HOW TO BUILD A GEODESIC DOME ~ ORGANIC SUSTAINABLE LIVING

I have this re-occurring dream where I see myself strolling out to our backyard and picking the best tasting, fresh, organic, nutritious, chemical free, non GMO fruit, vegetables and herbs all year-round.

Then....... I wake up. !!

As you know, my husband and I live in Pickering, just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada which translates weather-wise into a climate of months and months of cold weather and snow, making our growing season quite short.

Sustainable Living by growing your own food has so many incredible benefits. The following are just a few...........

It is a wonderful way to support the environment. So much of the food that we eat has had to travel long distances to get to our supermarkets. Just think about all those carbon emissions as a result of their transport and how that negatively contributes to climate change.
It is a wonderful way to support your well-being - Freshly harvested food grown in nutrient-rich soil in your own backyard means that you are consuming more vitamins, minerals and enzymes which means better health for you. Food which has traveled long distances to get to us loses so many of these vital nutrients.
It has therapeutic advantages; Gardening is relaxing to the mind, requires some physical exercise and the entire process of growing your own food is pleasurable and fulfilling.
It reduces your monthly food bill

So, in an attempt to support our goals of living a truly healthy and sustainable life, I have been researching for quite some time now, a manufacturer/supplier or instructions on how to build a geodesic dome greenhouse for our backyard. There are many manufacturers out there, but not all have a quality dome structure which will withstand our Canadian winters and snow. You will also come across loads of websites with instructions on how to build one from scratch.

Now you know we love a DIY project and will attempt to build anything ourselves if at all possible, but sometimes as they say, "you have to know when to HOLD THEM AND KNOW WHEN TO FOLD THEM!"

We decided that we did not want to go the DIY route with this project, by following some obscure directions found on the internet. Our greenhouse will have some DIY elements for sure as we will be constructing it, but from a purchased kit which includes all the necessary materials for a perfect result.

We want to build this correctly the first time as there really is quite a science to the Geodesic Dome Greenhouse design.

Firstly let me tell you a bit about a Geodesic Dome Greenhouse as most people have never heard of them. It is a spherically designed greenhouse structure as opposed to the typical rectangular shape like most greenhouses. A Geodesic Dome Greenhouse is constructed from a number of triangular forms made from wood struts and metal hubs and covered by polycarbonate glazing panels which fit together to create the dome shape. The beauty and benefits of this shape are many; the dome can withstand very high winds, the snow slides right off, they are extremely energy efficient and requires little or no heat.

During my research, I found this incredible company in Colorado called Growing Spaces who have been designing/producing Geodesic Dome Greenhouses for about 25 years. There are many, many geodesic dome greenhouse manufacturers but in my opinion they pale in comparison to the Growing Spaces dome.

They have a variety of sizes and packages to suit your particular needs. Their smallest greenhouse kit is 15 ft. which includes a covering of UV resistant, shatter-proof polycarbonate glazing panels, a set of pre-cut, color-coded struts and framing. Features like automatic opening vents, solar powered undersoil heating/cooling system, Reflectix insulation, materials for the pond and a shade cloth are included.

Plus ~ for climates such as ours there is a a snowshed entryway that has a door with a window, all hardware, and a 24" foundation wall with structural siding.