I’m looking for input.
I’m out if good spots too grow and have been thinking about what i can do on the roof of my garage. It’s a detached single car garage. It’s about 8’ south of my 2 story house so part of it is mostly shaded but a lot of it will get 8+ hours of sun.
I’m thinking of building planters that sit at the edges with a frame/lattice that vines like pole beans or cucumbers could climb. I might also build a ladder beside it that i can climb to harvest.
I’d take any input but i have a few questions:
Should I put plastic pots in the planter or would a (untreated)wooden box full of dirt work? Would grow bags be better?
Any suggestions for watering? I’m on town water that’s chlorinated. I use rain barrels for watering plants but it’ll be a trick to get that 10’ up.
How often am i going to need to water? I don’t really grow in containers.
Straight compost vs potting mix?
What to grow? Beans, cucumbers, marigolds?
How big should the planter be? I’m thinking 8"-12" base and height, 30" long.
2x4 frame with 6" wire mesh for the vines to climb sound good?
Any suggestions to improve aesthetics?
Please forgive my art, the green is supposed to represent the planter.
I’ve not done anything like this, but I can tell you this, containers dry out fairly quickly during the hot summer months and if they are going to be shallow they will really dry out quickly. Mulching could help, but I still think that you are probably going to need to water nearly every day. I hope you have success with your new venture. Keep us updated.
I thought about wind but don’t think it will be a big deal. I’m in town and pretty well protected. It’ll surely get more than ground level which will contribute to drying out. I agree that drip irrigation is a good idea… I’d need to do that on town water or set up more rain barrels and a pump of some kind… might not be worh the trouble.
Hi @poncirusguy,
Looks like you have your pots sitting on top of barrels full of dirt. Are the barrels just there as a base or am I not seeing this right?
Also, how do you get water up there?
The barrels had Beets, Butternut squash, Tomatoes, and peppers that are all dead from frosts a 1/2month earlier. All those citrus trees are inside now.
