Rooftop Gardening Experiment

Chris and I both grew up with gardens. It's always been part of our plan to have one eventually. Standing in our way, however, is that nasty critter I've been talking about. So I decided to thwart him for once and for all by gardening on the kitchen roof, accessible from Chris' study window!

Last weekend, I planted tomatoes, basil, green peppers, sweet peas, spring mix/spinach, and strawberries, all in containers of 75/25 ProMix/Organic potting soil with regular organic container fertilizer. I also mixed some compost into everything, but mostly the tomatoes. Did you know that your local town probably has free compost that you can go get? I came home from our 'city yard' with a 5 gal bucket of the good stuff for free.

Last week, my plants looked like this:

L-R: Strawberries, spring mix, peas, peppers

Peppers, tomatoes/basil

View from Chris' window

This is Penny spotting me from the window for safety reasons. Safety is her #1 priority.

Probably the coolest thing about this garden is our watering system. Chris found some trashy pieces of old hardwood flooring in our basement and used them to level the containers and provide drainage. It also helps spread out the weight to make sure we're not damaging the roof. We DID have our friendly local contractor give his okay to this project before we started, so do your research before diving out onto your roof!

The other thing that Chris did was to rig up a hose system so that I can water up there without multiple trips in and out of the window. The hose actually snakes through the gutters along the kitchen and up to the roof! Someone does have to turn the water on first, unfortunately, but it does eliminate the awkward trips in and out of the window. 

 This week, they're doing great! Everything is growing along nicely. Next week, I'll probably put cages around the tomatoes and peas as they get leggy.

Spring mix/spinach and baaaaby peas (can hardly see them but there are 6 sprouts!)

Note: I have been told, firmly, by more than one person, that my tomatoes are doomed. NO ONE in New England has the AUDACITY to place tomatoes outdoors in May. Well, you're looking at one audacious chick. If they die, they die, but they're out there and thriving now! I may live to rue these words but so far, so good.