Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

It's well within our list description. 

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 2/23/2007 at 12:01 PM Bobby G wrote:

>http://www.earthtoys.com/emagazine.php?issue_number=03.08.01&article=finch
>
>While growing oranges in Nebraska is a bit more of a
>novelty than this list is all about, it does show the
>value of this type of greenhouse design.
>
>i am thinking that the earth-sheltered greenhouse
>would be definitely among the first-year projects our
>land co-op would undertake. not to grow oranges in
>Wisconsin, but because of the huge advantage in
>season-extending combined with the intensive
>mini-agriculture approach.
>
>almost all the greenhouses in our area are the
>above-ground structures that gobble energy like crazy.
>the goal i have in mind would be a greenhouse that
>allows for (almost) year-round growing PLUS only
>"sips" energy.  
>
>what i'm thinking is, it should be dug down into the
>earth quite a ways, with only the SSE, S, and SSW
>sides exposed to the sun.  the trench system for
>geo-thermal heat-pumping is a great feature, but i
>fear it would add enormously to the costs of such a
>greenhouse. the idea is to start netting profit from
>use of a greenhouse almost right from the beginning,
>not to invest huge amounts in sunk costs, literally.
>
>if there is no hillside on the land we end up
>acquiring, the second notion i've had is to use the
>excavation dirt from a pond which is excavated, to
>create an artificial "hill" to shelter the
>earth-sheltered buildings.
>
>am i thinking in the right direction here?  i'll
>probably keep drifting in these directions unless
>y'all knock me on the head by showing me where my
>thinking is daft...
>
>bobby g
>
>
> 
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