Rabbit on a Stick, Green Roofs, Fresh Fertilizer & Florida Permaculture

My green roof friend in France once suggested a good way to eat rabbit is on a stick with mustard.  It sounds good, 

but I've never tried rabbit on a stick.

Florida Permaculture Garden's Jack Rabbit in his Green Roofed Pen

However in the Florida Permaculture Garden rabbits played an important permaculture role.  The bunnies provided us

with some of the most potent, ready to use fertilizers.

Ruby the Rabbit, Florida Permaculture Garden

In the Permaculture Garden, rabbits are one of the easiest livestock animals to keep.  They are quiet (except when a 

predator is around), their poo is ready to use without the required cooling off period normally associated with chicken 

manure, they are tasty and reproduce at lightening speeds.

Permaculture Green Roof for Rabbit Pen under construction

Our rabbit hutch has a vegetated roof.  Simple permaculture concepts.  Rabbits eat clipped forage off their green roof,

rabbits grow, rabbits poo, we use the rabbit poo to fertilize and grow more plants on the rabbit hutch green roof, 

rabbits produce more rabbits and green roof plants feed the babies.

Rabbit forage on the Pen's Green Roof

Perfect perpetual motion machine.  Almost.

Fortunately, the rabbit hutch green roof was not expensive.  In fact, the hutch was built with only recycled stormwater 

panels, used felt material, wood scraps, old tin sheets and some chicken wire left over from the hen coop.

Remember, for green roofs on the cheap - structure, soil media and proper plants!

The rabbits loved their 'green' coop and the living roof kept them cool during the hot summer months.

We had the very best permaculture fertilizer one could have, a gift from the rabbits in return for their 'green' digs.

Florida Permaculture Garden's Green Roof Rabbit Pen makes for happy & hoppy bunnies

Much the way many living wall designers use felt or a non-woven geosynthetic, I rolled and inserted the felt fabric 

into the stormwater panels for a base growing platform.  The panels were placed atop a standard piece of roofing tin 

over wooden rafters above the rabbit cages.

Simple piece of tin covers the pen rafters under the DIY green roof system

The purpose for using the 50mm stormwater panels was to give the living roof a structural dimension, one that would 

place the weight of the green roof over the stronger outside pen supporting walls rather than on the rafters.

A reused gutter drain served as a green roof crown cap

Once the felt was embedded, rabbit poo, leaves and compost was added to the panels.  Garlic, rye and  other forage 

plant seed was added.  Soon the roof was green with tempting bunny forage.  The felt acted to wick water across the 

roof,  provided oxygen, drainage and a structural grid for roots to attach to.

Green roofs don't have to be expensive.  Think - support, innovative soil platform and proper plants.

As for the rabbits, I'm a vegan so I'll stick with collecting poo pellets for fertilizer!