Monday, May 17, 2010

A Global Garden moves to a Roof...

So I was off today...
 Decided I had better get the actual garden started on the roof. A 6'3" tall person should not have to venture up dark black stairs with pipes hanging everywhere to get to his garden....I have the goose eggs as proof. But hey...I am just glad work allowed me to build it. So today construction began.


I asked the maintenance and shipping dept to give me a hand...and we hauled all the buckets, plants and soil up to the roof....Sweet!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the help guys....was very appreciated.


 The sun was out....lil fluffy clouds floatin around...couldn't have asked for a better day!! So I moved everything into the area I had decided to grow in. Then went to work sorting out buckets. The way I want it built is to slide one bucket inside the other...the inner bucket is drilled out on the bottom for drainage...and drains into the bottom bucket...the bottom one has on hole drilled a couple inches from the bottom...so there will never be more than two inches of water in each bucket...the roots can grow down into the actual water for that extra lil feed.






 Then Chef arrived to see how the progress was goin and inform me I had to get a tarp down under it all to protect the brand new roof...no prob...maintenance had a tarp. Then I positioned a bunch of the buckets around the perimeter of it and began filling them with soil. The whole project has cost only forty dollars so far...that was for the initial soil I purchased today. I will have to source out around fifty more buckets and buy two more loads of soil...so the grand total will be around the $120.00 mark. So cheap considering the size it is actually going to be...


I also purchased some Cow Shit..hahaha...I will work a bit into each bucket over the next couple days. The plants are now on the roof...but I wont transplant them till they are a little more hardened. The initial shock of real sunlight this afternoon had them a lil freaked out....no more sales office for them!! During the next few days I will cut down some local foliage that has sprouted also...to start a bucket of poo water going to add nutrients to the seedings. Over the course of the summer I will also fertilize with fish compost.


So it's official....the "Global Garden has become a Reality!!"


Many thanks to all who have provided advice, materials and seeds. Our adventure has begun...I hope it ends with wicked pics of our kitchen team making plates filled with unusual things you just cant buy!!

4 comments:

  1. How exciting! The rooftop garden is becoming a reality. Awesome. Promise that you will keep us posted.

    btw, I will be happy to send you some extra Florida sunshine to help your garden grow. :-)

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  2. Ken, I bought a variety of bean seeds while in Jamaica that I can share with you later. Never did get second package off. Too much going on then. I look forward very much to seeing your garden grow (and be eaten). Where there is food there will be meals :)

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  3. Your Florida sunshine turned to snow Velva...haha!! Snowed yesterday...eeeekk.
    Cant wait to make dirty rice outta those beans Nancy...hope you find the Jamaican Scallions too!!

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  4. I am missing your posts! How is your rooftop garden going?

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