Juneau Community Greenhouses; Gardening Guidebook for Juneau, Alaska

Juneau Community Greenhouses Planning Document
Contents
..................................................................................MISSION AND VISION; DESIRED OUTCOMES 2
.................................................................................................................................PARTNERSHIPS 3
..............................................................................................................................................GOALS 4
.........................................................................................................................................TIMELINE 5
.................................................................................................HIGH-LATITUDE CONSIDERATIONS 7
......................................................................................................POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES 8
.................................................................................................MORAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING 11
...................................................................................................................PROJECTED EXPENSES 12
..............................................................................................SPONSORSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 13
........................................................................................................................DRAFT BROCHURE 14
..........................................................................................................................USEFUL WEBSITES 15
....................................................................................................POTENTIAL HARVEST: ZONE A3 16
......................................................................PASSIVE SOLAR GREENHOUSE DESIGN PRINCIPLES 17
...................................................................................................................PLANNING TEMPLATE 19
above page numbers are links
Turning the Tides
http://www.turningthetides.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/312940188836415/
turningthetides@gmail.org
Dixie Belcher 907.789.0449
Monday, August 12, 2013
DRAFT

I. MISSION AND VISION; DESIRED OUTCOMES
A. Mission
The mission of Juneau Community Greenhouses is to demonstrate how to improve Juneau’s
sustainability and food security during a period of rapid environmental change.
B. Vision
Ten years from now, 10% of Juneau’s 13,000 households will grow a substantial portion of their
vegetables, fruit and herbs in local greenhouse structures, operating year-round, and in home
gardens.
C. Desired Outcomes
Juneau Community Greenhouses
Page 2
1. Residents will learn what edible crops can be
grown successfully in this climate
2. The growing season will be extended to 10
months a year or more
3. New crops will be introduced to the area, such
as mushrooms
4. Permaculture principles will be demonstrated
5. Carbon-negative practices such as biochar will
be introduced
6. Juneau’s dependency on imported food will be
reduced
7. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced
8. Local waste products will be used in food
production
9. Principles of sustainability will be embraced
and propagated
10. Growers around Juneau will have active
community support
11. The indigenous community’s subsistence
knowledge and practices will be preserved
12. Plant varieties appropriate for this latitude will
be determined and shared
13. Pitfalls will be identified, overcome and made
known
14. Local youth will understand and value
principles of ecology
15. A network of community greenhouses in CBJ
will be established
16. Demand for local agricultural products will
increase
17. Local food producers will experience wide
government support
18. Everyone in Juneau will have access to local,
affordable, fresh food
19. Services offered by Cooperative Extension will
be better utilized
20. Use of pesticides and weedkillers will be
reduced or eliminated
21. Energy sources such as wind and solar will
become more common
22. Gardening will become more popular among
homeowners and renters
23. The quantity of foodstuffs imported to Juneau
will decrease
24. More imports will arrive via sustainable
transport modes (such as sail)
25. Seed-saving techniques and practices will be
more widespread
26. Preservation of food (canning, drying, pickling
etc.) will become more common
27. Unsustainable practices in food procurement
will be reduced through greater reliance on the
plant kingdom for calories
28. There will be increased appreciation for the
natural environment, and a higher degree of
custodianship (less dumping of litter and other
pollutants)
29. Use of plastic will decrease and plastic wastes
will not enter our waters
30. The percentage of households recycling and
repurposing waste products will increase
31. Consumption of disposable products will
decrease
32. Local ecosystems will thrive
33. Diet-related health trends (obesity, diabetes,
heart disease) will improve
34. Seedlings nurtured in the Community
Greenhouse will be available to other growers

II. PARTNERSHIPS
Natural partnerships for Juneau Community Greenhouse include:
• Cooperative Extension at UAS
• Juneau Schools Food Service Program
• Juneau Garden Club
• Juneau Community Garden
• Juneau Sustainability Commission
• Juneau Master Gardeners
Association
• Alaska Youth for Environmental
Action
• Southeast Alaska Conservation
Council
• Southeast Alaska Independent
Living
• Juneau Meals on Wheels
• Juneau Recycling Center
• http://www.greendrinks.org
• http://sustainablecities.net
• http://www.urbanfarming.org
Page 3

III. GOALS
A. Improve Sustainability:
Improving quality of life for present and future generations, balancing social, environmental and
economic interests.1
Approach: Adopt measures that render Juneau more self-sufficient in the long term and
reduce its environmental impacts.
Greenhouses: Increase gardening activities in Juneau, lengthen local food production
season, increase yield through intensive practices, and demonstrate
feasibility and desirability of greenhouse agriculture.
B. Mitigate Climate Change:
Climate models predict that the City and Borough of Juneau will see overall continued warmer and
wetter weather, particularly in fall and winter. The Juneau Icefield will continue to retreat. The land
surface, rising as a result of isostatic rebound, will decrease the relative sea level between 1.0 and
3.6 ft over the next century.2 However, Growing Degree Days (GDDs) will increase.
Approach: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through natural methods such as biochar
production and prepare for coming environmental changes.
Greenhouses: Every edible grown locally reduces the need for one to be barged in, reducing
emissions; warmer climate permits greater variety of crops; more rain
means the protection of a greenhouse structure is critical in providing an
adequate growing season.
C. Increase Food Security:
“Danny Consenstein, state executive director of the Alaska Farm Service Agency, [...] also a member
of the Alaska Food Policy Council, said that in 1955, about half of Alaska's food came from outside
the state. Now that number is up to 95 percent.”3
Our supply chain can be broken or threatened by extreme weather or man-caused events both far
and near, or even a breakdown in one vessel. We are completely dependent on others to bring us
our food or the fuel we’ll use to get it. And we know the system isn't always reliable — planes don’t
always fly and boats don’t always come in.4
The population of Alaska grew from 128,643 in 1950 to 710,231 in 2010, more than 550%. In Juneau
the 1950 population was 5,956, in 2010 31,275; this is growth of 525%.5 Stockpiling food is difficult
in average housing stock which tends to be crowded due to chronic shortage of affordable housing.6
Approach: Increase local food sourcing in a sustainable manner.
Greenhouses: Improve capacity of CBJ to grow its own food and demonstrate principles of
organic horticulture, permaculture, and carbon-negative impacts.
Page 4
1 CBJ Comprehensive Plan, Policy 2.1.
2 CLIMATE CHANGE: PREDICTED IMPACTS ON JUNEAU
3 http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130811/new-effort-bring-native-foods-plates-across-alaska
4 Food for Thought UAS Cooperative Extension, Darren Snyder
5 http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/02/02110.html
6 CBJ Comprehensive Plan, pg. 29 ff

IV. TIMELINE
A. Year One Tasks
1. Phase One (2012 - 2013)
(a) Research - visit other greenhouses
(b) Research - Soil Conservation grant
(c) Research - High Tunnel Workshop with Samia
(d) Education - Biochar, permaculture (Albert Bates visit), Master Gardener class
(e) Planning - discussions of ways and means
(f) Establish parameters (temporary structures do not require permits)
(g) Determine need for water, electricity, and associated costs (freeze prevention, installation)
(h) Preliminary site selection and agreements with owner
(i) Site truthing - stake or mark footprint for greenhouse, tool shed, access, parking
(j) Identify funding sources: Gifts, Grants, Loans, Memberships, etc.
(k) Budget draft and projections for first five years by costing items listed below
(l) Develop specifications of first greenhouse: Hoop house? Double layer with fan? Single layer?
Steel or plastic structure? End walls? etc.
(m) Research structure vendors and financing options
(n) Establish neighborhood relationships
(o) Sign up first plot-holders and schedule regular team-building meetings
(p) Inventory available skills and talents (grant writing, construction, etc.)
(q) Solicit pledges for start-up funds
(r) Refine timetable
(s) Promote on Facebook, at Green Drinks, solicit wider support
(t) Handout draft
(u) Develop community partnerships
(v) Apply for grants for start-up funds (site prep, utilities, construction)
A. Year Two Tasks
1. Phase Two (July - Sep. 2013)
(a) Prepare site plan
(b) Legal and insurance consultations
(c) Commence permitting process
(d) Handout refinement
(e) Secure funding from grants and loans for year one of operations
(f) Refine budget
(g) Order structure (consider vendor financing)
(h) Collect dues from initial members
(i) Schedule work parties for structure, site and other tasks
(j) Build on community partnerships, table at events
(k) Commence fundraising activities or events
(l) Inventory on-site materials (wood chips, lumber, loam, etc.)
(m) Consider biochar workshop
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(n) Consider availability of local inputs (seaweed, building supplies from trash stream, food
wastes for compost)
(o) Consider operations: Composting requirements, other inputs, trash removal
2. Phase Three (Sept - Oct. 2013)
(a) Acquire Permits
(b) Site preparation: Clearing and levelling; Foundation; Water and electricity; Drainage;
Access; Parking
(c) Erect structure and install utilities
(d) Complete windows, doors, mechanisms
(e) Erect and equip toolshed
(f) Define plots with lumber; buy and distribute dirt; mark plots
(g) Obtain insurance
(h) Continue fundraising
C. Year Three Tasks
1. Phase Four (March 2014)
(a) Commence operations
(b) Schedule and plan tasks for monthly work parties for plotholders
(c) Refine budgets
(d) Continue fundraising
(e) Improvements and development - beekeeping, livestock (chickens)
(f) Increase community participation
(g) Plan next greenhouse
Page 6
Urban farm in Helsinki
Urban farm in St
Petersburg
Farming in Estonia
At 59° 36 N, Vestfold county
is the standard-bearer
county for organic vegetable
production in Norway
Abandoned rail track farming
in Eriksdal, Sweden (Lat. 59.30
N)
Hill farming research center near
Aberdeen

V. HIGH-LATITUDE CONSIDERATIONS
Farming with and without greenhouse structures has always been successful at higher latitudes,
with crops chosen for hardiness in cold weather and a short growing season. However, increasing
population, urbanization, cheap oil for transportation, culture changes, and other factors have
increased the size of distant farms and the distance food travels to consumers. This has led to the
disappearance of traditional home plots and of the agricultural land that once sustained northern
populations, and to the creation of “food deserts” with rising prices for food imported over long
distances using ever-more-expensive fossil fuels, with a decline in dietary quality and increased
health concerns.
“Agriculture is a relatively small industry in high-latitude regions and consists mostly of cropping
cool-season forage crops, cool-season vegetables, and small grains; raising traditional livestock [...].
While agriculture is limited by climate in the Arctic, especially in the colder regions, it is also limited
by lack of infrastructure, a small population base, remoteness from markets, and land ownership
issues. Major climate limitations include short growing seasons (not enough time to mature or to
produce high yields of harvestable crop), lack of heat energy (too few GDDs during the season), long
and/or unfavorable winter weather that can limit survival of many perennial crops, and high
moisture stress in some areas.” http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/149915/
The practice of covering plants or beds within the greenhouse (with small hoops or cloches) creates
microclimates which can eliminate or reduce the need for a heater. Similar advances have resolved
many issues in high-latitude horticulture.
A. Juneau
Our latitude is 58.35° North. On this approximate parallel are the following locales:
• Oslo, Norway
• St Petersburg, Russia
• Talinn, Estonia
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Inverness and Aberdeen, Scotland
• Helsinki, Finland
Our frost-free growing season (outdoors) is about 182 days, May 4 to October 4. An unheated
greenhouse extends this by about two months. Supplemental light in winter can further increase
Growing Degree Days, and a greenhouse also shelters plants from precipitation.
B. Sitka
• http://sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/category/sitka-community-greenhouse-and-
education-center/
C. Elsewhere in Alaska
• http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/greenhouse-project-remote-alaska-island-gets-
boost
• http://www.permies.com/t/2838/energy/Heating-sf-Greenhouse-AK
• http://www.swamc.org/files/CEA%20Greenhouses%20in%20Alaska.pdf
• http://www.alaskabetterbuilt.com/Alaska_Greenhouse.html
• https://prosperouswaydown.com/sub-arctic-dreams-fresh-veggies-in-march/
D. Manitoba
• http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/greenhouse/bng01s03.html
E. Maine
Information regarding use of unheated greenhouse structures (high tunnels, hoop houses) at higher
latitudes for a profitable multicrop intensive operation, including names of desirable varieties, is
detailed in The Winter Harvest Handbook.
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VI. POTENTIAL FUNDING SOURCES
G. Sale of Greenhouse Products*
(a) CSA customers
(b) Retail at Farmers Market
(c) Wholesale to groceries and supermarkets
(d) Restaurants and caterers (downtown restaurant association membership)
B’s Bakery and Bistro
Bullwinkle’s
Hangar on the Wharf
Heritage Coffee Company
Pie in the Sky, at the Canvas
Pizzeria Roma
Rainbow Foods
Red Dog Saloon
Rockwell
Rookery
Silverbow Inn, Bakery and Restaurant
Tracy’s King Crab Shack
Triangle Club
Twisted Fish Company
(e) Institutions (health centers, senior living, schools)
*Note. If a Soil Conservation grant helps buy the greenhouse, products may not be sold and no shelves, baskets
or tables are permitted.
B. Memberships in Community Greenhouse
Shares in local community gardens (short growing season) go for $50 per year and have waiting lists.
A greenhouse doubles the length of the growing season, and the fee. Number of plots sold is
dependent on greenhouse size. Members are also a source of labor for maintenance and repair as a
condition of membership.
C. Directed Donations
Members of Turning the Tides have pledged $3,000 for start-up costs to date. However, Turning the
Tides does not have a wide base of financial support and lacks a history of successful fundraising.
D. In-Kind Support
We expect members of Turning the Tides and greenhouse plot-renters will provide most of the labor
and transportation needed for initial construction and later operations. We plan to offer school-
funded programs to offer K-12 students hands-on gardening instruction and environmental
education. Internships may be offered through sites such as http://www.workaway.info to volunteer
site managers who receive room and board in return for labor. See list of community partnerships,
page 6.
E. Grants
Potential funders include the following:
1. Bartlett Regional Hospital Foundation
Mission Statement: “The Bartlett Regional Hospital Foundation is committed to improving health
care for the residents of Juneau and the surrounding areas served by Bartlett Regional Hospital by
acquiring equipment and services that might not otherwise be available.”
The Bartlett Regional Hospital Foundation was formed in Juneau, Alaska, in 1992 and incorporated
in 1994 under IRS code 501(c) (3) to support Bartlett Regional Hospital in delivering quality health
Page 8

care to residents and visitors of Southeast Alaska. The region is made up of remote island
communities, totaling some 80,000 population with nearly one-million visitors annually.
The Foundation was created to provide health education, promote medical study and research, and
to raise funds for needed medical technology and improved health care. The one crucial goal is raise
funds to provide philanthropic support for our community now and in the future.
2. Rasmuson Foundation
Rasmuson awards grants both to organizations serving Alaskans through a base of operations in
Alaska, and to individuals for projects, fellowships and sabbaticals. To be considered for a grant
award, grant seekers must meet specific criteria and complete and submit the required application
according to the specific guidelines of each program. Tier 1 Awards: Grants of up to $25,000 for
capital projects, technology updates, capacity building, program expansion, and creative works. Tier
2 Awards: Grants over $25,000 for projects of demonstrable strategic importance or innovative
nature. Program-related Investments: A collection of financial instruments to support a charitable
project or activity. Pre-Development Program: Guidance and technical resources for planning new,
sustainable capital projects.
3. Juneau Community Foundation
The Foundation has many Field of Interest Funds: Schools, Arts and Culture, Recreation and Trails,
Youth Sports and Activities, Social Services, Health, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder. The
Juneau Community Foundation believes it is important, when considering a major donation, to
assess whether a nonprofit’s programs are working and, if so, whether the nonprofit has the
capacity to fulfill its mission using the following baseline of recommended best practices for
nonprofit organizations: Programs have measurable performance criteria and program results are
favorable; operating budget revenue meets or exceeds expenses and growth in revenue exceeds the
rate of inflation; Income sources include a balance of three or more sources is ideal; Operating
reserves include a three to six months savings reserve; Administrative and fundraising expense as
compared to program expense at 25% or less is ideal; 35% or less is permissible; Senior leadership of
board and staff; Executive compensation is in line with overall performance, budget, staff, and size
of the organization; Transparency including current information regarding the organization, such as
IRS Form 990 reports and audits, are accessible through GuideStar or IRS website; Board meets
regularly in a policy mode with meeting attendance rate 67% or greater. http://www.juneaucf.org/
jnu_nonprofits/jnunonprofts.htm
4. National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
Eligible: 501(c)(3) serving children in the US, Must not discriminate, Preference to those with a
budget under $1 million. Priorities: Creating Awareness, Education, and Action in Support of the
Environment, Connecting Youth with Public Lands as places for recreating, learning and
volunteering. Hands-On, Outdoor engagement, Environmental Stewardship. Funding: $5.000 to
$40,000 for Specific Program or Operations. Match: 1:1 Deadline: July 15
5. RebelTomato - American Community Gardening Association
Community garden groups can apply to receive up to $1,500 in Fiskars® garden tools and $800.00 in
supplies, such as seeds and mulch. The foundation provides grants from $250 to $2,500 to school
and community groups. Deadlines: March, June, Sept, Dec.
6. Lindbergh Grants program
Lindbergh Grants go to individuals whose proposed research or education projects will make
important contributions toward improving the quality of life by balancing technological
advancements and the preservation of our environment. Awarded in amounts up to $10,580 each (a
symbolic figure representing the cost of the "Spirit of St. Louis" in 1927), the Grants are made in
numerous areas including aviation/aerospace, agriculture, arts and humanities, biomedical
research and adaptive technology, conservation of natural resources, education, exploration, health
and population sciences, intercultural communication, oceanography, waste disposal management,
water resource management, and wildlife preservation.
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7. Community Development Block Grants
The goals of the Alaska Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) are to provide
financial resources to Alaskan communities for public facilities and planning activities which
address issues detrimental to the health and safety of local residents and to reduce the costs of
essential community services. The program may also fund Special Economic Development activities
which result in the creation of jobs for low and moderate income persons. CDBG competitive grants
are single-purpose project grants; maximum of $850,000 per community. There are three basic
funding categories: community development, planning and Special Economic Development. CDBG
programs utilize the resources of the Community Development Block Grant program funded by the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Approximately $2 million is available
for competitive grants for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 12 grant cycle. Any Alaskan municipal
government (except Anchorage) is eligible to apply for the grants. Non-profits may apply as co-
applicants for these pass-through funds. In a typical year, applications are distributed to
municipalities in late fall, and awards are made the following spring. Federal regulations require 51
percent of the persons who benefit from a funded project must be low and moderate income
persons as defined by HUD. Jill Davis, Grants Manager, Division of Community and Regional Affairs
jill.davis@alaska.gov Department of Community and Economic Development, Fairbanks, (907)
451-2717
8. Environmental Education Grants
$5,000 to $250,000 awards. Environmental Education Regional Model Grants Program. Under this
program EPA seeks grant proposals from eligible applicants to support environmental education
projects that promote environmental stewardship and help develop knowledgeable and responsible
students, teachers, and citizens. This grant program provides financial support for projects that
design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or
techniques, and that will serve as models that can be replicated in a variety of settings. 2012 EE
Regional Model Grants Solicitation Notice (PDF) - application period closed December 2012.
9. Kroger Co. Foundation (owns Fred Meyer)
Eligible: 501(c)(3)s in communities where Kroger customers and associates live and work. Priorities:
Hunger relief; Grassroots organizations, Education. Amount: Up to $50,000.
10. USDA: Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program
Eligible: Private Non-Profit Entities. Amount: $10,000 -$300,000. Matching: 1:1. Priorities:
Community Food Projects should be designed to (1): (A) meet the food needs of low-income people;
(B) increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs; and (C) promote
comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues; and/or (2) meet specific state,
local, or neighborhood food and agriculture needs for (A) infrastructure improvement and
development; (B) planning for long-term solutions; (C) the creation of innovative marketing activities
that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers or (D) Food Security
Learning Center to support a grant to a non-governmental organization (NGO) to establish and
operate a national information and education clearinghouse on community food security.
(Opening) October 15 (Closing) November 28. Estimated Total Program Funding $5,000,000.00.
Dollar for dollar matching.
11. Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities
Eligible: 501(c)(3) organizations, governmental agencies, public schools. Amount: $25,000—
$250,000. 1:1 match. Priorities: Projects that positively impact the environment. Sustainable
agriculture and forestry, water quality, land conservation and healthy urban eco-systems. Due Dates:
Varies: usually July and December. Contact: Carrie Clingan carrie.clingan@nfwf.org, 202-595-2471
12. Kellogg Foundation
Transform food deserts into food oases by increasing engagement of local communities in all
aspects of food production and delivery, including related research and policy changes. We seek
funding opportunities that allow us to make progress in ensuring all children grow and reach
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optimal well-being by living in secure families, having access to fresh, local healthy food, physical
activity, and access to quality health care. Grant applications are accepted throughout the year. In
general, we do not provide funding for operational phases of established programs, capital requests
(which includes the construction, purchase, renovation, and/or furnishing of facilities), equipment,
conferences and workshops, films, television and/or radio programs, endowments, development
campaigns, or research/studies unless they are an integral part of a larger program budget being
considered for funding.
13. General Mills: Champions for Healthy Kids Grant Program
50 grants of $10,000 each to community-based groups that develop creative ways to help youth
adopt a balanced diet and physically active lifestyle. Application Deadline: December.
14. HUD: Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants
Supports metropolitan and multijurisdictional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use,
economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments in a manner
that empowers jurisdictions to consider the interdependent challenges of: (1) economic
competitiveness and revitalization; (2) social equity, inclusion, and access to opportunity; (3) energy
use and climate change; and (4) public health and environmental impact. The Program places a
priority on investing in partnerships, including nontraditional partnerships (e.g., arts and culture,
recreation, public health, food systems, regional planning agencies and public education entities)
that translate the Federal Livability Principles into strategies
that direct long-term development and reinvestment,
demonstrate a commitment to addressing issues of regional
significance, use data to set and monitor progress toward
performance goals, and engage stakeholders and residents
in meaningful decision-making roles. Amount: $450,000 to
$5,000,00
VII. MORAL SUPPORT AND TRAINING
1. The Transition Town Movement is comprised of
vibrant, grassroots community initiatives that seek to
build community resilience in the face of such
challenges as peak oil, climate change and the
economic crisis. Transition Initiatives differentiate
themselves from other sustainability and
"environmental" groups by seeking to mitigate these
converging global crises by engaging their
communities in home-grown, citizen-led education,
action, and multi-stakeholder planning to increase local self reliance and resilience. They
succeed by regeneratively using their local assets, innovating, networking, collaborating,
replicating proven strategies, and respecting the deep patterns of nature and diverse
cultures in their place. Transition Initiatives work with deliberation and good cheer to create
a fulfilling and inspiring local way of life that can withstand the shocks of rapidly shifting
global systems.
2. The Transition Network is a charitable organisation whose role is to inspire, encourage,
connect, support and train communities as they self-organise around the Transition model,
creating initiatives that rebuild resilience and reduce CO2 emissions. Ultimately it’s about
creating a healthy human culture, one that meets our needs for community, livelihoods and
fun. e’re here to support you. We run events, conferences, trainings, blogs, webinars. We
produce monthly newsletters, books, films, guides, tweets, and more, all with the intention
of best supporting those around the world who are doing Transition.
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VIII. PROJECTED EXPENSES
Construction Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Greenhouse -- 25 plots - 25 x
40 = 1000 sf
Gearbox for roll-up sides
Shipping and Delivery from
ferry
Site clearing
Plywood for greenhouse
completion
Water supply - hydrant, tap,
hoses
Power supply
Drainage system/foundations
Gravel
Ventilation fan, shutters,
thermostats
Building Permit
Dirt
Lumber for plots
tools, supplies for erecting
structure
Garden - hoses, wheelbarrow,
shovels
Tool shed & cinderblock
foundation
other
Operations
Electricity
Water
Liability Insurance
Hazard Insurance
Portapotty
Allowance for unplanned
expenses, signage, etc.
Communications/Office
Maintenance and Repairs
Dirt
Composting (seaweed, etc.)
other
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IX. SPONSORSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
“Juneau Community Greenhouses” is a major undertaking of Turning the TIdes.
TTT is a grassroots 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) nonprofit organization striving to raise awareness
about ocean issues and promote ocean-friendly practices, clean-up efforts, waste reduction and
sustainability.
Vision Inspiring hearts, minds & actions to restore a healthy ocean.
Mission To foster an international culture that recognizes the interdependence of
people and the ocean.
To sponsor programs and activities that promote environmental
awareness and cultural change.
To promote the health of living systems.
To raise awareness of the connections between earth, ocean, plants and
animals including humans.
To significantly reduce marine pollutants.
Principles To respect traditional ways.
To use finite resources consciously and with respect.
To empower people to move from a throw-away toward a sustainable
culture.
To promote balance between privilege and responsibility.
To learn by doing and to lead by example .
Officers Dixie Belcher, President; Hildegarde Sellner, Vice President; Kathryn Hill,
Secretary; Mary Ann Brant, Treasurer.
Membership As of July 2013, TTT had approximately 150 participants.
Past Activities TTT sponsored a ballot initiative to restrict or tax the use of plastic
shopping bags in Juneau in 2011, leading a successful petition drive to get
a measure on the ballot. In 2012, TTT sponsored a speaking tour in
Juneau by Albert Bates, noted environmental speaker and author, an
authority on climate change and its mitigation. In prior years TTT focused
on educational efforts regarding the imperiled condition of oceans and
sea life, critical to life in Alaska. Currently TTT sponsors monthly Green
Drinks gatherings for the environmentalists of Juneau.
Contact http://www.turningthetides.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/312940188836415/
turningthetides@gmail.org
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X. DRAFT BROCHURE
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XI. USEFUL WEBSITES
A. Hoop House Expertise
1. http://www.hoopbenders.net
Bend Your Own Greenhouse Hoops In Minutes! Build Your Own Hoop Greenhouse
For 1/2 The Cost Of A Kit!
2. http://www.growingformarket.com/articles/Hoophouse-Advice
Advice from growers on what kind of hoophouse to buy
3. http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/category/cold-frames
Cold Frame Frames, Packages, Quonset or Hoop Style Greenhouses
4. http://www.myhoophouse.com
There is a lot of information here regarding Hoop Houses (greenhouses) that are built in a quick and
easy manner using local materials and simple tools to bend common chain link top rail into
different diameter hoops that get used in building year round indoor gardens.
5. Mother Earth News
DIY cold frames, greenhouses, hoop houses, low tunnels, cloches and other tools that can keep the
harvests coming throughout fall and beyond. The dozens of projects range from elaborate and
permanent to quick and simple, and many can be made from recycled materials.
6. http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-equipment-and-tools/hoop-houses.aspx
Whether covered with plastic or heavy-duty woven fabric, properly tightened and anchored, a hoop
house can withstand high winds and a heavy snow load. The hoops themselves can vary from PVC
pipe to steel electrical conduit to a range of steel and wood components. Using wood, concrete,
gravel or earthen pads, the structures are fast to erect and low in cost compared even to pole barns.
7. http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/index.html
“Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses.”
Four Season Farm is an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine, owned and operated by
writers Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman. The farm produces vegetables year-round and has
become a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture.
B. Community Greenhouses
1. http://www.communitygreenhouse.org
We can help you imagine, plan and construct a green building. We can help your city or municipality
promote greener living for business and citizens. We can help you educate and outreach and spread
the good word about people in your community who are working to make it a better place. We can
help you plan and manage events or conduct seminars and workshops. Our mission is to spread the
word about solutions that can dramatically change and improve your community and quality of life.
2. https://www.facebook.com/CommunityGreenhousePartners
To improve the quality of life of those around us by growing vegetables year round and selling them
at low cost to urban families, employing local residents and teaching sustainability and earth
science to young people.
3. http://www.resilientcommunities.com/does-your-community-need-a-public-greenhouse/
Does Your Community Need a Public Greenhouse?
4. http://www.naropa.edu/the-naropa-experience/sustainability/grounds-and-landscaping/
community-greenhouse.php
The greenhouse enhances learning opportunities built around horticulture methods, permaculture,
ecological system sciences and environmental philosophies such as deep ecology.
Page 15

XII. POTENTIAL HARVEST: ZONE A3
ZONE A3: The mild maritime climate from Kodiak to Juneau and Prince
Rupert. This zone includes southeastern Alaska north of Sitka clear to
Skagway, plus Kodiak Island, Homer, Seward, and Prince William Sound. It
also touches Prince Rupert, where cold interior air drains down the
Skeena River. Summers are cool and cloudy, while winters are typically
windy and rainy. Annual precipitation runs from 80 inches at Kodiak to
200 inches near Sitka. The ground freezes every winter, and repeated
freeze-thaw cycles in spring play havoc with cold-hardy plants.... Winter
minimums average 20 to 30°F,with occasional drops to –5°. Summer
highs are in the low 60s,with occasional jumps to 80°. The growing
season runs from 113 days in Cordova to 162 days in Haines. But cool
summer temperatures offset the advantages of summer day length.
Plants take longer to grow than seed packets describe.
“In December and January we harvested enough salad greens every day
for three or four people. Cold-hardy plants, all very rich in vitamins A and
C, produce best. Escarole, lettuce, parsley, corn salad, chervil, chives and
other salad herbs are dependable. So are kale, chard and chicory, which
grow so thin and tender in the weak winter sun that they are best in
salads too. In spring and fall the harvests are bigger. Succession plantings
make heat-loving plants like tomatoes and cucumbers possible far
beyond their normal seasons.” http://survivalplus.com/foods/The-Solar-
Greenhouse.htm
“Several varieties of vegetables can be harvested in the winter months in
a greenhouse with little supplemental heat. Most varieties of lettuce,
spinach, chard, kale, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, turnips,
beets, bok choy and its relatives, and other cold tolerant plants will
continue to grow right through winter in a closed greenhouse. The clear
greenhouse walls will allow the sun to warm the temperature well above
freezing during the day, and it will drop to something close to freezing
during the night; for this reason it may be better to leave the heat loving
plants (tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc) for all but the coldest few months
of winter. The natural daylight hours are the shortest in winter, so expect
your vegetables to take slightly longer to fully mature. Plan on starting
them a few weeks early to harvest during the winter.” http://
veggieharvest.com/info/greenhouse.html
Yield: With an intensive method such as Square Foot Gardening, or
French Intensive, a 4x4 plot can yield enough food for one person to live
on during the harvest season, with excess to be preserved for other
months.
Page 16
March
Broccoli
Carrot
Collard greens
Kale
Mustard
Onions
Peas
Radish
Turnip
April
Asparagus
Cauliflower
Collard greens
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mustard
Peas
Radish
Turnip
Onions
Peas
Potato (white)
Spinach
Beans (bush)
Carrot
Corn
Beans (bush)
Beet
May
Beans (bush)
Beans (pole)
Beans (lima)
Cantaloupe
Corn
Cucumber
Eggplant
Lettuce
Squash (bush)
Mustard
Squash (winter)
Okra
Tomatoes
Peas
Turnip
Pepper
Watermelon
Potato (sweet)
Radish
June
Potato (sweet)
Corn
July
Beans (bush)
Corn
August
Beans (bush)
Mustard
Spinach
Beet
Turnip
Radish
September
Beet
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Onions
Spinach
Turnip
October
Carrots
Onions
November
Onions
December
Onions

XIII. PASSIVE SOLAR GREENHOUSE DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Excerpted from http://survivalplus.com/foods/The-
Solar-Greenhouse.htm
Dave MacKinnon, Ph.D., ORGANIC GARDENING
greenhouse designer, has put it all together after
three years of experimenting and has created a
design formula that gardeners in any climate can
follow. His newest solar greenhouse, which he has
built and tested in Flagstaff, Arizona, epitomizes a
good solar shape. It has produced food through two
winters without requiring any outside heat source.
Almost all the floor space is usable for growing beds
because the energy storage is on the walls. And it
uses a minimum of materials because the design,
insulation and heat storage are in balance and
arranged to complement each other.
• One of the long walls should face due south rather than east or west.
• The south wall should have two layers of glazing.
• All the surfaces that don't face south are insulated.
• the greenhouse should be about twice as long (east to west) as it is wide.
The two-to-one relationship offsets the effect of the shade that the opaque east and west end walls
create. The building thus captures more solar energy for each square foot of growing space. If the
building is made much deeper than two to one — that is, closer to a square floor plan — the heat-
storage material in back is shaded too much.
• The peak should be made about as high as the building is wide (north to south).
Heat-storing materials in the back of the greenhouse will then get the direct exposure to the sun
they must have if the storage is to work efficiently.
• The slope of the north roof is an important feature [...], though the precise angle of
slope is not critical.
Sunlight which enters the greenhouse and strikes the aluminum-foil-covered roof (white paint works
well too) is aimed back down to the growing beds. From the outside, the interior of the greenhouse
looks almost black because very little light is bouncing back out to the viewer. If designed well, solar
greenhouses with reflective walls can actually deliver up to a third more light to the plants in winter.
In the traditional all-glass design, much of the light passes right on out the clear north roof and
wall. Angles between 60 and 75 degrees for the north roof will work well in the United States and
southern Canada.
• A south face with the right angle will give optimum performance in January.
The slope of the sun-collecting south face might appear to be trickier to decide upon. The angle
does affect how well the translucent face collects sunlight, but for greenhouses it's not as critical as
when setting up a compact solar-heating unit. Actually, a wide range of angles will work equally well
at any given latitude. The simplest thing to do is to add 20 degrees to your latitude. But if that
particular angle proves hard to work with, go to a slightly shallower one, and you will be favoring
Page 17

solar collection in spring and fall. If you use 50 degrees rather than 60, which, for example, you may
figure is your ideal, you still have sacrificed very little midwinter light.
• Heat storage on the back walls normalize day/night temperature extremes.
Without heat storage, solar greenhouses are something like a thermos bottle — all the energy is in
the sun-warmed air. Drafts will quickly drain off the heat, because even the most tightly made
building will have a fair amount of tiny cracks. Energy held within storing materials is not lost along
with escaping air. The energy is released slowly as the greenhouse cools, and the building stays
warm much longer.
A no-less-important effect is that heat-storage materials keep the greenhouse from overheating
during the day. We quickly learned that without storage the inside temperature can soar into the
80's or 90's on cold, bright days. That is quite hard on a winter greenhouse crop. With storage
absorbing some of the incoming energy, the result
is a milder daytime environment.
The amount of heat storage for full solar heating
seems enormous at first, but is manageable in
practice. Both of MacKinnon's 20 x 12 greenhouses
use about 1,000 gallons of water stacked vertically
on the rear walls. That amounts to four gallons of
water for each square foot of floor space. The best
method we've found is to use rectangular five-
gallon honey cans with a rust inhibitor added to
the water.
The best alternative is rock (in any form from sand through concrete), but water holds about five
times more heat. So water reservoirs on walls make compact heat storage that gets a good share of
direct incoming sunlight.
Two other simple things are crucial to the success of our greenhouses.
• The earth below them is insulated to a little below frostline with plastic foam.
• At night an insulating curtain is drawn over the south wall to reduce heat loss.
Recommended Zone 3 insulation: walls and roof, R-12; below ground, R-10 to 2 feet deep; heat
storage, 3 gallons per square foot.
The greenhouse should be orientated in a way that will maximize the sunlight. There are two basic
schools of thought on greenhouse orientation. A greenhouse orientated to capture the morning sun
(North/South orientation) will help to stimulate growth, remove condensation from leaves early in
the day, and get your plants off to a good start for the day. This method is popular with those who
use a greenhouse for summer vegetables. The other basic orientation is to maximize the winter
sunlight captured (East/West orientation). The winter sun is much lower in the horizon this time of
year, and with careful consideration of both structure and plants, it is possible to harvest vegetables
without using a heat source to warm the greenhouse. http://veggieharvest.com/info/
greenhouse.html
Page 18
The air inside has averaged 42 degrees
higher than outside and between 45
and 55 degrees F. in the soil
throughout the winter.

XIV. PLANNING TEMPLATE
Page 19

Juneau Community Greenhouses; Gardening Guidebook for Juneau, Alaska

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