Can the Midwest grow lemons and oranges? Yes—if you tap into the earth's energy like one Nebraska grower.
High on the Nebraska plains, there’s a citrus grove with trees holding up a canopy of lemons, grapefruit-sized oranges, green figs, and bunches of grapes.
Yes, it’s indoors. And it’s only possible because it taps into the core of the earth’s own energy, geothermal heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.
Russ Finch, a former mail carrier and farmer, designed the greenhouse, which he calls the Greenhouse in the Snow. The original, which he built more than 20 years ago, is connected to his home.
You don’t often see orange trees in Nebraska, but Finch says growing citrus was a way of showing that his geothermal greenhouse could work.
“All we try to do is keep it above 28 degrees in the winter,” Finch said. “We have no backup system for heat. The only heat source is the earth’s heat at 52 degrees at 8-foot deep.”