The Nedams’ One-of-a-Kind Michigan Dome - Complete With a Basement!

Khris Nedam, a recently retired teacher, has always believed the best learning happens when you can get your hands dirty. For years, she dreamed of helping her school create a greenhouse where students and teachers could explore and learn together. While that vision is still unfolding, her retirement brought a wonderful surprise: a 26’ Growing Spaces Dome of her very own.

One of the school’s original concerns was finding a greenhouse that could be securely closed during off hours. When Khris discovered the Growing Spaces Dome, she immediately saw how it could meet those needs—and more. While the school continues researching grants and fundraising opportunities, Khris’s dome now stands as a real-life example of what’s possible.

What Makes This Dome Truly Unique

Khris’s husband, Allen, is an engineer and the local high school’s Robotics coach, so it’s no surprise their dome includes a serious engineering upgrade. Together, they decided to build a basement beneath the greenhouse, adding storage, growing space, and thermal efficiency all in one creative design.

The basement serves as a root cellar, a seed-starting area, and the home of a wood-burning stove. The stove helps heat the dome during Northern Michigan’s long winters. Allen and several of his engineering friends turned the build into a collaborative project filled with problem-solving, laughter, and creative thinking. One friend even made three separate week-long trips to help construct the dome—his “pay” will be fresh tomatoes straight from the greenhouse.

Along with engineering a basement sturdy enough to support the dome, they ran water and electricity from the house, burying the lines 4 1⁄2 feet underground for protection from frost and long-term durability.

Before the engineering wheels really start turning for readers at home, one quick note: neither Growing Spaces nor Khris and Allen are able to provide plans or blueprints for the basement design. Every site, climate, and build is different, and this setup reflects a whole lot of creativity, collaboration, and a few well-earned “let’s see if this works” moments. Think of it as proof of what’s possible when you dream big and let engineers do what engineers do best.

Thoughtful Design Enhancements

The basement includes two access points: an exterior entrance and an interior trap door with a ladder. Leaving the trap door open allows warm air from the basement to naturally rise into the dome, helping regulate temperatures during colder months.

Grow lights will be added in the future, but the space is already in use. Khris has potato bags growing in the basement and uses the area for seed starting, tool storage, and garden supplies.

Another upcoming feature is a pergola inside the dome, adding both structure and visual interest. Khris loves learning from the Growing Spaces blog and social media groups and enjoys adapting ideas she sees into her own greenhouse setup.

When entering the basement from the exterior door, the wood-burning stove sits just inside on the left. Outside to the right is the current woodpile—pine and maple. Next year they will build a covered wood storage area. This winter, wood is brought inside to dry out before being burned.

Pro Tip: Khris saves toilet paper rolls and stuffs them with dryer lint to make easy, effective fire starters. They also prioritize burning hardwood, like maple, because it burns longer and hotter. That means fewer trips to stoke the fire and more time actually enjoying the greenhouse—always a win during a Northern Michigan winter.

From Seasonal Gardening to a Year-Round Oasis

This dome marks a big step up from the Nedams’ earlier greenhouse experiments. Before this, they built a lean-to against their house and even turned part of their home into a plant nursery. Living in the “mitten” of Northern Michigan, where winters are long and snowy, outdoor gardening comes with real challenges. With an average growing season of just 100 days, gardening can feel like an extreme sport.

A year-round greenhouse changes everything. Gardeners in cold climates often miss the simple joy of working the soil and being surrounded by greenery. Khris’s dome provides that experience year-round. It’s a calming space where she listens to audiobooks, tends her plants, and reconnects with nature—no matter what’s happening outside.

Of course, the plants aren’t the only ones who enjoy a warm, year-round environment. Pests appreciate it too. Khris approaches these challenges with curiosity and patience, using neem oil as her current go-to while continuing to learn what works best in her unique setup.

One of her greatest joys is being able to walk into the greenhouse and harvest fresh food whenever she wants. Plans are already in place to add a table and chairs so the dome can also be a place to sit, relax, and enjoy the beauty of the garden.

Even summer crops have surprised her. When it came time to pull peppers, they were still thriving. Instead of following the calendar, Khris followed the plants—and kept harvesting fresh peppers for her kitchen.

Smart Gardening and Joyful Experimentation

Khris isn’t just growing food; she’s treating the dome like a living laboratory.

The Citrus Bed: One raised bed is entirely to citrus trees. Citrus has specific needs, so they used 5-1-1 soil—a fast-draining blend ideal for citrus—and installed a dedicated watering system. The bed currently supports lemon, lime, grapefruit, and Australian lime trees.

Unique Crops: Khris enjoys experimenting with less-common plants, including Wasabi radish, which delivers the heat and flavor of wasabi but is much hardier and faster-growing. She also has a coffee plant waiting in the wings.

Airflow and Plant Health: Neem oil helps manage pests, while air circulation helps prevent fungus. One particularly fun find was a triple-head ceiling fan discovered on Facebook Marketplace. It even came with a remote, proof that greenhouse upgrades don’t always come from a catalog.

As the greenhouse continues to evolve, some plants have been started in Khris’s indoor nursery. The coffee plant, for example, will eventually make its move into the dome later this year.

The Joy of Garden Planning (and a Few Surprises)

Khris ordered seeds from Baker Creek, and when the box arrived, it was much larger than expected. It turned out to be the wrong order and couldn’t be returned. Instead of frustration, it turned into a happy accident: a truly impressive collection of pepper seeds. Khris donated many of the packets to community groups and has been happily experimenting with the rest in her kitchen, proving that sometimes the universe just really wants you to grow peppers.

She’s also no stranger to botanical plot twists. Kris hand-pollinated a watermelon, only to discover it was an orange squash instead. Gardening has a funny way of keeping you humble. Her friends were quick to point out that plants don’t always read the labels. Mystery plants, surprise harvests, and a good sense of humor all come with the territory, and honestly, that’s half the fun.

Weathering the 2025 Ice Storm

In March 2025, a powerful ice storm hit Northern Michigan, bringing down trees across the Nedams’ property. Some trees lost more than 20 feet from their tops! The damaged trees will become firewood to heat the greenhouse. Proof that gardeners rarely let anything go to waste.

After the storm, the dome was covered with up to an 1 inch of ice. However, Growing Spaces Domes are built to stand up to hail and extreme weather and only a few of the polycarbonate panels were damaged. Our domes are engineered for strength and designed to resist yellowing over time.

While the panels took the hit, the dome’s structure remained strong and fully intact—something that likely would not have been the case with many traditional greenhouse styles. The dome also shed other falling trees with no damage at all, proving that its strength is more than just theoretical. Even so, when entire tree limbs show up uninvited, a little panel damage is a fair trade for keeping the structure standing tall.

Looking Ahead

As with all gardening, learning never stops. One future upgrade on the Nedams’ list is a dehumidifier to help manage moisture and reduce fungus. Multiple fans are in place to keep air moving, including one positioned to draw warm air up from the basement.

While the papaya tree may not have survived despite attentive care, each experience adds to Khris’s growing knowledge. Gardening—especially greenhouse gardening—is an ongoing experiment. Microclimates shift, plants respond differently, and every season brings new lessons.

Thankfully, the Growing Spaces community offers a wealth of shared knowledge and support. With each year, Khris continues refining her approach, celebrating successes, and embracing the learning process.

Happy gardening!