Members of the Formoso Garden Club are hopeful the new year will allow them to start bedding plants in their new greehouse.
The green house project began before the arrival of 2021 but last spring’s record breaking cold snap delayed completion until past the time to start plants for 2021.
The club has constructed a new building on the east side of Yates Street in the vicinity of the community’s roller skating rink located in what was once the school gym.
It is a dual purpose building that will serve both as a green house in the spring and a year-around machine shed in which the club can store their equipment.
Plans for this spring’s plants are already being made and the gardeners welcome community input on what they would like to see started. Suggestions on varieties or plant types should be directed to Mayor Laverna Peters or Mark Stenson. The Formoso Garden Club does not just grow vegetables but also perennial flowers as well and may offer trees in the future.
For many of the plants a hydroponic system will be utilized.
Planning for the greenhouse design began back in 1982 and 1983 when Mark Stenson was working with Roy Rempe, the operator of an aerial spraying business based at Superior. Trips to Florida and Ohio offered opportunities to see other greenhouses and designs which utilized natural heat sources.
The total building is 60x80 with a 60x20 foot area devoted to the green house.
Solar heat captured by the green house will be utilized to heat the shop which has heater coils in the floor.
A 2,000 gallon tank will serve as a heat sump in which to store the captured heat. It is hoped the temperature inside will never fall below 50 degrees.
As an alternative to the natural heat sources, wood will be available for supplemental heat as needed.
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