Harnessing the Light ☀️
The spring equinox is here and the growing season is upon us! At Sharing Our Roots, our greenhouse is key to extending the growing season and protecting against extreme weather. Every couple of years, the plastic needs to be replaced due to sun and weather damage. Alissa and Nicole tackled this project with smiles on their faces, happy to spend time soaking up the sun and improving infrastructure for our farmer cohort.
Alissa Jacobsen, Farm Manager
The hoop house design, also known as a high tunnel system, is valuable to farmers in many ways beyond season extension and crop protection. The enclosure allows for specialized irrigation designed to deliver water efficiently and precisely to plants while also managing soil-water content. Farmers are also able to safeguard crops from birds/rodents and control pests more effectively. For all these reasons, our great farm team took to work to get our greenhouse prepared for another season.
Greenhouse frame with old plastic removed
Greenhouse with new plastic
Replacing the heavy duty plastic is a labor-intensive project that requires a lot of finagling with wiggle wires and ladders. Alissa made sure to create efficient systems to streamline our work (and add some fun), one of which involved tying rocks to the corners of the plastic to throw heroically over the entire structure so we could easily pull the plastic up and over. It’s always a good time working with the farm team.
Sharing Our Roots farm team in action!
With the old plastic removed and the new plastic in place, our greenhouse is set up for another couple years to effectively trap heat and maintain consistent temperature.
New sprouts are already here!
And of course, the old plastic will be reused on future projects—we are committed to reducing waste and reusing materials with life left to give.
We are so happy to open up the greenhouse this spring for our growers to maximize their growing season! Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts to see all the great things our farmer cohort is growing.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Sharing Our Roots relies on community donations to fund our work restoring land and providing immigrant, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ farmers with essential support. If you are able and inspired, please join us in our work to heal our lands and prepare emerging farmers by contributing a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you!
