Chena Hot Springs Greenhouse
The Chena Hot Springs Greenhouse plays a central role in the resort’s vision of becoming a self-sustaining community, supporting greater independence in food production through year-round geothermal agriculture in Alaska.
The Science Behind Our Farm to Table Lifestyle
Where We Grow
Greenhouses
Our resort boasts not one, but three year-round greenhouses
Outdoor Gardens
We grow approximately 10,000 wildflower plants each spring, and we also have three outside vegetable gardens adjacent to each of our greenhouses
Lettuce Room
We grow 25 different kinds of lettuces and herbs, delivered directly to our restaurant.
Tomato Room
We harvest approximately 9,000 pounds of tomatoes per year, delivered directly to our restaurant
Dig Deeper
How We Got Started
Chena Hot Springs Resort is working toward becoming a self-sustaining community, and an important part of making this vision a reality is to strive for greater independence in food production.
The Chena Fresh Gardens program began in 2004 with the installation of a small test greenhouse, which is now operated year round and is heated entirely with water from our geothermal resource. The original greenhouse (OG, 6mil poly-film hoop house, 1000ft² (800ft² grow area, 200ft² air mix area), heated with 2” radiant fin tube) was built right next to the Rock Lake.
In the winter of 2005, we experienced outside temperatures as cold as -56F°, but we were still able to maintain the inside temperature at 78F°! This 134F°temperature difference was the largest record for any controlled environment production facility in the U.S.
After the successful season with the OG, we built two other greenhouses on the property: High Tunnel, (another hoop house, 2000ft², 6mil Poly-Film) right next to the Bear Family Suites, and the Main Greenhouse (the newest, 4320ft²).
Our Greenhouses
The Original Greenhouse
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The original greenhouse is located behind the restaurant by the dragon statue. This soil-bottom greenhouse is the same one that was able to maintain an inside temperature of 78°F while it was -56°F outside in 2005. It is now primarily used to grow fodder for our horses and goats.
The High Tunnel
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The High Tunnel Greenhouse is located by the Bear Family Suites. This greenhouse maintains a temperature of 50°F-60°F in the winter, making it an ideal environment for growing tea and herbs. In the summer, it’s used to grow cabbage and cauliflower.
Our Main Greenhouse
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Our main greenhouse is located by the Moose Lodge. Everything in our main greenhouse is grown hydroponically, meaning the plants are grown using a water-based nutrient solution instead of soil. All of the vegetables and herbs grown here are delivered directly to our restaurant!
Why Hydroponics?
Hydroponic gardening comes with the following advantages:
- Allows more complete control of nutrient content and pH
- Lower overall water and nutrient costs
- Faster growth due to more available oxygen in the root area
- Reduces transplant shock
- Allows for the plants to skip a step in nutrient absorption
The Lettuce Room (68°F-74°F)
What we grow: 25 kinds of lettuces between Romaine and Leaf Lettuces (as of Jan 2019) and herbs (Italian/Thai Basils, Parsley, Dill) year-around.
The harvest is brought to the resort restaurant (typically 24-72 lettuce heads everyday). That is how we can have amazing, fresh salads all year!
How we grow: We use rockwool for our lettuces. Rockwool is made by heating crushed igneous rocks into molten rock (~2700°F), and then spun like cotton candy into porous, wool-like material. Its composition makes it an ideal substrate for roots to take hold of.
The lettuces are lined up in chorological order and there are 80 trays each on south and north side. Each tray can hold 24 lettuces (Total of 1920 lettuces always in production)
The Tomato Room (70°F-74°F)
What we grow: about 360 tomato plants: Cherry Tomato (Favorita), Plum Tomato (Granadero), Cluster Tomato (Climstar) and Beefsteak (Rebelski)
We harvest an average of 9,000lbs of tomatoes per year!
Plant Life Span: 1 to 2 years.
We typically start the germination process every December / January. We harvest about 9 months out of that year
The stem length can vary but can grow up to 60ft
How We Grow: Hydroponic with Perlite in Dutch Basket System
Perlite is volcanic rock that has been superheated into very lightweight expanded glass pebbles. It is a porous substance that offers both excellent water retention and drainage. It also provides proper aeration which helps plants to develop healthy and strong roots.
Baskets are connected to each other with pipes at the bottom for any excess water to drain out. Each basket is fed with water via a dripper periodically.
The Outdoor Gardens
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Besides greenhouse production, we grow about 10,000 plants for outside flower gardens, planters and hanging backsets in the Spring. We also have 3 outside vegetable gardens– one adjacent to each greenhouse– where we grow a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and zucchini.
Our Grow Towers
Our grow towers were designed in mind for people who live in rural Alaska, with little to no access to fresh produce or grocery stores. The best part about these is that they can be assembled with supplies you can buy at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Multiple cylindrical elbows poke out from the sides of the tower, each holding one plant. The basin is filled with a nutrient dense solution, and there is a pump at the bottom that brings the water up to the top of the tower and allows it to waterfall along the inside circumference of the tower, thus watering the roots of the plants.
The tower only takes up a 4ft x 4ft area, and it can produce approximately 14 heads of lettuce every week.
Greenhouse Tour
Want to learn more, join our complimentary greenhouse and geothermal power plant tours, daily at 2pm and 4pm.