Thermal Banking Greenhouses

Farmers who can extend their growing season have a distinct advantage in the marketplace: By offering a product outside the “normal” growing season, they can often receive a higher price. That’s what Steven Schwen (Earthen Path Organic Farm) has done with his greenhouse, starting earlier in the year with seedlings of warm-season vegetables, and continuing production into the fall and even the winter months when he grows cold-tolerant crops. Part of what makes Schwen’s operation so unique is the added innovation of thermal banking, which significantly reduces the energy costs of running a greenhouse for cold-season production.

 

Read more, see a diagram and view a video of this type of greenhouse here.