed to complete this project as well as the cost which is roughly $200 a day. To reach our backyard, we have to cross the canal and the bridge has been a topic of concern for us. Stabilization may be required before we can get to the other side.

Getting Started

First things first...
One: The Idea of Local Sustainability & An Eye-opening Introduction to the Industrial Food Processes

Motivation: The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

As a freshman at Boise State University, I was inspired through my readings of Michael Pollan's work and made a few life changes. In his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael shares with the reader his findings of industrial food, including big organic industries. His findings in addition to personal research lead me to explore the possibilities of erecting a geothermal greenhouse in my neighborhood, actually, my backyard.

Two: Sharing the Idea

Motivation: Local Sustainability - Year Round Fresh Vegetables

Throughout the Spring '08 semester, my peers and I presented our discoveries of what it means to choose sustainable living - What I found was that we have an opportunity to support the local farmer, that we have a local committee that is working towards building a "buy local mind-set", and that as individuals, we can make a difference in our community through the choices that we make every day...

Based on the U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy online, 200 homes in the Boise area use geothermal water as their source of heat during the winter months - and we are lucky enough to be counted in those numbers.Our intentions are to utilize this resource to heat a year-round greenhouse, expanding upon the lessons learned while lessening our footprint on the world (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/gpw/profile_idaho.html par. 2).