Dome, Dome on the Range – A Thriving Nebraska Greenhouse

Trenda and Jonathan Nielson absolutely love their Growing Dome greenhouse! Ellsworth, Nebraska is a very rural community. They live on 20,000 acres with a cow-calf operation they run with the help of family and Border Collies. They use ARVS to move the cattle sometimes, but move them on horseback when they need to keep the cattle calm. Now they are loving growing fresh produce in their Nebraska greenhouse. This first year is a learning experience and Trenda is excited to see how it goes as well as what she’s learned about dome gardening.

Why a Nebraska Greenhouse Was the Perfect Fit for the Nielson’s

Many rural families have a difficult time getting any produce at all from small markets and it’s especially difficult to find fresh produce. Part of that difficulty is the distance that food needs to travel. Food sold in grocery stores that has to be shipped in from great distances sometimes. It loses its freshness during the long journey to stores and you pay the price at checkout. Living in a community of less than 50 people means you have to travel for any goods you don’t produce yourself.

This makes growing your own food extremely appealing. There’s nothing like going out your back door to your garden or greenhouse to pick what you want for your next meal! Jonathan is also diabetic, so they eat a lot of vegetables. Having a dome on their property will be a great benefit to having a healthy diet in an extremely rural location.

Although they live near the company Greenhouses in the Snow, those options were too large for their needs. As Trenda researched greenhouse options, Growing Spaces popped up on YouTube. They traveled to Pagosa Springs to tour all our dome sizes. They decided the Growing Spaces 22’ dome was perfect for their family.

On another trip they visited Emy and Mark’s amazing dome in North Carolina. They were interested in all she is doing, especially the hydroponics set-up!

Inside a Nebraska Greenhouse: Figs, Loofah, and a Garden Jungle

One of the things that they wanted the most was to be able to grow figs and other fruit. Life in a small town means fresh fruit is not easy to find, and it was one of the bigger holes in their diet. While they aren’t currently growing citrus in the snow, they are growing Chicago figs and table grapes!

They are also growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, fennel, chamomile and loofah. Her tomatoes have grown to the roof, the cucumbers have 10-inch leaves and the loofah has gone nuts!

As an experienced gardener, Trenda knows that growing in a Nebraska greenhouse is different. She considers this first year as a learning experience and plans to amend her soil for next year as it is “a little too hot” this year. Trenda is tickled with her new dome greenhouse.

Trenda also feels she has too much foliage, but it really is beautiful. As gardeners, we all have difficulty thinning our seedlings. However, Trenda’s wisdom in cutting back her foliage will help eliminate pest issues and diseases. So many dome gardeners share this issue of too much foliage because the plants also love the dome atmosphere!

Gardening in Rural Nebraska

In Ellsworth, their growing season begins around the 2nd week of May. Their average temperatures in July and August are mid-80s and the average lows are 10-12 degrees in the winter. Of course, hail is unpredictable and they have had the roof on their home replaced twice in the past two years.

They may also get frost as early as September so having a Nebraska greenhouse definitely extends their growing season. This summer has been somewhat mild with temperatures in the 70s. She hasn’t even needed her shade cloth yet!

One of their planned winter crops is kohlrabi because Jonathan loves it! Trenda is looking forward to seeing how their Growing Dome greenhouse does this first winter.

There is a local Agriculture Extension office, but it is geared towards farmers rather than backyard gardeners.

Another interest of Trenda’s is to learn about seed saving. Just her luck, that is one of our newest blog articles!

Creative Interior Design for a Nebraska Greenhouse

Trenda and Jonathan began the build of their dome in May 2025 with the help of our Growing Dome Supervisor, Easton, their roofer, and one of his friends. Their dome was built in three days! This allowed them to start designing and building out the interior in no time. They were very grateful for the help. The photos in this article are from this summer. A garden jungle in less than three months!

Unique Raised Beds

For their raised beds they took a unique approach and used a potash steel tank for their center bed. Trenda’s son-in-law welded it to make it fit the 11-foot bed she wanted. Many of these steel tanks are leftover from the WW2 era.

May 2025

May 2025

August 2025

Ellsworth, NE was established in the late nineteenth century and was a shipping point for cattle. This is why there are many old, abandoned stock tanks. They work well as repurposed raised garden beds.

Steel was in high demand during the war for military tanks. It took 18 tons of metal for just one tank. This also meant that US products for America were all but suspended. In 1941 the US produced about 3 million automobiles. However, during WW2 only 139 automobiles were made in America. Remember Rosie the Riveter and the slogan “We can do it!” Women took over many of the factory jobs as men were fighting overseas. Everyone can help build a dome!

They are using antique hogwire for a trellis and the cucumber and loofah are happily growing on it. One thing they haven’t gotten in place yet is fish in the pond. It’s not so easy to find goldfish nearby. They will need to find out where they can buy them and then plan a trip, including how to safely transport goldfish on a road trip. It’s amazing what you can find on YouTube!

Looking Ahead to Many Seasons of Growth

Trenda highly recommends visiting Pagosa Springs to see all six sizes of Growing Domes available. She also recommends hiring a Growing Spaces Supervisor to guide you on building your dome. They are considering adding another vent or two, but so far it’s working really well. The nice thing about our kits is that you can add to them as you go.

If you ever travel to Nebraska, Trenda loves to share her dome so come visit! Ellsworth is near the Nebraska Sandhills and the home of the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge was established as a nesting and migratory bird refuge with 45,000 acres including lakes. Let us know if you want to visit Trenda’s Dome on the Range!