Today I got an email from my cousin Dan, a brilliant civil engineer in Colorado. He is concerned that my plans for the garden might be too much concentrated weight for the roof. I had been thinking of making two medium sized beds out of wood, but as Dan pointed out, a bed that is 2 feet by 4 feet and 1 foot deep that is filled w/ moist soil could weigh up to 500 pounds. That might be a lot of weight for such a small area of the roof. Hmmm.
My roof seems to be somewhat designed for regular use - there's a real staircase leading up to it (not a sketchy ladder or fire escape) so I was thinking it might be built to support more than just a normal roof, but to be safe, I might need to downsize (or at least spread out) my garden.
Originally my friend Maria suggested using dresser drawers, and I might go back to an idea like this. Does anyone have a spare dresser drawer? This would be a nice compromise, since it would be a bit more "garden-like" than ceramic/plastic pots, but it would be smaller than the beds I originally imagined.
Does anyone else have any ideas for me? Especially people who have been on my roof?
In terms of what to plant, it might really depend on what depth of soil I'm working with. Carrots and beets would be awesome, but I might not have deep enough soil. But we shall see....maybe I can grow some carrots in a pot instead.
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I love your blog.
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