Rooftop gardening is a man-made green space / vegetative layer grown created in industrial, residential and commercial spaces using Garden grow-bags, Wooden planters, Terracotta pots and Plastic planters
Rooftop gardening operations include waterproofing inspections, drainage inspections, removal of litter, plant health inspections, replacement planting, irrigation, pruning, mowing and grass cutting, fertilizing, diseases and pest control and weeding.
First and foremost thing to grow organic vegetables in the Rooftop gardens is to avoid spraying chemicals and pesticides into it.
You can use garden grow bags of size 12′ x 12′ they are lighter and are not expensive. You can also use Wooden planters remain moist and cool. Terracotta pots are heavy and offer more beautiful patterns. Plastic planter are light in weight, colorful and low-cost. Clay planters are fragile but more natural
The structure and weight of a rooftop garden can cause problems for the overall building. Hence the soil composition for the terrace gardening should be 30% Cocopeat, 30% garden soil, 20% river sand and 20% cow dung manure. This will reduce the weight of the soil used for Rooftop gardening. Also the usage of Cocopeat will retain the moisture content in the soil for longer duration.
When you are directly placing the pots / containers in the rooftop, don’t forget to waterproof the surface of the rooftop / building terrace. It will protect from water seepage onto the building.
Irrigation should be done at least one in a day so that the plant are healthy. You can also use drip irrigation for the Rooftop gardens. However avoid watering the plants in rainy season as excessive watering can damage the roots of the plants
If there is excessive sun, you can go for sun shade so that some percentage of the sunlight can be reduced and drought can be avoided. Green roofs provide shade, remove heat from the air, and also reduce temperatures of roof surface and surrounding air
One of the disadvantage of rooftop garden is the after excessive rain soil gets saturated and nutrients will not be available for the plants. Hence fertilize the plants immediately after rainy season with proper NPK fertilizer so that the plants will produce good yield.
Gardening requires simple tools and arranges all these for your requirements. You may need sprayers, composters, shovels, rakes, and gloves to name a few.
Benefits of rooftop gardening is growing your own food and reusing all waste in your home in an organic way and protect our building from absorbing heat
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