MEN Fair2 012 - Bioshelter Design And Management

Bioshelter Design and Management
Presented by Darrell Frey of Three Sisters Farm & Nursery

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this workshop. The focus turned out to be growing plants in a greenhouse, which isn't something that we've really talked about before. After taking the workshop, however, I think it might be worthwhile to consider a small, low-cost greenhouse for early season seed-starting or extending the growing season.

The presenter has a large greenhouse, which cost $80k to build. He did suggest a method for building small, lost-cost greenhouses based on a post and beam structure covered in plastic. I also like the suggestion of making functional windbreaks using plants such as raspberries. Another recommendation that might be practical for us is to position the compost bin so that any run off will fertilize the garden. This is the type of permaculture practice that I would like to learn more about. The presenter has written a book, Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm, that discusses permaculture, but is more focused on greenhouse growing than I'd prefer.