There are many challenges to consider when planning the ideal modern homestead garden: crop failure, limited time, limited water, limited resources, a limited growing season, and proper protection. Most of those can be solved with the addition of a Growing Dome greenhouse.
Like many in our Growing Dome community, Laurel and Will Biedermann’s Growing Dome adventure started with a dream. A dream for a more sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. In 2016 Laurel and Will retired from city life in Colorado Springs and relocated to the small mountain town of Coaldale, Colorado, to begin their self-sufficient journey.
In spring, early high temperatures are a huge benefit--especially in our mountain location with a short growing season. But as spring turns into summer, the increasing heat in the dome can turn our sanctuary into an oven unless it’s managed correctly. Over the years, we’ve learned how to adapt our growing practices, our plant choices, and even our plant locations to make the most of summer heat and provide much-needed shade for the water tank.
You might ask yourself how someone who was "never really was a gardener" found herself with not one but two greenhouses. Well, according to Kate, the answer was simple, "peas." They didn't have enough room to grow all of the peas they wanted (10 pea plants) and other varieties of fruits and vegetables to eat.
Being a gardener in Colorado is tricky. Especially at high altitude (7,600 ft) in Bayfield, where amateur gardeners Bob and Radel Mckibben have made their home. If it is not wind or hail destroying their outside garden, it's critters and cold weather. That is until 2020, when they fell in love with a Growing Dome greenhouse after hearing of it from a friend and taking a tour in person—deciding to purchase a 26' greenhouse kit as a 50th-anniversary gift for each other.
Like many in our Growing Dome community, Laurel and Will Biedermann’s Growing Dome adventure started with a dream. A dream for a more sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. In 2016 Laurel and Will retired from city life in Colorado Springs and relocated to the small mountain town of Coaldale, Colorado, to begin their self-sufficient journey.
In spring, early high temperatures are a huge benefit--especially in our mountain location with a short growing season. But as spring turns into summer, the increasing heat in the dome can turn our sanctuary into an oven unless it’s managed correctly. Over the years, we’ve learned how to adapt our growing practices, our plant choices, and even our plant locations to make the most of summer heat and provide much-needed shade for the water tank.
Mardell Gunn and her partner, Mark Kistler, aka Diz, had been gardening in Haines, Alaska, using standard hoop houses for several years. In 2016, they searched for a polycarbonate structure that could withstand heavy snow loads and humid summers while providing a protected environment to grow fresh heat-loving vegetables that can't be grown successfully outside. Specifically, tomatoes. That's when the internet led them to a 26' Growing Dome.
Retirement, and the past year at home, has allowed Udgar and Puja to slow down and experience the joy of their Growing Dome® as a place of sanctuary from a Growing Dome® owner’s perspective as opposed to that of busy business owners.
Along the border of New York and Connecticut in the Northwest Hills, there is an “intentionally small” school. The Marvelwood School in Kent, Connecticut, is a school for grades 9-12 who are inspired to find their passions through hands-on experiences and where gardening is considered an “essential skill that enriches lives.”
Homesteading is a dream for so many of the Growing Spaces community. A step back in time when life was simpler. Riding your horse and carriage into new territories, staking your claim to a piece of fertile land, and planting seeds that will root down into your new lifestyle. It is about self-sufficiency, living off the land, healthy livestock, and sustainable agriculture.
