Greenhouse Seminar

Darlene and I went to a wonderful seminar on Thursday which was title; The Sustainable Greenhouse: Producing Crops while saving Energy, sponsored by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

It was held at Longfellow's Greenhouses in Manchester Maine and all I can say is holy hanna, what a wonderful place. There were greenhouse after greenhouse filled with Poinsettia after Poinsettia after Poinsettia, more than 60 cultivars on display. Huge Christmas displays in the main store and lots of house plants.

The greenhouses can make grown women weep with envy!

Back to the seminar..... We learned the potential for organic greenhouse production in Maine; an overview of energy alternatives for greenhouses; and the best was a panel discussion on alternative fuels for Maine Greenhouses.
Lisa Turner from Laughing Stock Farm in report talked about her experience on heating with recycled commercial cooking oil and Mary Lou Hoskins of Greencare in Bangor/Exeter on heating her greenhouse with a corn furnace.

Both women and their husbands (not there) are great examples of growing green. They explained the daily principals and the working day of using these alternative heating and both said they would not do it any other way.

After a tour of Longfellow's, free buffet lunch we sat in the huge middle greenhouse for the next segment called Energy Conservation, Things every greenhouse grown can do now, by John Bartok, Professor Emeritus of the University of Connecticut.

John's practical tips were things you could do everyday to converse energy in greenhouses, but could be applicable in everyday life.
John also did a comparison of fuel costs; Fuel oil, waste oil, natural gas, coals, softwoods, hardwoods, chips, corn biofuels/vegetable oil and electric. Interestingly did you know that #2 oil runs hotter than kerosene to get to the same temperature or that wood pellets and corn are the most burner efficient?

All in all, on the way home, Darlene and I started plotted on how to better heat her greenhouses at the Snap of the Dragon (but on a budget)... I am getting a smaller greenhouse and can institute the same principals only a smaller scale and to fit my personal use.

There were a few other displays Tuesday, one of which was SARE, a sustainable agriculture research & education program that I think may be beneficial to farmers in our area. I want to do more research on that, but I think the Green Thumb Society could take advantage of some grants that could benefit the community.

My message today is, if you see a class by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, please take advantage of these great programs. They are free a lot of time and you learn a wealth of information and sometimes even get a free lunch.....