“Grow food all-year round in a prefab geodesic dome greenhouse.” — Pacific Domes
Concerned about your family’s food security? You’ve come to the right place to learn about four-season food production – where plants thrive year-round in the best Greenhouse GrowDome kits on the market.
You’ll love that a Greenhouse GrowDome is portable and easy to set-up. And, you’ll love that it can be up and running in no-time, no matter what the weather is doing outside – even, in the dead of winter.
Maximizing Food Production
Ideally, a four-season food production environment supplies plants with the five elements they need to thrive: optimal sunlight, air-flow, temperature, moisture and nutrients. However, many regions on the planet don’t provide year-round growing conditions conducive to plant growth.
Historically, greenhouses have been a popular option for commercial growers, backyard-gardeners and off-grid homesteaders, alike, to extend their growing season. When shopping around for greenhouse kits, discerning consumers quickly discover that not all prefab greenhouses are designed to offer 4-season food production – let alone, maximize food production.
Additionally, shoppers find that most inexpensive greenhouse kits often lack ample growing space; or, that they just won’t hold up to the elements and weather extremes – not to mention, that they don’t adequately provide the five elements plants need to thrive. Finally, there’s the greenhouse permitting to consider – such as, will the greenhouse structure meet engineering requirements; or even, require an engineering stamp?
Conventional greenhouse packages often require elaborate growing systems that budget-conscious clients might wish to weigh-in on before deciding whether this option is a realistic and cost-effective alternative. Compared to the more expensive, open-span quonset-hut and gothic-arch greenhouses used by commercial greenhouse growers, the clear-span GrowDome provides an optimal micro-climate biodome for plants – while, it comes with an economical upfront investment.
We invite you to follow along as we explore some of the features, benefits and uses that Greenhouse GrowDomes have to offer.
5 Benefits of the Greenhouse GrowDome
The sphere-like GrowDome design creates a naturally occurring biome capable of absorbing, storing and radiating heat in a passive solar growing environment, similar to that of planet earth. With a little help from both modern and ancient growing practices, you can build your own economical and thriving greenhouse micro-climate.
Strength: Arguably, the most obvious benefit is a dome’s superior strength, making it the strongest structure known to man. Geodesic domes have been erected worldwide due to their inherent architecture and ability to withstand the forces of nature.
Purchasing a Greenhouse GrowDome is an insurance policy in itself. Geodesic-engineering enables domes to withstand high winds and heavy snow loads – as well as, extreme temperatures, tornadoes and earthquakes.
- GrowDome frames are manufactured in the USA using high-strength galvanized steel – they are a lifetime structure.
- Durable SunShield fabric covers will exceed their expected lifespan of 12-20 years with proper care. They scatter diffused light throughout the entire growing space to optimize sunlight for passive solar heating and optimal plant growth – making them ideal for off-grid living.
Sustainability: The second important benefit is that GrowDomes are perfectly suited to environmentally sensitive areas. Exerting a light eco-footprint, prefab GrowDomes come in several portable sizes that can be assembled quickly with basic hand-held tools – and, without the use of heavy construction equipment.
Spaciousness: Buckminster Fuller discovered the doing more with less principle, in that the dome encloses the largest volume of interior space with the least amount of surface area, thus saving on materials and cost. Bucky Fuller reintroduced the idea that when a sphere’s diameter is doubled, it will quadruple its square footage, producing eight-times its volume.
Dome design encloses the largest volume of interior space with the least amount of surface area. The dome’s energy-efficient clear-span construction allows for ambient air and energy to circulate freely without obstruction – thus, enabling heating and cooling to occur naturally.
Energy Efficient: According to the Buckminster Fuller Institute, geodesic domes’ concave interior “creates a natural airflow that allows the hot or cool air to flow evenly throughout the dome with help from return air ducts. Extreme wind turbulence is lessened because winds that contribute to heat loss flow smoothly around the dome. Additionally, the spherical dome shape acts like a type of giant downward reflector, concentrating interior heat and preventing radiant heat loss.”
Synergistic: Extensive research into bio-geometrical shapes has rendered scientific conclusions that the energetic qualities of geodesic architecture produces the highest vibrational environment that’s beneficial to both humans and healthy plants.
Many clients opt to install a stem wall around their GrowDome. This raises the freestanding structure several feet above the ground to allow for raised bed gardens – while, increasing head-room along the perimeter walls.
GrowDome Uses
GrowDomes have a wide range of residential, commercial and education applications. Their uses include schoolyard education, farm-to-table restaurants, urban backyard gardens, off-grid homesteading and much more.
Bonus Tip: Greenhouse GrowDome Mycoculture
One of the challenges of growing in enclosed systems lies in balancing the exchange of gases between its ecosystem and atmosphere – notably, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Pacific Domes has joined the growing ranks of supporters championing the research work of “Mycofiltration” and “Mycoremediation” pioneered by world renowned, mycologist, Paul Stamets and research institutes like JADAM. Thanks to the many trail-blazers who have studied Nature’s blueprint, we are forging a new era of commitment to integrating the innate Intelligence found in Nature’s self-sustained ecosystems through earth-based science.
- Mycoremediation is the cultivation of mushrooms to assist with restoration, replenishment and remediation of overburdened ecosystems.
- Mycofiltration involves the use of mycorrhizal fungal mats as biological filters.
Expanding on the synergetic principles originated by R. Buckminster Fuller, Pacific Domes has been working on perfecting the function and beauty of their portable geodesic domes for more than 40-years in Ashland, Oregon. Pacific Domes has pioneered sustainable living, personal and cultural transformation, and peaceful social evolution since 1980. This means… environmentally aware and sustainable.
Pacific Domes builds prefab Greenhouses and GrowDome Kits that are energy-efficient and ideal for vertical towers, aeroponics, aquaponics and hydroponics. Exploring Pacific Domes Knowledge Base and Faq’s section is your first step towards learning about the benefits and versatility of geodesic domes as the strongest portable structure known to man.