Greenhouse

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Greenhouse

The Greener Gardens Greenhouse Project is an outdoor educational facility including a geothermal greenhouse 138’x17’, 70 plots of native and introduced grasses, a learning/classroom area, tree identification plantings, and a perimeter of pollinators. The North Platte Natural Resources District chose a geothermal greenhouse because it uses less water and energy than traditional above-ground structures and is a perfect way to teach conservation. A solar array is installed with 12 microinverters to help with electricity needs. There is an educational area for students, volunteers, and our community to learn planting, care, and alternative farming techniques and crops.

Greener Gardens Greenhouse was built in the spring of 2018 through community funding and grants. Many different plants are grown in the NPNRD greenhouse, such as orange, tangerine, avocado, lemon, lime, papaya, passion fruit, dragon fruit, banana, tomato, cucumber, pepper, kale, pea, bean, spinach, lettuce, melon, radish, and more. All produce is weighed to determine the value of crops grown. This will encourage and be a starting point for new farming ideas in Nebraska.

Vegetables are donated to CAPWN and distributed to the counties they serve. Over 4000 pounds of vegetables have been donated. The fruit will also be donated when the citrus and tropical trees have matured.

The native grass area will be an invaluable resource for students learning plant science, range judging, and local ecology. Community members who want to add grasses or trees to their properties will appreciate the plots of native mixtures for the Conservation Reserve Program, including CP-1, CP-2, CP-4A, and CP-25 mixtures, several grass mixes for wildlife, haying or grazing, and 70 different types of trees and shrubs.

Local support for this project has been excellent, and we are so thankful for how our community has circled around this educational endeavor with confidence, generosity, and volunteering.

The three goals for this project are:

Education area for all ages, including grasses and trees that the NPNRD provides.
Donation of fresh fruits and vegetables
Encouraging alternative growing/crops and a resource for greenhouse growers.

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