Increasingly, greenhouses are becoming more popular as we seek healthier food, and reduce our food shopping expenses. Taking care of the environment and reducing greenhouse gases are also on our minds. But is it possible to build a greenhouse in an extremely cold or hot climate? Let’s have a look at places you didn’t expect to see a greenhouse.
Rocky Mountains
Would you even dream of building a greenhouse if you lived in high mountains, for example over 2000 metres above sea level? You need to put some extra effort into a few issues, but it isn’t unfeasible.
Jerome Osentowski, founder as well as director of an organization called Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (CRMPI), has been a farmer for over thirty-five years, despite living on a rocky hillside in Colorado 2,200 metres above sea level.
Farmers living in similar conditions may take advantage of the small greenhouses in stock at Greenhouses.com. You don’t need much space for a small greenhouse, but you do have to find the right location to keep it dry and prevent runoff, as well as provide the appropriate orientation for sun exposure.
Polar Regions
As you might imagine, when creating a greenhouse in the polar regions, or any other region with rather cold and gloomy weather, we need to focus on two main issues.
For part of the year, there is no sun, as well as extremely low temperatures, which may reach -40 degrees.
Nauik, a greenhouse in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Canada, is an example of leveraging a greenhouse to make sure the plants have the perfect lighting, temperature, or ventilation.
The greenhouse must be reliable and sturdy, to protect the construction from strong winds. Relevant lighting, as well as heat sources, should be installed to make it even possible for the plants to grow.
Space
Surprised? Yes, growing plants in space is possible too. The aim of the project, called the Vegetable Production System (Veggie), is to provide the astronauts taking longer expeditions, for example to Mars, with an alternative to the present system of packaged foods that may degrade while travelling further into space.
Low gravity and a lack of sunlight are the two main problems with greenhouses in space. With the Veggie system, you can solve these problems by using two low-powered units with 70 watts of electricity for the lights, fans, and hydroponics. Fertiliser and calcined clay are added to the plant pillow to make it more nourishing. Seeds must be glued with guar gum.
