We will be having quite a fun weekend in Bozeman in the middle of March. We're going to kick off the years
workshop series before the big man arrives, with a
permie filled weekend the 16th and 17th of March.
On the 16th the farm with no name (we're taking suggestions) will be hosting a
Rocket Mass Heater Workshop. We will be building stoves in small teams so that everyone gets hands on
experience building a stove.
In addition to the hands on time in small teams we will also be building two stoves for the farm. One will be in my prototype earth powered
greenhouse. The other will be for the classroom tent we will be using for the Holzer workshop.
In the
Greenhouse the stove will be used for bottom heat for one of the beds, turning the bed into a propagation area for cuttings. We are also going to build an
oven into the heater, so that it will not only
root cuttings for us but also bake some of the fresh fruits and veggies from the greenhouse! Details for the workshop are available on
Broken Ground.
A Rocket Log inside a
RMH inside a Passive
Solar Greenhouse
The 17th of March will be the first chance for people to attend
Spring Tours of Ott-Kimm Conservatory. The conservatory is a private research facility founded on natural principles that has not used any chemicals or fertilizers for over 30 years. The greenhouse is an enclosed ecosystem with naturalized tree frogs and passive pest control and nutrition (letting nature do what it does best).
The Conservatory is a passive solar-geothermal greenhouse, dug into the ground to capitalize on the earths constant temperature. The provides heat during the winter, and cooling during the summer. The greenhouse maintains a zone 8 climate without any heat, fossil fuel, or electricity. This enables us to grow figs, peaches, pears, nectarines, apricots, persimmons, pineapple guava and much more in a harsh zone 4 climate where none of this is possible. Usually we get around 120 frost free days but in the greenhouse there is 300. That nearly triples the growing season without the use of any heat or fossil fuel, merely all of the wonderful services that nature provides so freely!
The snow fountain cherry
should be in full bloom. We hope that you can all join us! Tours are from 1-5, contact me via
Perpetual Green Gardens for directions.