Bruce F. left a comment on our Alemany Farm video last week and pointed us to a pretty amazing rooftop garden that he and his friends have built. After seeing the pictures, I think you’ll agree he’s being too modest. He says:
A few of us who live in the city of Chicago are trying to grow heirloom vegetables on our rooftops in cheap homemade earthboxes. It sounds more than a little preposterous to suggest that what we’re doing is a real solution to the huge environmental problems we’re facing, but it might be a tiny piece. We think they’re a great way to build connections in a fragmented social/political landscape. Not selling anything, I’m giving “it” away.
Here’s the Flickr link, along side the pics is a little how-to guide with plenty of relevant links.
We really love to see smart people start taking advantage of resources around them. Americans currently live in such abundance that making a rooftop garden, at first thought, might not make much sense. However, growing food is a great skill to learn and a valuable way to spend your time. Bruce has plenty of good info on his designs and links to online support.
How awesome! I am a first time planter and have seeds sprouting away in conatianers all over my laundry room. I have a small backyard (Condo) and ran across your site searching for garden ideas. It is an inspiration to see others out there doing their part. Ill be coming back to see signs of your progress, good luck!
we’d love to see photos of your process. Sometimes it helps show how easy it growing food is…even in a condo.
Thanks for posting this here. And thanks for the kind words.
I’ve got another link for you that fits in with what you guys are doing here.
Are you familiar with the work of Stan Goff? He’s an interesting guy, and part of a group that put together a great web site.
I wrote a little bit about him at Corrente, a political blog -
http://www.correntewire.com/a_35_point_practical_guide_for_action
Thanks for the link Bruce. keep us updated on the rooftop garden.
Someone left a comment on a dKos diary I wrote that pointed me to this cool product.
http://www.gaiasoil.com/
and from an email that Paul Mankiiewicz sent me, “GaiaSoil itself goes for about $4.50 a cubic foot, or $120 a cubic yard.
It weights 10 lbs per cubic foot dry, and 30 lbs per cubic foot fully saturated.
The soils was designed to have the same kind of capillary capacity as soil,
and wick water up the soil column.”
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Learning+from+green+roofs:+a+Bronx+school’s+lesson+in+saving+energy-a0156001708
bruce
the issue i see with this gaiasoil is that it contains polystyrene foam…something that never biodegrades. so the soil cycle of growing in and then composting again would have to be a closed loop on the roof forever. or else there would be little bits of un-compostable styrofoam in all your soil forever. sounds like a terrible idea to me. also this is a product that you have to buy. when you build your own soil you have the ability to do it all for free.
Yeah, I’m skeptical about using it for some of the same reasons.
What I like about it is that is using recycled polystyrene, which at least sounds good (?).
Cut and paste, sorry-
http://www.gaiasoil.com/
“The main ingredient in GaiaSoil™ for Green Roofs is non-toxic recycled expanded polystyrene foam coated with an organic pectin, and mixed with high-quality finished compost. The Gaia Institute’s proprietary, patented process makes GaiaSoil™ for Green Roofs almost 50% lighter than any other green roof growing medium.”
Also, it does have 15% composted organic material, from - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Learning+from+green+roofs:+a+Bronx+school’s+lesson+in+saving+energy-a0156001708
“……Gaia Soil, a growing medium that is 85 percent Styrofoam. The remaining 15 percent is a mixture of agricultural waste, clay slurry and compost that includes ground pumpkin seeds, evergreen trees and “Bronx Zoo Doo” (poop from exotic animals at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s establishment down the road). A cubic foot weighs only 10 pounds.”
It costs the same as what we’re using now: lightweight potting mix, which is mostly sphagnum peat moss, a non-renewable resource. We’re looking for alternatives and this seems like a possibility.
It’s tricky trying to grow things on roofs………….