November 30, 2007, Newsletter Issue #92: Rooftop Garden Planning

Tip of the Week

Up on the roof...when this old world is getting you down, go and garden up on the roof. But your raised garden is wilting despite the natural wood or rubber landscape edging. Looks like your garden planning is getting you down.

What do you do? Raised garden bed design lends itself to hot spaces such as a roof, especially if you use cooling material such as stone garden edging and a built-in mini-sprinkler system. Also, you can actually lay down an area of sod and enclose it with stone garden landscape edging on just about any roof. A flat roof is easiest to work with.

Worried about water seeping through the attic? Irrigation actually improves roofing system insulation--just be sure to have the drainage system cleaned. To prevent other damage, check your organic gardening compost for material that might erode the roof. If your roof starts leaking, you'll be down in the dumps! Many rooftops have ventilation or heating ducts, especially apartment building roofs--place your garden away from extreme heating and cooling spots.

Actually, your whole garden can be a cooling spot--the EPA has encouraged roof gardening as a way to cool and pruify the air. Doing your part to stop global warming and pollution should give you a lift--all because you had an idea for rooftop raised bed garden design.

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