Growing up or moving into an urban environment where there is limited land space for farming can make you feel caged if you are an outgoing person. To get in touch with the earth when planting, and the satisfaction of getting the fruits of your labor, no pun intended, is enchanting. You just want to have a repeat of this glorious feeling of creation which in turn leads to creative ways to have an outlet like rooftop gardening. This is basically a garden of either vegetables or flowers on the roof of the building. Rooftop gardening can be done at home, school or even at the workplace. Visit this site to get an insight and images of rooftop gardens.
When you arrive at the decision that you would like to start a rooftop garden, here are a few key pointers that you should follow to guide you through the basics of it:
- Get the necessary permits from your building owner. Some building owners may not approve of having a garden on top of their building as this can attract birds that can be a nuisance. Your neighbors should also not be inconvenienced by your garden in case it limits their recreational activities at the rooftop like having pool tables or inflatable pools.
- Consider the amount of space that is available for the garden. It should be enough to lay out the plantation beds and containers and also leave room for tables and chairs without blocking the emergency exits.
- Make sure to consult with a building engineer or better yet have him check the roof if it is stable enough to handle a garden without any leakages.
- Confirm from your building owner if there is building insurance and if it is specific to storms. Roof insurance could cover financial damage resulting from storms as long as there is no evidence that the roof was improperly maintained before the storm.
- You would need to transport planting material to the roof to ensure that there is easy access to an elevator which would save you time and energy. You definitely don’t want to suffer backaches and have to quit on your gardening idea.
- Ensure you have a constant supply of water to the rooftop area as the plants tend to dry out easily especially during hot seasons. If possible, it would be prudent to set up an automatic watering system but ensure to regularly check on it to prevent flooding.
- Consider solid structures for the garden like a sturdy raising bed and large sized pots that seldom blow around in windy conditions. The raising beds ought to be at least 10 inches deep for sufficient root growth.
- Look for an appropriate storage space for your planting material around the roof area that would be convenient to access and prevent them being blown around the roof. It would be hectic to carry around fertilizers and tools every time you wanted to tend to your garden.
- Consider the planting medium you would want to use. Best recommended would be potting soil over gardening soil as it has better water retention, has a light weight and won’t get compact after a period of time.
- Most importantly, look into the plants you would like to have in the garden. For instance, the Aloe Vera plant is very popular for gardening as it can withstand harsh climate and does well in plant containers. However, make sure that its leaves are not touching the potting soil as this would cause rotting so proper care needs to be given to this gentle beauty. But then again, why limit yourself to a single plant when you could also have Harry Lauder’s Walkingstick, ‘Blue Star’ juniper or Dwarf Hinoki Cypress gracing your garden. Visit this site to find out more about the best plants for rooftop gardening.
Rooftop gardening is eco-friendly and lowers the overall temperature of the building. This, in turn, lowers your heating and cooling costs. It is also a recreational activity that can give you therapeutic benefits once you are touching the soil and feeling the rooftop breeze.