Protein and Fresh Vegetables Year Round
Pat and Chris are interested in greenhouse technologies in order to offer their clients a year round supply of food. Here are some of the findings from their research.
People eating on a budget, or living in a food desert*, are typically missing protein and fresh vegetables from their diet. This is particularly true during the winter in temperate zones and particularly for those without access to space to grow their own vegetables (or who don't use the space they have). In order to avoid going hungry when money is scarce people concentrate on starches that keep well and are relatively inexpensive such as pasta, rice, beans and potatoes. For those in a food desert, prepared foods at convenience stores using "snap"** benefits may be the only reasonable choice for food. Both approaches are missing the nutrition provided by proteins and fresh vegetables.
If we can build a space that will not freeze over the winter, we can grow fresh greens year round for ourselves. These vegetables can have a higher nutrient density than those shipped long distance and grown in monocultures using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Nutrient density is achieved by maintaining whole soil ecosystems within the space as a growing medium. Once the space is built, it can operate at little or no cost if we incorporate enough thermal mass to prevent freezing. The formula for that thermal mass is 5 gallons of water or equivalent for each square foot of glazing.
These structures have been built attached to dwellings with the benefit that power and water can come directly from the dwelling. As a stand alone structure we can look at a solar panel and battery to run the pumps, fans and lights. For city water, it will be necessary to filter out the chloramines used to kill pathogens in the water supply as these will be toxic to fish. In that case we will want to have additional storage for filtered water.
We can maintain a whole soil ecosystem to provide the nutrients by integrating plant, animal, fungal and bacterial processes within the space. We can also use the water that is required for thermal mass as a aquaponics system to grow fish and additional vegetables. In aquaponics the ammonia produced by the fish is converted to nitrates that can be used by the plants. We can supply the remaining nutrients by using worm castings to hold the plants in the flow of water. We can also use worm castings in the growing beds. Because of the integrated processes the structure is now more than a greenhouse. We call it a food cell as in a membrane enclosing biological processes resulting in food for humans.
We can produce the worm casting by feeding chicken bedding to the worms and keep the worm bins under the growing bed. Because there is no floor in this design we can grow additional worms in the pathways. We can feed the worms to the fish and the chickens.
The growing beds can be filled with wood chips in a process similar to our deep mulch gardens. The worm castings will carry the soil organisms we need to create the soil ecosystem which will create plant nutrients as it processes the wood.
This system will produce enough fresh vegetables to supply the needs of a typical suburban household plus a surplus that CP Foods can use both to feed the partners and to prepare meals for the food truck. The protein can be provided by chickens (eggs and meat) in an associated coop and through the fish that will be produced.
CP Foods can form a partnership with individual homeowners with space to build a food cell and chicken coop. The homeowner will provide the daily maintenance of feeding the chickens and fish and collecting the eggs. CP Foods will visit the site weekly to maintain the system, harvest what needs harvesting, replant, etc. The homeowner and CP Foods will share the produce.
The design of the chicken coop for a typical suburban household will be the subject of a different blog.
*A food desert is a place where the grocery chains are too far away to be able to obtain fresh foods. That can be a short distance for people relying on public transportation because of the limited amount that they can buy at one time and carry home.
**SNAP is the US government Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
People eating on a budget, or living in a food desert*, are typically missing protein and fresh vegetables from their diet. This is particularly true during the winter in temperate zones and particularly for those without access to space to grow their own vegetables (or who don't use the space they have). In order to avoid going hungry when money is scarce people concentrate on starches that keep well and are relatively inexpensive such as pasta, rice, beans and potatoes. For those in a food desert, prepared foods at convenience stores using "snap"** benefits may be the only reasonable choice for food. Both approaches are missing the nutrition provided by proteins and fresh vegetables.
If we can build a space that will not freeze over the winter, we can grow fresh greens year round for ourselves. These vegetables can have a higher nutrient density than those shipped long distance and grown in monocultures using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Nutrient density is achieved by maintaining whole soil ecosystems within the space as a growing medium. Once the space is built, it can operate at little or no cost if we incorporate enough thermal mass to prevent freezing. The formula for that thermal mass is 5 gallons of water or equivalent for each square foot of glazing.
These structures have been built attached to dwellings with the benefit that power and water can come directly from the dwelling. As a stand alone structure we can look at a solar panel and battery to run the pumps, fans and lights. For city water, it will be necessary to filter out the chloramines used to kill pathogens in the water supply as these will be toxic to fish. In that case we will want to have additional storage for filtered water.
We can maintain a whole soil ecosystem to provide the nutrients by integrating plant, animal, fungal and bacterial processes within the space. We can also use the water that is required for thermal mass as a aquaponics system to grow fish and additional vegetables. In aquaponics the ammonia produced by the fish is converted to nitrates that can be used by the plants. We can supply the remaining nutrients by using worm castings to hold the plants in the flow of water. We can also use worm castings in the growing beds. Because of the integrated processes the structure is now more than a greenhouse. We call it a food cell as in a membrane enclosing biological processes resulting in food for humans.
The growing beds can be filled with wood chips in a process similar to our deep mulch gardens. The worm castings will carry the soil organisms we need to create the soil ecosystem which will create plant nutrients as it processes the wood.
This system will produce enough fresh vegetables to supply the needs of a typical suburban household plus a surplus that CP Foods can use both to feed the partners and to prepare meals for the food truck. The protein can be provided by chickens (eggs and meat) in an associated coop and through the fish that will be produced.
CP Foods can form a partnership with individual homeowners with space to build a food cell and chicken coop. The homeowner will provide the daily maintenance of feeding the chickens and fish and collecting the eggs. CP Foods will visit the site weekly to maintain the system, harvest what needs harvesting, replant, etc. The homeowner and CP Foods will share the produce.
The design of the chicken coop for a typical suburban household will be the subject of a different blog.
*A food desert is a place where the grocery chains are too far away to be able to obtain fresh foods. That can be a short distance for people relying on public transportation because of the limited amount that they can buy at one time and carry home.
**SNAP is the US government Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
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