Work Resumes On The Greenhouse

Early in the summer, we started work on our major project of the season. Our green house! This is a huge undertaking that we are hoping to finish by the end of October.

The project started, as most big things do as a small idea. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a small green house to start plants in in the spring; and a hot house in the summer?” “ maybe we could even grow greens all winter long?”

The project quickly took on a life of its own and by the middle of July we had 8 Students from the Architecture Program at Dalhousie University camping at the farm. These students planned and started building our greenhouse as part of a two week intensive class, or ‘Free Lab’.

It was a great experience to have all these keen young minds collaborating and cooperating to erect a truly unique and functional building- which is now ¾ finished- and now we are planning a workshop and workparty for the end of September to help finish up the project!

Josh came down to the farm this weekend to help us get some work done on the greenhouse. Josh, is an architecture masters student who was one of the driving forces to organize the collaboration between FOTE Farm, and Dalhousie. So Jason, Josh and I were out swinging hammers and cutting boards, trying to get things to a place where we can again use the help of many hands.

Josh, On top of the ridge beam!

Jason securing the scaffolding.

Sarah even got in on the action, instaling rafter hangars on the ridge beam.

Watch out for information on the upcoming workshop, if you are interested in learning more about the greenhouse or the process of ecological siting. (Ecological siting is the process to plan a building which works with instead of against the environment in which it stands)

– Jason and Sarah