Greenhouse Helps New Gardener Learn Quickly

Solar water feature in above ground greenhouse pond

We love hearing from our Growing Dome owners, so when we received a very encouraging email from Lori Binczak, we had to share it with you guys. It’s so great when we get little reminders like this that remind us why we do what we do. We can’t believe what she’s accomplished in her 18′ Growing Dome! Simply amazing! Here’s what Lori wanted to share:

“As a first time vegetable/fruit grower, I have been experimenting all spring/summer. I have learned at a dramatic pace because the dome has allowed me to grow rapidly and discover many things about the differences in growing each variety of plants that I have planted this year.

I began the dome with 1 yr old asparagus in the first bay, asparagus from seed in the second bay, heritage tomatoes in the 3rd, 3 English cucumber plants at the back and green pepper & habanero plants in the 4th bay, the 5th has broccoli and bean hyacinth (for the climbing leaf growth and attractive flowers/pods), the 6th bay had too many zucchini plants and I have now removed all but one and am beginning to reap zucchini as a result. The two bays on the other side of the door are now in their second planting season. I had an amazing crop of mesclun greens and snow peas and when they began to fade, I planted Swiss chard & green beans in their place.

Goldfish in greenhouse pond

The centre of the dome is my pride and joy… my fig is growing by leaps and bounds as well as the pomegranate tree. My clementine tree set fruit but unfortunately, just as the fruit had set it was over watered and dropped them all. I will know for next year! My mango didn’t appear to be doing anything for months and suddenly a few weeks ago there was a bud at the crown which sprouted 5 new shoots to create the umbrella which will make up the tree. I am so excited because in only a few weeks, not only are these full branches but each has another bud in it’s center forming! Last but not least, though very slow in starting them, each of my globe artichoke.

For a month now we have been feasting on the prolific English cucumbers and we are starting to reap the rewards of the tomato jungle… lol I have now learned the value of early removal of some of the leaves for better tomato production, but you can see that I couldn’t even take a close up of that bay because the tomatoes are massive and all grown from seed! I have not yet done the additional research to obtain the fingerlings for the tank, but the gold fish have been in the tank from it’s beginning and are healthy and growing.

plants on beam above pond

Well, I bet you weren’t expecting that long winded update but it should tell you how happy I am with my Dome and how much I would love to share that information with other prospective buyer and/or interested groups.

Cheers,

Lori”

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author avatar
Kyle
Kyle joined the Growing Spaces team in 2015, and enjoys being involved in all the exciting projects and developments happening around here!I graduated from Pagosa Springs High School in 2009 and moved to Gunnison, Colorado to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies. After graduating from Western State Colorado University, I moved back to my home town Pagosa Springs. Since moving back home in 2013, I have been working to develop a farm in Arboles. In my spare time, one may find me backpacking in the wilderness, cruising on a mountain bike, slacklining in the park, or skiing Wolf Creek. I also enjoy creating art when I am not outdoors. The mediums that I enjoy working with are yarn, canvas and paint, and clay. I have been experimenting with aquapoinics and am always excited to share knowledge on the subject with others. I joined the Growing Spaces team in 2015, and enjoy being involved in all the exciting projects and developments happening around here!

5 Comments

  • I would love to ask Lori some questions directly as she is in a location in Ontario that I’m quite familiar with. I’d like to understand how her dome is handling the winter in North Bay.

    • Hello Angelina, Thank you for your interest. We will get in touch with Lori and see if she’s up for visitors. We’ll email you with more information. Sincerely, Stacey @ Growing Spaces

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