Two igloo-shaped structures have popped up around Haines in recent months, but the domes aren’t for people. They’re for plants.
Haines residents Kate Saunders and Leslie Evenden recently built what are likely the only geodesic dome greenhouses in Haines. Saunders’ sits in her front yard near 6 Mile Mud Bay Road, and Evenden’s is on Moose Lane.
The skeleton of the dome is built from timbers forming interlocking geometric shapes – think the giant ball at Disney World’s Epcot Center. The frame is then covered in different forms of reinforced plastic, one akin to bubble wrap which insulates the structure and creates a longer growing season for crops.
Saunders’ dome is 20 feet wide with four-foot-high walls. She insulated the walls with foam, and is using water-barrel “heat sinks” to keep the inside warm. The sinks absorb heat from the sun during the day, and slowly release the heat back into the dome overnight.
In addition to regulating temperature, the dome also allows for the regulation of precipitation, Saunders said.
“I’d love to get melon. I’d love to get eggplant. There’s a lot of things we are not quite warm enough to get here. I would like to try,” she said.
Tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, green peppers and bok choy are also all on the menu, she said, as is Saunders’ specialty: pumpkin. In 2013, Saunders grew a massive 160-pound Atlantic Giant pumpkin that was eventually carved into a brain by Haines High students.
Saunders said she hopes to break her personal pumpkin record using her new geodome.
Not only is the quality and freshness of the food grown in Haines higher than produce purchased at grocery stores, growing food locally helps the environment by eliminating the massive amounts of energy that go into transporting food to Haines, she said.
“We are so dependent on our food coming from down south. With the energy costs, it doesn’t make sense,” Saunders said. “I really do think in Alaska we have to start growing some more of our own food.”
Saunders was hoping to get a small business started this summer to sell produce grown in the dome. The kit arrived later than expected, though, and those plans will have to wait until next spring, she said.
Though Evenden’s dome is bigger in diameter – 30 feet compared to Saunders’ 20 – she’s intending to only use her structure for personal use at this point.
“It’s fun. It’s a hobby. And I think it’s kind of a way of life that I like, growing your own food. It’s kind of like catching your own fish. It’s a lifestyle,” Evenden said.
Evenden used to work with a friend who grew produce in a high-tunnel greenhouse similar to a geodome but shaped like a conventional greenhouse. The geodome, though, can be kept up year-round, unlike the high tunnel, she said.
“You don’t have to take off the plastic in the winter. It is structurally sound enough to hold up against the snow and it can stay up 12 months a year,” Evenden said.
Because Evenden’s land on Moose Lane had historically been used for farming, she qualified for a grant through the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service that paid for about half of the $10,000 structure.
Samia Savell, who heads NRCS’s Juneau field office, said geodesic domes are a new feature of the Environmental Quality and Incentives Program. Before this spring, the program only offered grants for high tunnels, she said.
From an agency perspective, supporting the construction of geodomes and high tunnels helps reduce pesticide transportation, improves air quality through reduced transportation inputs, and reduces energy use by providing consumers with a local source of fresh produce.
Geodomes are still catching on, Savell said. During the last grant application cycle, she received nine applications. Two were for geodomes, including Evenden’s
Eligibility requirements include having an established garden, control of the building site property, and compliance with wetland provisions, Savell said.
The next grant application deadline is Sept. 15. To inquire about eligibility or to get an application, contact Savell at 586-7220 or [email protected].