The geothermal greenhouse at Nom Nom Gardens. Photo provided by the Horsted family.
think I was serious when I suggested that as a name for the business,” she said. But Ned found the “Nom Nom” name fun. Bobbi Jo said, “We try to make it as fun as we can and make it accessible for people.” Six years ago, the couple moved to the farm and began building a geothermal greenhouse four feet below grade. “Geothermal” means “earth-heat.” The system they use was created by Russ Finch more than 35 years ago to heat his home in western Nebraska. Finch says his system is best defined as a “geo-air” system because it uses air, not water or anti-freeze, to collect, circulate and store the geothermal energy. Upfront costs are 50 percent less than other geothermal systems and maintenance costs are 90 percent less. Expenses per BTU are lower than solar cells or wind energy.(1) The air flowing through the system heats air in the greenhouse in the winter and cools the greenhouse in the summer. About 20 years ago, Finch applied his geo-air concept to a greenhouse and he’s been successfully harvesting vegetables, flowers and citrus fruits all year round ever since. “The whole reason we moved out to the country was to build one of these greenhouses. You could put these up in a food desert anywhere and crank out the food,” said Ned. Prior to moving to the country, Horsted’s had started Nom Nom Gardens while they still lived in Sioux Falls. In addition to building the greenhouse, Ned and Bobbi Jo wanted to continue using the aquaponics system
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January 2022 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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