On Saturday, September 14th, we couldn’t have asked for better weather to greet our guests for the 5th Annual Customer Appreciation Event. If you weren’t able to attend this year, we’ve gathered together the highlights and resources provided by our diverse panel of speakers.
Matt Deguise – Dome Maintenance
Our Production Manager Matt led an interactive class covering topics from tightening hubs and evaluating struts to patching tape and cleaning pond pumps. We weaved in and out of 3 different Dome sizes while covering various topics to help best protect your investment and prolong the life of your Growing Dome. Participants were able to see various components in action and ask detailed questions pertaining to their own Growing Domes and experiences. You can find many of the things we discussed in this video about how to conduct a maintenance evaluation.
Terry Schaaf – Food Preservation
Terry Schaaf joined us from the Archuleta County Extension Office to share tips and answer questions about food safety and preservation. All of the fact sheets she brought along can be found on CSU’s website. She shared that during the pandemic there was an increased interest in food preservation. Yet, there also was a rise in dubious sources for this information that resulted in dire outcomes. Her best advice, use recipes from trusted sources and in our environment how to adjust for altitude. One of these resources she highly recommended was the book, So Easy to Preserve, from the University of Georgia Extension.
Matt Klemm – Cultivating Mushrooms in Growing Domes
In this class, one of our Professional Growing Dome Installers Matt demonstrated how to inoculate garden soil with mushroom spores. We began by removing 6-8” of soil from a garden bed on the west side of our 42’ Growing Dome. He then added a layer of pre-soaked hardwood chips and straw, soaked for approximately 1 hour, and topped with mushroom spawn. He then added a layer of garden soil and repeated the process until the bed was full. The final layer was wet cardboard free from ink, tape residue, and staples. He then planted some celery starts throughout the garden bed. The key to cultivating mushrooms is moisture, so make sure to plant crops that can tolerate heavy watering. It is also ideal to plant them in the shade, so placing them underneath a fig tree or other large foliage helps with germination. You can expect 3 “flushes” or harvests of mushrooms from each inoculated area. But the real benefit to your garden is the mycelium which allows plants to uptake nutrients from the entire garden bed compared to just their root structure.
Bart Eller – Microbiology of Soil Health
The founder and Executive Director of Paonia Soil Co. Bart Eller led us through an introduction to the art of regenerative agriculture. He described how the principles that work on revitalizing the soil in a field are applicable as well in a Growing Dome. He touched on topics like watering with citric acid to counterbalance the naturally alkaline soil found in the West; and how cover crops can fix nitrogen in the soil and are green manure when tilled back in. White clover was his cover crop of choice for weed suppression. He advocated for compost amendments over synthetic fertilizers, companion planting, and a crop rotation plan. Bart also suggested testing your soil every year at the beginning of the season, so you can add amendments before you plant. We have his entire PowerPoint presentation available here as a PDF download (12MB).
Udgar Parsons – Winter Gardening In a Growing Dome
Udgar, Growing Spaces’ Founder, began by explaining the various features of the Growing Dome and how they work together to create an environment for year-round gardening without the need for supplemental heat. He discussed some experiments he conducted with the undersoil system and the perimeter skirt. He determined that both used in conjunction yielded the best results. In 20 years, Udgar has only heated his 22’ Growing Dome for 1 week. If he is going to add heat, his preferred method is using a bucket heater in the pond to heat the water. He suggests starting your winter crops in September and as late as October under the canopy of your summer crops. You can also sow seeds in flats by the above-ground pond. This way when you eventually pull out your summer-loving tomatoes and peppers, you already have some of your cool-weather crops well established.
For more information, check out the Growing Dome Greenhouse Planting Schedule. Below you will find some of the crops that have performed well throughout the winter in an unheated Growing Dome.
As the presentations wrapped up, we all enjoyed the taco bar and everyone’s favorite the raffle drawing. Prizes ranged from gift bags to gift certificates, floating pond planters, and a solar drip irrigation system, a Garden Tower, and more.
Native American flute player, Charles Martinez, serenaded us with songs of prayer, for rain, and safe travels. We can’t thank our customers enough for such a wonderful event and are already looking forward to seeing you again next year.
