Greenhouse

At the beginning of the week a subgroup of eight students was formed to help create a working greenhouse by the end of our time at the school. With the skeleton of a prototype greenhouse already existing on site provided by the army, the benefits of realizing the project seem invaluable.



In the unique region of Ladakh, known as a "cold desert", the education of agriculture and horticulture seem critical in helping students understand the use of plants in their historical cultural heritage and their modern everyday lives. The greenhouse promises to contribute in educating the students in plant ecology, resource sustainability, medicinal properties, historical utility, food health, living systems, and plant management and maintenance.

When complete, the modified greenhouse will contain two compost bins made from reclaimed lumber from the school, a plant bed system for both deep and shallow root systems, and a varying shelving system that will provide adequate space for seedling growth, plant adaptations, and tool storage. In addition to this, the structural system and overhead conditions will be improved.

In the first week, three deep root beds have been dug and the compost bins have been framed. Because of the extreme soil conditions, a large portion of the weeks work was spent on removing rocks and improving the soil quality for the deep beds. Rock picks were mainly used as the earth proved to contain high quantities of granite and sedimentary rocks.





The compost bins are composed completely of reclaimed material from the schools excess material. This meant foraging for lumber that was in adequate enough shape to provide a good structure and usability in a operational form. Using hand saws to cut appropriate lenghts and removing nails from old lumber are a few ways of managing the discarded material for the new use.