Growing Dome Lifestyle
A Growing Dome shapes more than just what you grow. This category brings together writing on how dome ownership influences daily life: the rhythms of seasonal routines, family use, hosting and entertaining inside the dome, mornings spent with the plants, and the slower changes to how a household relates to food, weather, and time. Explore the lifestyle side of greenhouse gardening through stories from owners who've spent years with their domes, sharing what living with a Growing Dome has come to mean for them.
The 10 Best DIY & Thoughtful Gifts for the Gardener in Your Life
November 19, 2025
There’s nothing quite like the joy of giving a handmade or nature-inspired garden gift. These gifts for gardeners combine beauty, practicality, and heart.
How to Start an Agribusiness with a Greenhouse
January 16, 2025
Learn how to start an agribusiness with a Growing Dome greenhouse. Discover sustainable solutions, high-value crops, and strategies to maximize year-round profits.
Grow Your Way to Long Life: The Centenarian Diet
July 3, 2024
Healthy eating, exercise, mindfulness, and meditation have been central to our company's values since we began in 1989. We're thrilled that so many people around the world are now inspired by the blue zone regions, famous for their high number of centenarians, to start growing their own food.
Top 10 Gardening Books for Beginners, Experts, and Everyone in Between
March 16, 2024
Gardening books are a great resource for beginners and an amazing way to expand your knowledge even if you are a seasoned pro. We have put together a list of some of our favorite gardening books just for you.
Keeping Chickens in a Greenhouse: A Balanced Look at This Unique Combination
March 5, 2024
Calling all modern homesteaders, backyard gardeners, and chicken lovers! Can these fluffy dinosaurs help us in the garden or should we leave them in the coop?
How to Support A Local Food Bank During the Holiday Season
December 1, 2023
Here you will find a list of plants to grow for food bank donation and how to find a local food bank to donate to during the holiday season.
A Community of Happy Growers Connecting and Sharing
October 8, 2021
In spring, early high temperatures are a huge benefit--especially in our mountain location with a short growing season. But as spring turns into summer, the increasing heat in the dome can turn our sanctuary into an oven unless it’s managed correctly. Over the years, we’ve learned how to adapt our growing practices, our plant choices, and even our plant locations to make the most of summer heat and provide much-needed shade for the water tank.
Earth Day 2020: Stay at Dome
April 22, 2020
Commit to reducing your Carbon Footprint by 10% with a Growing Dome. As most of us are spending the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in our homes, the Earth is getting a breather.
It’s QuaranTime
April 21, 2020
With the craziness of the world right now, it can be tempting to pick up the remote and start a little vacation in your apartment. However, this can quickly turn into a harmful thing. Staying inside all day can have negative effects if you aren’t working towards positive goals and creating a productive environment. Try to make your work-from-home day like any other workday. But instead of a stressful morning commute, take a healthy morning walk outside. And take the extra time to do some other things you normally would not have time to do on a busy morning.
Off The Vine
April 1, 2020
Optimize micronutrients by eating fruits and vegetables immediately after harvest. There are so many benefits to eating vegetables fresh from the earth. Taste, nutritional value and saving trips to the grocery store. Food travels hundreds, if not thousands, of miles before it makes it to the grocery store shelves and loses critical nutrients along the way.
Cleaning Greenhouse Panels
April 1, 2020
Winter or early Spring is a great time to clean your panels as vegetation is generally reduced, allowing easy access to the polycarbonate surfaces. According to Claudia Stover, long-time Growing Spaces dome owner and greenhouse gardening teacher, not only does regular cleaning of the polycarbonate panels increase the sanitation of the greenhouse but “keeping the dome panels clear of pollen and plant debris also helps reduce disease and pest pressure on your plants.”
The Best Organic Immune Boosters for Cold and Flu Season
November 30, 2019
It’s here, the dreaded cold and flu season. I got an early start this year after countless hours in the airport traveling back and forth from Thailand. After two weeks of spicy flu fighters and immune boosters in Asia, I was inspired to come home and share them with you. So, here they are, my…
Cultivating Abundance
August 19, 2019
Cultivating abundance, both financially and in my garden, has been a long journey for me. When I first became interested in gardening I was convinced I needed to grow my own food because the economy was going to crash and I’d have to know how to be self sufficient in order to survive. This belief…
Nourishment During the Summer Solstice
June 21, 2019
Ways to nourish your body and your Growing Dome during the Summer Solstice The Summer Solstice of 2019 is upon us, bringing with it a time of intensity physically, emotionally, and environmentally. As we all know, the Solstice marks the day of the year with the most hours of sunlight. On this day, that number…
Sustaining Mental Wellness In Your Growing Dome® Greenhouse
December 18, 2018
Gardening Sustains Mental Wellness While Providing Healthy, Nutritious Food: A Win-Win for You and Your Body Gardening in a Growing Dome is an invaluable method to improve and sustain mental and emotional wellness. Growing Domes are coveted, some would argue sacred, retreats to be with nature and one’s thoughts and emotions. At some point, however,…
Growing Bananas at 60 Degrees North
November 26, 2018
Janet and I first met Bjorn Oliviusson in Fall 2012 when we arrived to help install the 33′ Growing Dome Greenhouse sold to the Royal Institution of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. As described in Bjorn’s post, it ended up at a school near the university, a pleasant setting, but late Fall in Stockholm the sunlight…
Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet in a Growing Dome
November 16, 2018
Cara Barnes of Hollyhock Farms in Aspen Colorado talks about sustaining a whole food plant based diet out of her Growing Dome Greenhouse
Cloud City Farm: Growing the Impossible at 10,000 Feet
September 6, 2018
Cloud City Farm: From Superfund Site to Community Gardens, Thriving High Altitude Farm and Year-Round Growing Dome Greenhouse With only 28 frost free days a year, and living 10,000 feet above sea level, they are growing what at first might seem impossible. Cloud City Conservation Center (C4) Cloud City Conservation Center (C4) is a non-profit 501(c)3…
Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa Growing Dome Greenhouse
August 22, 2018
Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa offers a rejuvenating experience in the San Luis Valley of Colorado with a Growing Dome Greenhouse
Pine River Garden Club: Growing Gardeners
July 19, 2018
Growing Gardeners and a Local Foodshed with a Growing Dome® at the Pine River Community Garden Instead of garlic from China and avocados from Mexico, the Pine River Garden Club in Bayfield, Colorado, cultivates their own local foodshed, grows gardeners and teaches how to harvest what you thought wouldn’t grow here. Pine River Garden Club…
7 Simple Secrets to Maintain Vibrant Health
February 27, 2018
75 Year Old Ex-Dentist Reveals Effective No Cost Methods of Improving Health Naturally Following are 7 simple tips to maintain vibrant health, as given by this guy. And unless you’re brand new here, I bet you recognize our fearless leader! Udgar Parsons, the creator of the Growing Dome® and co-owner of Growing Spaces®. You’ve probably seen…
One Healthy Snack Without The Burden Of Prep Time
February 9, 2018
One Healthy Snack You Can Grab On The Go… Without The Burden Of Prep Time You like to eat. You want a healthy snack. You’re hungry…all the time. It’s the same for all of us. We’re all hungry all the time. My kids are always asking for food, always on the prowl for the next…
How to Boost Your Immunity with these 5 Garden Herbs for Flu and Cold Season
February 2, 2018
Boost Immunity and Beat the Flu with these Powerful Medicines Found in Your Kitchen, Window-Shelf Pot, or Year Round Growing Dome® Garden.
The Gift of Food Security
December 6, 2017
What does food security mean to you? Does it mean that your food is grown organically without pesticides and hormones? Does it mean that you know you will always have food on your table for your family because you can supply it yourself? Maybe it means you have grown enough food to collaborate with…
Essentially Being: Transitioning to a Healthy Happy Lifestyle
September 21, 2017
Building blocks of a healthier life Our health is so important and it can change so rapidly. There are a plethora of small things that you can do to positively transition your well-being and your lifestyle effectively. The little things really do add up! Before you know it they can create a snowball effect in…
Permaculture Convergence in Mancos, Colorado
July 20, 2016
Permaculture and Tending the Fires of Inspiration Permaculture isn’t really about chickens, swales, plants, energy, composting toilets, and buildings; and this article isn’t really about permaculture. It is about how permaculture helps us design for beneficial relationships. Relationships which make the world a better place, regardless if it is between domestic fowl, comfrey, and pill bugs….
Assisted Living Greenhouse
June 29, 2016
Robert Hilger transformed a barren wasteland, a forgotten metal scrap yard, into a living, growing landscape for the betterment of seniors. Now he is transforming an outdated barren mindset of institutions which may not serve us to our highest potentials.
Children’s Health Empowered By Growing Your Own Food
May 27, 2016
The Pizza Bed Regenerating Children’s Health By Growing Your Own Food And Regenerating A Culture Connected to The Soil Our kids are fat. I know that’s a shocking way to say it, and with a little license to be politically incorrect, it’s probably accurate. Sadly. And as for adults, the majority isn’t any better off. But it gets…
Return of the Light: Back to the Garden
March 23, 2016
As I consider the “Return of the Light” as signified by the Spring Equinox, Easter and even the Lunar Eclipse this week, I have to say… “It is welcome!” I have been very moved by the troubles we see and hear about globally, as we enter the next season. Growing Spaces® mission “to help personal…
Winter Gardening: Growing Spaces
January 8, 2016
Claudia Stover, a Growing Dome® owner of 10 years, had a visit this past weekend from Growing Spaces® owners, Puja and Udgar Parsons. I’m pretty sure I counted almost 20 varieties of plant foods that she has growing, and thriving, in her Growing Dome right now, in early January. You probably caught that the outside…
Exercise To Cultivate Wellness
December 10, 2015
We all know the importance of eating good food. And we all know the importance of exercise, but do you do it? Be honest. Do you get enough exercise? Do you have something in your life that keeps you consistently exercising 4 or 5 times a week? Now, I’m not talking about lifting weights, working…
An Example of Sustainability and Stewardship in Action, Mission: Wolf
September 14, 2015
Growing Domes and Mission: Wolf A Living example of Sustainability and Stewardship “A wolf in a cage is good for one thing…to teach people NOT to put wolves in cages.” Mission: Wolf I applaud the work of our friends over the mountains in Westcliffe, Colorado. Mission: Wolf You won’t believe how they are raising the…
Living in Gratitude this Season
November 24, 2014
As I begin this Newsletter greeting, I was just watching wild turkeys outside our window scratching for food. I always feel wonder that they return every year and surround our cabin with their good energy, reminding me of the pilgrims and Native American’s offering gratitude. I am preparing a surprise turkey dinner for a friend and…
June in My Growing Dome
June 25, 2014
Yesterday, while focusing on recovery from my dental surgery and the long week of organizing and working with our stellar team, I knew I just wanted to GARDEN in my Growing Dome. I was out in my Growing Dome for about 5 hours, preparing old baskets for new plants, amending the soil and mixing up…
New Moon, New Year, New Beginnings
January 15, 2014
I have just settled in by the fire, on our coldest day on record in two decades in the USA, according to N.O.A.A. Weather Service online. With the wind chill, my relatives in Minnesota are experiencing 60 degrees below zero today! Lucky for us, it is only 5 degrees below zero in Pagosa Springs, but…
How We Built a Socially Responsible Company and What Inspired Us
December 10, 2013
Why are we a Socially Responsible Company? Like so many environmentally aware people, I was really affected by the reality of the unusual super-storms of the past few weeks as the hurricane in the Philippines and the recent tornadoes here in the United States, took away lives, homes, and livelihoods. The Climate Reality project states…
Accessing Our Inner Wisdom in Business
August 27, 2013
A few years ago I was privileged to be on a panel of CEOs at our annual SW Colorado Women’s Business Conference and asked “How do women do business differently than men?” Although the moment called a response from the three of us that invited us all to recognize that we all possess masculine and…
Peace as a practice taught through gardening
July 1, 2013
There is an intangible, but equally empowering peace that comes with the practice of growing our own food. Have you taken the time to understand where this peace comes from? In understanding the roots of this peace we can find ways to expand on it and move the practice over into other parts of our…
It’s Earth Day
May 17, 2013
It’s Earth Day, and this is being celebrated in many places around the globe (see Earthday.org ). In our own small town, the people of vision were out on a cold day in their booths giving away small trees to celebrate Earth Day. There were many examples of innovation and many contributions to the awareness…
Our Dirt Work Leads to a Food Revolution
April 17, 2013
Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver endorses the Growing Dome Greenhouse while visiting Navajo Nation in Arizona
What You Need to Know About Eating Safe Fruits and Vegetables
April 8, 2013
In this day and age of the deluge of bad news, everyone does their best to filter out the pertinent information about what will affect their health and safety. In this article we’re going to do some filtering for you and review important information about the safety of your fresh fruits and vegetables. We’ll offer…
Proof that Gardening Gives a Natural Mood Lift
December 12, 2012
How many people do you know who are affected by depression, anxiety, stress or other emotional illness? Or maybe the better question is: Who do you know that is not affected? The pressures of today’s increasingly fast-paced, high-tech society that demands you know all things at all times and learn to do them all at…
6 Ways to Be 1 Amazing Kid
December 5, 2012
Growing Spaces co-owner, Puja Parsons, subscribes to a number of e-newsletters that keep her abreast of current trends in healthy eating, wellness and sustainability. Many Mondays we come to work and find delicious email forwards in our inboxes with links to great articles. Most recently via Puja’s subscription to DailyGood.org, she shared with us a…
The Return Customers
August 10, 2012
Meet David and Edna Allan, some home gardeners who have enjoyed their Growing Dome, enjoyed it so much in fact that they have actually bought seven of them. In this video they talk to Puja Parsons about their many Growing Domes, and some of the techniques they use to to grow all year long.
Keynote Address: Staying Centered in the Cyclone
July 24, 2012
One of our two favorite leaders of Growing Spaces, Puja Parsons, gave a beautiful keynote address to an audience of nearly 200 at the SW Colorado Women’s Small Business Conference in Durango, Colorado on July 13th, 2012. It was a bit of a new frontier for Puja because she had the opportunity to present how…
A Featured Favorite Blogger
April 18, 2012
This Growing Dome Greenhouse owner in New Mexico writes wonderful pieces on healthy off-grid living
A Child in Canada Gets His Wish with a new Growing Dome Greenhouse
April 16, 2012
Ever heard about the “Children’s Wish Foundation”? Well we had the amazing opportunity to be involved with them in fulfilling the wish of a boy with Leukemia. He asked for his own Growing Dome. We’re speechless about how beautiful a thing this is and are very glad to share this nice article The Children’s Wish…
Visioning the Balance
November 21, 2011
“For Puja and I, everything is connected, and we are ever awed by the complexity and beauty of the natural world. Offering a product which helps people enjoy and support this beauty and the bountiful ways of nature – while growing an abundance of food – is very fulfilling for us.” – Udgar Parsons, Co-Owner…
A Worthy Journey: Putting youth gardening into perspective
September 19, 2011
As we celebrate the interest from children and young adults in growing organic food, we want to point to major influences over the last few years. I thank the efforts of Jamie Oliver, Will Allan, and Michelle Obama and many Moms and Dads who are convinced that learning “where food comes from” is the beginning…
What About Farm-to-School for the Little Ones?
September 2, 2011
I am not very good at baking….there I admit it. I love to cook but have a mental block on baking. It is challenging, to say the least, with all of my food allergies. (Wheat, gluten, eggs, dairy!) So I gave it up long ago but in the recent months the need has come back…
An Inspirational Culture of Life
July 19, 2011
Paul Renner of Gabrielle Cousins Living Foods program in Arizona pays a visit to Growing Spaces Greenhouses
Cost versus Value: How to reconcile spending more for organic food
July 19, 2011
Whether you buy your red bell peppers conventionally grown from Chile or organically farmed down the road, you are likely noticing that food prices are rising faster than inflation. This just adds another layer to the already complicated question of, “What am I willing to pay for my food?” Every time I’m at the grocery store,…
A Gateway to Sustainability
June 17, 2011
As the world turns towards sustainable solutions, the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, stands out as a beacon of hope and innovation. This visionary project, transforming an exhausted quarry into the world's largest conservatory, exemplifies how communities can come together to create impactful, eco-friendly spaces. Its blend of education, tourism, and social enterprise inspires visitors globally, subtly promoting ecological awareness. In Pagosa Springs, we draw from this example, envisioning our own eco-destination with the Geothermal Greenhouse Project. Join us as we nurture this dream, planting seeds for a sustainable future and inviting you to share your green community stories.
Michelle Obama and Growing Spaces – Working Toward a Common Goal
March 17, 2011
Today’s announcement that Michelle Obama is authoring a book on the importance of school, urban and community gardening is another example of the mind shift that is happening in the United States and across the globe. Her support of healthier, more self-sustaining lifestyles is directly in line with Growing Spaces vision. Growing Spaces was founded…
How Growing Your Own Food Changes Your Life
August 2, 2010
Growing just one food-producing plant at home like tomato, bell pepper, strawberry, lettuce, snow peas, etc. can do more than just save money otherwise spent at the grocery store. Whether you are a family of five, a single-person household, or a community of many, you can make a difference in how you live – today!…
Green Living 101: Grow Your Own Food
June 4, 2010
Green Living 101: Grow your own food in Colorado Worried about America’s addiction to oil? Do you want to rely less on oil and live off the vegetables and fruits of your labor? Want to grow your own organic food all year around, even in the dead of winter in the bitter Colorado Rocky Mountain…