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Roof top gardening: A green head for your home

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From tiny bottle gardens, to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, plant lovers have gone to great extent to cultivate their favorite plants. If you are a gardening enthusiast but don’t have the space to grow plants, try the rooftop. A green roof refers to carpeting of plants on a roof, which improves the energy performance of buildings. If you’d like to start a green roof garden of your own, there are some things that you should take into consideration. Safety is the foremost. Install fencing that will protect those on the roof from falling off.

Weight is another factor; you will have to figure out the sustainable weight load of your roof. Soil is heavy, you’ll need to use a planting medium instead. Containers that will hold the plants, should be lightweight, and should allow sufficient drainage. For maximum energy benefits, they should sit flat against the roof. But to prevent the roots burrowing into the roof, use plastic sheets between the containers and roof.

Watering the plants is perhaps the most important task. Too much or too little water can kill the plants. A drip line with a timer system is the best option. This will allow you to be away for several days at a time without worrying about the plants.
And finally what you grow will depend entirely on you and the climate of the place. You could grow flowering plants or vegetables. So the next time you run out of your veggies, head for the rooftop.

Via: TheKitchn

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