Comments on: Roof Garden Tour (June 2009)

By: Joy Argow

Joy Argow — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:16:18 +0000

Beautiful garden. I love the use of pots and bins to create a garden in a normally deemed ‘inappropriate’ space. Also LOVE your photography! What kind of camera do you use?

By: Gayla

Gayla — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:18:57 +0000

Liane: Yes, with some exceptions. The tomatoes I have grown in the big metal bin (it’s at least 22″ deep) did really well. Peppers (especially hot peppers) can take it more than tomatoes. Tomatoes will drop blossoms if the heat is too intense. The big garbage cans are big so that helps.

You should be careful that they don’t dry out too quickly.

By: Liane

Liane — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:13:47 +0000

Thanks Gayla!

Follow up question, do you find peppers and tomatoes actually like the heat that builds up in the metal?

By: Gayla

Gayla — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:04:54 +0000

Liane: I use both plastic and metal garbage pails. The metal do hold better than terracotta but they do attract a lot of heat. You can always line with plastic if you are concerned about the metal or you want to retain moisture a little bit more but the heat is important to remember because some plants do not like it when their roots get too hot.

By: Liane

Liane — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:58:49 +0000

Love your rooftop garden! Cath is right, the shade structure does look like a sail. Makes it feel like a vacation spot.

I have been growing vegetables in the ground for the last few years but have just started growing some vegetables in pots this year (ran out of garden space).

G- how do find the garbage cans are for moisture retention? I’m sure they are better than terracotta, are they similar to plastic?

Thanks for sharing! I’m not brave enough to put photos of my entire garden on my blog yet…too much weeding still to do…ah well, next year perhaps..

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:20:43 +0000

What an awesome garden! As for the “sail” and the rug, love em both. The color works really well with the garden, speaking as an artist. Wish I had your luck with veggies, but we’ve done really well with poppies this year. One question. What is the object in the corner of the deck in the photo with the rug? It has wavy lines going up. Are they stakes for growing a plant on or a sculpture?

By: Megan Miller

Megan Miller — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:03:04 +0000

This is so inspiring!

I just posted on my blog about my parking lot garden! (http://momentrance.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-parking-lot-garden.html)

I am just getting started and totally motivated with urban gardening. Thanks for the great post to show how my small parking lot garden could grow!

By: RedBird

RedBird — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:24:14 +0000

Looks awesome! Love the Ruffled Pink Oblate. I also have a thing for tomato plants with unusual shaped leaves. ;-) You should try out the heirloom Pruden’s Purple if you haven’t yet. They’re delicious, have huge blossoms, and the leaves look almost like basil.

By: Amber Freda

Amber Freda — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:09:32 +0000

I enjoyed reading your post! It gave me courage as a blogger on roof gardens to post more of the photos that I’ve been holding back because it is interesting for people to see the process and your own comments on things you would like to change or do differently.

I also liked the aluminum / blue pot combination and the shade sail is terrific! Thanks for posting and check out my website and blog, The Gotham Gardener, at http://www.amberfreda.com.

By: kdilley

kdilley — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:38:48 +0000

Thanks for this post! It’s so funny, I’ve been growing tomatoes for seemingly ever, and it’s never occurred to me – ever – to grow a dwarf tomato. But since I am a renter after all, they’d be so much better for pots. I guess I’ll have to look at my size-queen problem. Also I like what you’re saying about the straw being a stand-in to keep the birds from pinching off tender shoots for their nests. I couldn’t keep a bean tendril in the ground for more then a day before they’d snip it. Great advice.