Images of

ANTARCTICA

McMurdo Greenhouse

Photos © 2002 Seth White

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A fat, red, tomato. I can't explain how out of place something like this is at McMurdo.

Drawing "Antarctic Harvest". There are several things like this around the greenhouse that people have put up.
Some more drawings found in the greenhouse.
And more drawings (not bad).
Various plastic creatures appear around the greenhouse.
....like this snake.
The rare, elusive, and vicious Antarctic Tomato Worm.
Hydroponic gardening. There is one winter caretaker for the greenhouse - this has to be a pretty good job.
More of the hydroponic gardens.
Leafy vegetables. The sodium lighting in the greenhouse turns everything yellow, unless you're close enough for the flash to be effective.
The colors on the stalks of these plants were deep and vibrant. It's utterly impossible to describe how strange a sight this is in Antarctica. The sky is oftern very colorful, the auroras are great, but this sort of color just doesn't show up around here.
Lettuce fields, which now and then will end up in a salad bowl in the galley.
More lettuce. Occasionally, when a crate of fresh vegetables is shipped down from NZ, there will be a bug or two contained inside. Sometimes these will make it out into the galley as part of someone's lunch. If the actually person notices this, it is not so much a matter of repulsion or disgust....it's more like an event. Wow - a real live bug! We don't have bugs here, so the sight of one is a novelty! I have heard that on occasion, the bug will be passed around the galley and gawked at.
Mint plants. Just a pinch between your cheek and gum.
The greenhouse building. If it wasn't for the fruits and vegetables on the outside, you'd never know what it is. It's just as drab and nondescript as most of the McMurdo structures.
Peppers.
The radio is always on, since the plants "like soft music". Korn was playing as I walked in this day. I wonder if the plants also like poseur sell-out metal too? Metallica anyone?
There are two hammocks squeezed in between the lettuce fields. This has to be the most peaceful spot on station. It is the exact opposite of Antarctica - warm, humid, vegetated, and relaxing.