Raised Bed Roof Gardening

Aviad's Roof Garden Beds

Today’s post is an interview with Aviad Giat, creator of Altglobe (a community for  bloggers). Aviad has an inspiring raised bed roof garden  – a great way to grow food in the city when you have no garden access.

Aviad, I understand that you have a roof garden. Never having grown a garden on a roof, I’m curious. How have you set that up and what are you currently growing?

My roof garden is made out of 5 garden beds. Each raised bed is 40″x48″ (over 13 square feet). The total growing area is about 65 square feet. All the beds are “sitting” on commercial pallets, so there is no contact between the roof itself and the soil/beds. Even when I water the beds and the water is leaking out, the soil does not go through. What’s underneath the soil? Simple cardboard!

In my vegetable and fruit garden I currently am growing: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Melons, Watermelons, Red Pepper, Cilantro, Green Onion, Squash, Strawberries,  Chives, Arugula, Sun Flowers, Corn, Lettuce, Mustard, Parsley, Carrots and some beautiful herbs like Oregano, Peppermint, and mint.

That sounds impressive. What made you decide to get started with your roof garden? How long have you been doing this?

I love gardening and I live in a penthouse with access to a sunny roof, so I wanted to have the pleasure of gardening! Also, I am saving lots of money by eating my own fresh produce. This is the second year with my raised veggie garden. I have become more serious about it and am going higher with my  beds (deeper soil). Compared to last year, I have more produce and I am even sharing the food with neighbors.

Raised Bed with Greenhouse Frame

You are using raised bed kits called Kiwi Collars. What do you like about them? How can anyone who is interested learn more about these?

The Kiwi Collars are used to make simple gardening beds that can be stacked up on top of each other in a very sturdy way, as high as you need them. Also, I love using them because I can set them up on an American commercial  size pallet (which can be found literally everywhere).

It is very easy to work with these ready-made raised beds because the boards are made of kiln dried natural wood (Scandinavian Spruce from managed forests, not chemically treated). It is easy to drill holes (to install a greenhouse for example), or to paint over them (usually schools do that with the kids). You can also use 4-5 stacked as a compost bin or to store logs in. Now, since I will probably move from my current place at some point, I can literally put the soil in bags, fold the collars flat and reinstall them in the new home!

Aviad has written more about the Kiwi Collars at his own site. He likes them so much that he has begun selling them.

Have you had any challenges to tackle with your garden? Did you have to get permission? How did that work?

Luckily, my landlord is a very open minded and curious person. He actually helped me out with locating the weight in the right place on the roof. A major thing to consider with roof gardens is the wind. Initially I did not know that it can be an issue. Last year I had 1 vegetable bed with the plants exposed to the wind all the time and none of them did well.  So, I decided to build greenhouses to protect the plants, especially the seedlings. I started  last winter and since then I have always had something to harvest.

The greenhouses worked very well for the low temperatures here in the San Francisco Bay and for the wind. Now, when it is warmer I am hardly using the greenhouse covers, unless conditions are severe. It’s fun to be there for my plants in times of crisis. For example, last week was very stormy and I found myself out in the middle of the night covering all the raised beds.

Inside Roof Garden Greenhouse

What’s the tastiest thing you’ve grown in your raised beds?

Definitely, the Arugula. I have discovered many tastes that I was not familiar with. Maybe because it’s the first season when I am being successful growing something other than herbs, I am very excited about it. All the plants are just gorgeous! They all taste great when they are ripe.

What would you say to anyone who is thinking of getting started with raised bed gardening, but hasn’t acted on the thought yet?

Set a time to do that on your calendar and just do it!

The ability to control the soil and the ability to protect the plants from animals and some diseases, are important advantages to consider when deciding to go for raised beds.

You can choose the location of your raised bed; raised beds can be moved from one side of the garden to the other. Another reason to go for raised beds is less bending over when taking care of your plants. With raised beds one can either sit on a small stool or stand straight while weeding, watering, etc. Whether you would be sitting or standing depends on the height you make the veggie beds.

Which gardening resources have you found useful? Do you have a favorite gardening book?
My gardening resources are my friends on www.AltGlobe.com. Among them are Alison Kerr, CompostGuy and Paul Gardener.

What would you like to do next in gardening? What else do you want to learn?
Oh… that is a great question! I want to know everything about gardening .

I would next like to learn how to use the space I have available for its maximum capacity.
Aviad Giat is the creator of Altglobe (a community for bloggers who care about sustainability and take positive approaches). At Altgobe you can read inspiring articles about topics as wide-ranging as crafts, commercial recycling, natural parenting, meditation, cooking, and vermicomposting (with worms).

Related posts:

1. Best Raised Bed Gardening Books at Amazon.com
2. Five Lazy Ways to Compost – Part 5 – Mulched Raised Beds
3. Vegetable Gardening Help