Roof Garden Option

[injunjoe]

I have been kicking around the idea of a roof garden for a little while now.

I have been reading up a bit and I think my house is just right for this idea. I already have a rubberized torchdown roof that only has a 1.5 / 12 pitch, that being a rise of 1 and a half inch rise per foot of run.
In laymen's terms pert near flat.

So I am thinking, hey this may just work out. Then I found this link.
I am now all in!!

http://www.beourguests.co.uk/nightclubs/roof_gardens.html

Joe

See you at Injunjoe's Rooftop Jungle dance club.
Please watch your step as you leave, Thank you!

 

[injunjoe]

"Dress Code: No effort NO entry."

That part of that site caught my attention. Funny!

Joe

 

[Hattie the Hen]

How funny, Joe, that your link took me through to one of the great wonders of my childhood ! It was one of my greatest treats to be taken to 'Derry & Toms' Roof-garden (for that was what it was called in those days just after World War II). Somehow it had survived the bombing & was an oasis in the middle of devastation. My father took us there as a treat when they reopened it & we had tea in the restaurant below the garden. I often went back with him until Derry & Toms (a rather grand departmental store) eventually closed. It then went on to belong to Biba , the famous 60's/70's, fashionable, clothes store where we youngsters loved to shop.

Ah! it has so many memories for me ! Thank you for reminding me of it's uniqueness & happy family outings so long ago.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[injunjoe]

Hello :rose Hattie :rose I am glad that brought back some good memories for you.

I am thinking of making raised beds built just over the bearing walls.
Does anyone know if this would help with pests while growing vegetables? I don't waste to much time on growing Veg crops because
they get eaten up by bugs before I get any.

How deep do most veg. roots grow? I am thinking 16" would deep enough, yet low enough to not catch to much air, as in wind.
I was thinking framing it out with 1/2"plywood with 1x2 as ribs.
Then fiberglass the whole thing. Kind of build like a shallow rather square looking boat on my house filled with soil.

Any ideas? I would like to hear your thoughts.

Joe

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

I think a roof garden would be cool!

Corn would do great as they have shallow root systems. Green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli are also shallow. For tomatoes I would go at least 20-24" deep. Same for peppers. But for most other things I think 16-18" would do fine.

I don't know about helping with bugs but it certainly can't hurt to try!

 

[digitS']

I think that it is a great idea, Joe, as long as you have good access to your roof so that you have a chance to tend your plants and enjoy them . And, being able to tread around up there without doing damage to your roofing would be terribly important :/.

WSU provides some information on Maximum & Effective Root Depth for irrigation purposes - nearly one-half the way down the page in Table 2. This is "in the field" information.

Here are some veggies from that table:

Beans, green -- 3' max, 2' effective
Carrots -- 3' max, 2' eff
Corn, sweet -- 4' max, 3' eff
Crucifers -- 2' max, 2' eff
Cucumbers -- 4' max, 2' eff
Onions, green -- 2' max, 1' eff
Peas -- 2' max, 1.5' eff
Radish -- 2' max, 1' eff
Spinach -- 2' max, 1.5' eff
Tomatoes -- 4' max, 3' eff
(I don't know why Lettuce isn't in there . . .)

Joe, you probably know that the rule of thumb for container plant varieties is, "the smaller the better." But, then you may want to turn that around and say the rule of thumb for containers is, "the bigger the better." Here's OSU Container Gardening info on the subject. I have some trouble with container gardening just because of the need to water, water, water.

But, with all the weight of water - you may want to go with a very light growing medium. Soil-less, sand-less -- peat, vermiculite, perlite - those sorts of things.

And, you may actually be able to save some money on your air conditioning costs with all that "cool" on your roof .

Steve

 

[PunkinPeep]

We dream of a roof garden someday - but are clearly NOT ready to go there quite yet.

I will cheer you on and watch your progress. I bet it will be crazy awesome!

 

[injunjoe]

Steve thank you that information will be very helpful.

You seem to search in a different way, being you come up with a different view of a subject then I. This is good, giving a 180 degree view on things. Good to see all angles before investing time and effort!

As to the construction of the roof and it's ability to take foot traffic, I put the roof on the house.
It is a rubberized torchdown roof, Flintlock I think is what I used.
I will torch down a walk path to allow for wear and tear of foot traffic.
After a bit of reading I learned the garden can also extent this type of roof's life span! The sun is what wears the product down, hence the granules, with moist medium over the top protects from sun and heat.
I was at first worried about the moisture, but the material is impervious and not affected by good ole H2o.

I was also thinking soil less mix or semi hydro system. All on a timer with a water sensor. Did I mention I am a bit of a hi tech redneck?

Joe