Updated November 2024 by Lem Tingley
Mines Tiny Greenhouse – A Commutative Greenhouse Project
Every year the seniors at the Colorado School of Mines participate in a Capstone Design Project. In the fall of 2020, Marla, Christine, Hannah, Juliana, Andrea, Micah, and Zoe took on the Mines Greenhouse Capstone Project. They were met with the challenge to establish a “campus greenhouse that will supply local organic produce to Mines students and Mines Market.”
The team rose to the challenge raising over $7,000 for the project and splitting the solution into two parts. The first part is raised outdoor garden beds that serve as a community garden space where students can rent plots and grow food. The second part is a 22’ Growing Dome better known by students as “Mines Tiny Greenhouse.”
Building a More Sustainable Food Culture
Initially, the team created a design for their own dome and took bids for a greenhouse kit, but after much deliberation and design research, they opted to purchase a 22’ Growing Dome Greenhouse Kit and build it themselves.
“Purchasing the greenhouse kit rather than designing our own was beneficial in that the greenhouse was designed for the harsher Colorado climates, wet snow and wind loads, was more economical, and was focused on sustainable materials.” – Design Team.
With the help of a supervisor from our team here at Growing Spaces, they began construction on April 8th, 2021, completing the Dome structure before the end of term.
Energy-Efficient Hydroponics System
Purchasing a kit also gave them more time to focus on what matters the most, the inside. The Mines Tiny Greenhouse team designed an energy-efficient hydroponics system and an aeroponic tower to maximize produce production. The hydroponic system consists of PVC pipes mounted in six tiers on a wooden A-frame. Each tier can grow up to 35 plants!
“The use of hydroponics also enhances the use of the climate control system, which will measure temperature, light, humidity, and control the hydroponic water pumps, heaters, seedling growing areas, and lights via a Raspberry Pi. The climate control system serves to maximize efficiency.”
Fighting Hunger at Mines
What started as a senior design project has evolved into Grown@Mines, a university honors, and scholar program. They work in conjunction with other organizations at the Colorado School of Mines to host campus events such as cooking classes with Fighting Hunger at Mines.
The greenhouse is estimated to donate at least 25% of their fresh produce to Fighting Hunger at Mines and hopes to sell the other 75% at the Golden Farmers Market and Mines Market.
“Our goal with this was for it to be a community project. It has been accepted by the Mines community. Everyone has been so involved. It is cool to be leaving all this behind when I leave.” – Julianna Valenzuela (Project Manager)
Senior Capstone Projects
The students at Colorado School of Mines have since taken on three more capstone projects with Growing Spaces, two in the fall of 2021 and one in the fall of 2024. One team was challenged to develop a control system for the Mines Tiny Greenhouse or the Go Farm Greenhouse to monitor and automate controls such as temperature, humidity, and soil moisture. The other was tasked to develop a design for more modular construction of a geodesic greenhouse using extruded T-slot aluminum framing or an alternative material or design that is equally as strong and durable as our current design (Douglas fir).
The third project aimed to address two major challenges with the greenhouse: temperature regulation and community access to the greenhouse.
The first issue arose when the original design team encountered bedrock during construction, which prevented them from running electricity to the Growing Dome. Their initial plan was to implement a fully hydroponic system without an above-ground pond to maximize space efficiency. However, without electricity or the thermal mass, they couldn’t control the greenhouse temperatures effectively. This lack of temperature regulation made the greenhouse less functional, leading to underuse. Therefore, the new design team set out to optimize the thermal mass of the greenhouse and enhance its utility for the community.
The thermal mass project initially explored several solutions, including a GAHT system, trellises, phase change tiles, misting systems, wet walls, and the above-ground pond. However, due to the bedrock, implementing the GAHT system was not feasible, and the phase change tiles proved too costly and difficult to source. Ultimately, the team opted for trellises to provide natural shade and the above-ground pond, which was part of the original greenhouse design. They validated both the structural integrity and the thermal mass properties of the pond, confirming its strength and effectiveness in regulating temperatures.
Their second focus was on engaging students, faculty, and residents of the Mines community to make the greenhouse more beneficial and widely used. The team held two town halls throughout the project. During the first one, held in April, the team learned that there was confusion about access to the greenhouse. At the second town hall, held in November, the team learned that although there was still confusion on access, the space had been greatly improved.
Since then the Growing Domes have been accessed by many different Mines community members, including a Chinese exchange student who is growing Chinese vegetables that she can’t find at the local grocery stores. The team is also laying out a succession plan for the greenhouse to make sure there are students managing the greenhouse after the team graduates. A Greenhouse Club has been formed to welcome students and faculty to use the greenhouse, and they have proposed hiring a paid greenhouse manager. They are also creating manuals for proper maintenance of the greenhouse and the above-ground pond. This project took home second place overall at the Fall 2024 Design Showcase!
We look forward to supporting more Capstone and food security projects with Colorado School Of Mines.
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You can find all of our Featured Growing Dome’s highlighted in our monthly newsletter “The Happy Grower,” on our social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram), and in our blog. At the end of the year, we create an annual calendar that includes every Dome of the Month. We send them to all Dome of the Month participants, along with a gift of Growing Spaces gardening goodies! Apply here.
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2 Comments
What a fantastic capstone project for Mines students. Congrats!
Thank you! The staff and students are amazing!