Greenhouse designer in Wisconsin

Here is another item from Elizabeth. Note that at the end of the article I provide the URL for the greenhouse designer mentioned in the artcile. His site shows picture of the greenhouses mentioned.


Document 1 of 1
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE PICTURE TOMATOES AND STRAWBERRIES GROWING ON A SNOW-COVERED HILLSIDE. IT'S POSSIBLE WITH SOLAR GREENHOUSES.:[All Edition] Rick Barrett Agribusiness reporter . Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wis.:Feb 13, 1997. p. 1F
People:
Finley, Michael
Author(s):
Rick Barrett Agribusiness reporter
Section:
Business Thursday
Publication title:
Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wis.: Feb 13, 1997. pg. 1.F
Source type:
Newspaper
ISSN:
0749405X
ProQuest document ID:
55003574
Text Word Count
1196
Document URL:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=55003574&Fmt=3&clientId=1007&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Abstract (Document Summary)
Roald Gundersen envisions a family farm under glass where fruits and vegetables grow in frigid Wisconsin winters.
Roald Gundersen envisions a family farm under glass where fruits and vegetables grow in frigid Wisconsin winters.
La Crosse Tribune photos/CATHY ACHERMAN Left, commercial flowers bloom in the middle of February in this solar greenhouse in Cashton. Roald Gundersen of [Stoddard] designed the building, above, which has no auxiliary heating. The greenhouse owner, Gideon Miller, plans to grow vegetables as well as flowers. Roald [Gundersen], an architect by profession, looks at the progress of his solar greenhouse, which will be finished in the spring. The greenhouse is insulated with mounds of earth, straw bales and shutters that can seal in heat on cold winter nights. The frame is made from black locust wood, and the glass is regular thermopane glazing. Tucked in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin, near Stoddard, Roald Gundersen's new 2,800-square-foot cold climate greenhouse will allow him to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and even fish when it's 40 degrees below zero outside. The greenhouse is next to Gundersen's house. Excess heat from the greenhouse will be vented into the house or barn. Two similar greenhouses designed by Gundersen are flourishing with produce and flowers and are operated year-round without auxiliary heating.
Full Text (1196 words)
Copyright Wisconsin State Journal Feb 13, 1997
Roald Gundersen envisions a family farm under glass where fruits and vegetables grow in frigid Wisconsin winters.
His lush, almost tropical farm nestled in a snowbank sounds like a dream, but it's a reality on two sites in Cashton, Wis., and Canton, Minn.
"We've grown tomatoes even when it was 40 below outside," Gundersen said. "Hot weather crops can flourish in the cold, low-light of winter without a furnace."
Gundersen, an architect by profession, hopes to spread the gospel of cold climate solar greenhouses throughout Wisconsin.
He says his veggies under glass could bethe profit engines that many small farms are desperately seeking.
"For a business happy to see 5 percent profit margins, this could be a revolution," he said. "Wisconsin growers could compete with foreign and sunbelt growers year-round in a wide range of crops. Consumers will have fresher produce, numbering the days of the 2,000-mile (shipped) tomato."
Gundersen's solar greenhouses differ from traditional glass huts that lack insulation. They optimize winter light and can be built into hillsides, using the ground to stabilize temperatures. Shutters can be angled to reflect sunlight off snow, increasing the light by 140 percent.
At Badgersett Research Farm in Canton, daytime temperatures in the solar greenhouse hover in the 80s in February.
"It feels like Florida," Gundersen said. "When people step inside, they believe it."
Badgersett was Gundersen's first cold climate greenhouse. It's a 1,600 square foot building surrounded by mounded earth that features a southern exposure. It has a solar panel and wind-driven generator for lights, fans and water pumps.
It has shutters to control light and protect plants from cold nights. But it doesn't have a heating system, and in four years hasn't needed one.
"The shutters weren't lowered to insulate the glazing even when it was 35 below zero," Gundersen said. "That's because the inside temperature never fell below 39 degrees above zero."
Wisconsin's rolling hills and small farms are ideal for solar greenhouses. And being within 200 miles of 10 million urban residents makes it ideal for shipping fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.
"Wisconsin produce growers are prisoners of the seasons," Gundersen said. But "growers using solar greenhouses could open a billion-dollar market including Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Half-acre operations could support a family and would provide an opportunity for a husband or wife to stay at home while the other spouse works off the farm."
Gundersen's research is supported by an $18,940 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. One of the research goals is to produce greenhouse construction plans that anyone can use with minimal labor and expenses.
"It sounds like a great idea," said Kristen Woodhouse, a Viroqua dairy farmer who is converting a three-generation dairy farm to a mushroom operation with a vegetable greenhouse.
Gundersen's greenhouses are surprisingly simple and can be built for less than $10 a square foot including labor. The frames are made from black locust wood, the roofs from sheet metal, and the glass is regular thermo-insulated glazing angled to optimize sunlight.
"The cost of construction is comparable to standard four-season greenhouses, but it will more than pay for itself in energy savings," Gundersen said. "And unless the roof blows off, which is really not possible, this building pretty much can't freeze in the winter."
Traditional all-glass greenhouses haven't been a huge success in Wisconsin because their European designs don't mesh with cold climates.
"They are very energy dependent and can cost a fortune to heat," Gundersen said. "If a heating system fails, it can put you out of business."
Gundersen helped design Biosphere II, an experimental living station in the Arizona desert. But the ideas he is putting into practice now are more pragmatic.
"If we really learn to build, we will put materials that are available in abundance to their best use -- uncut wood, dirt and straw are examples. The goal is to develop workable biosystems . . . It's more than just growing poinsettas under glass."
Solar greenhouses lend themselves to higher-valued fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers that have to be shipped into northern states in the winter.
Farmers who can consistently grow fresh produce in the off-seasons benefit from higher prices and buyer contracts.
In Janesville, farmer Mike Finley grows strawberries in greenhouses, giving him a six week headstart on the summer harvest. "Farmers get premium prices for being first to market," Finley said. "And a greenhouse provides a little more bulletproof growing system. It protects plants from frost, too much rain, insects, and summer heat which can spoil a crop."
For now, Finley said he's content with a non-solar greenhouse. He has a $9,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to study strawberry production using plastic greenhouses.
"We're trying to determine whether we can economically justify all of this," he said. "I think it has potential."
Meanwhile, Gundersen is now building his third greenhouse, a 2,800 square-foot building in Stoddard.
It will be a commercial operation and could be used for purposes other than growing plants, such as aquaculture.
By-products from the greenhouse, such as excess heat, could be used to help warm a house or a barn. Wastes from farm animals, and the carbon dioxide they produce, could be used in the greenhouse.
"This fits in with the barn of the future," Gundersen said. "Animal husbandry and greenhouse production are symbiotic."
Besides family farms, Gundersen has sights set on urban America, designing greenhouses that cleanse the air in office buildings and schools as well as provide fresh produce.
"There are lots of toxic ingredients in office building air. Plants are very effective at cleansing the air," Gundersen said.
Gundersen's latest greenhouse will be connected to his home, providing up to one-thirdof his home heating. Wash-water with biologically useful detergents will provide the greenhouse with fertilizers.
"We're also setting up a pool and a sandbox for our kids. A greenhouse is a great environment for them to play in."
*TO LEARN MORE:
Roald Gunderson (608) 784-1614 or e-mail "Randomity@aol.com" Some Internet sites: Carleton University, Canada, " http://www-server2.physics.carleton.ca /SciAtCU/ELBA.html"
Greenhouse builders (non-solar) "http://www.atlgarden.com/grhouse.html"
Salad Factory Corp. "http://www.infomarketgroup.com/can/salad.htm"
[Illustration]
La Crosse Tribune photos/CATHY ACHERMAN Left, commercial flowers bloom in the middle of February in this solar greenhouse in Cashton. Roald Gundersen of Stoddard designed the building, above, which has no auxiliary heating. The greenhouse owner, Gideon Miller, plans to grow vegetables as well as flowers. Roald Gundersen, an architect by profession, looks at the progress of his solar greenhouse, which will be finished in the spring. The greenhouse is insulated with mounds of earth, straw bales and shutters that can seal in heat on cold winter nights. The frame is made from black locust wood, and the glass is regular thermopane glazing. Tucked in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin, near Stoddard, Roald Gundersen's new 2,800-square-foot cold climate greenhouse will allow him to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and even fish when it's 40 degrees below zero outside. The greenhouse is next to Gundersen's house. Excess heat from the greenhouse will be vented into the house or barn. Two similar greenhouses designed by Gundersen are flourishing with produce and flowers and are operated year-round without auxiliary heating.
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Here is his web site if you want to see some pictures of the greenhouses.
http://www.roaldgundersen.com/index.php