Soilless Living Wall - Hydroponic Living Wall

Check out the MetroVerde living wall being installed into an historic downtown Jacksonville, Florida building presently being renovated into an upscale Indie Thai restaurant.


Pictured here are the wall panels during the plant establishment stage.

Call Kevin for your vertical green requirements - interior or exterior.  Cleaning stormwater, providing habitat and creating a sense of place!

Florida Green Roofs - Rainy December

Florida's weather has been at it again.  Drought and more drought then rain and more rain.  Very hot days then cold nights.  Smothering humidity then dry as dry can be.  Tough on the plants.   MetroVerde's MVGR3 system keeps the green roof plants irrigated but not too wet.  Designed for light weight, the engineered soil medium is typically no more than 2 inches thick.  Works well in Florida's harsh climatic conditions.  See www.metroverde.com or email judy@metroverde.com .

Green Roofs can be vertical green vines also - Choosing the right plant and planting system lays the foundation for success.

Try a MetroVerde Shade Trellis! Based on the concept that a deciduous vine will block solar gain during the summer when the leaves are growing and allowing needed heat during the winter months when the leaves are off - MetroVerde's shade trellis combines plant requirements with awning frame design to produce a product that 1. cleans stormwater, 2. provides habitat and 3. creates a beautiful sense of place!

The New Florida Green Roof project moves forward!!! The Seeds are Sprouting!

It has taken about seven days for the allium seeds to sprout. However they are bursting forth in full force now, even though we are well into the autumn season. Allium is one of my favorite plant Genus'. Allium sp. is a hardy plant - you can find them growing almost anywhere!

Allium's are drought resistant, evergreen and provide significant habitat for all types of wildlife! Watch for more pictures as the plants mature! Be sure to also check out MetroVerde - Judy's website on Green Roofs and Urban Permaculture.

New Florida Green Roof Project - THE MAT !!!!

One of the basic principles of a successful green roof is the base mat. Mats are the preferred green roof base system for Florida Green Roofs - as we have discussed countless times before here. The reason is simple - the roots in plants secured in trays or modular components eventually reach the tray walls and begin to circle around, eventually strangling themselves to death - remember going to the nursery and buying pot or root bound plants - they did not live long....

Welcome to the mat episode...the mat was delivered today! We will unroll it, flatten it out and begin adding the expanded clay, other non-organics and the tackifier (agar based). Sound complicated? Naw.... Watch for the next episode - to be posted later tonight after we do the above tasks! Happy green roofing - - Kevin :)

South Facing Florida Green Roof Project

We will be documenting an approximately 1000 SF green roof project here on the blog - beginning with the initial mat plantings in October 2008.

The mat material is ordered, scheduled for delivery within the week.

The organic seed stock and cuttings are established and ready for installation in the mat system.

Over the course of the next several posting you will view the current roof (asphalt shingles), the liner and liner installation, the mat and mat fabrication and construction and the final product. Feel free to post questions and suggestions! Join us on this project!



Kevin, Jincy and Ruairi

How Much Should A Green Roof Cost? and more Green Roofs for Florida musings

One of the most common questions I hear about green roofs & vegetated roofs & garden roofs is: HOW MUCH DO THEY COST? Good Question. Easy Answer.

An extensive evergreen garden roof can be purchased and installed from a base price of approximately $6-8.00 per square foot for simple, one species installations to $12-$14 per SF for a moderately top of the line extensive garden roof with multi-texture, multi-color plan species.

Now, if you have more money than you know what to do with - then you can spend as much as you want per SF. I have seen some vegetated/garden roofs quoted in the $120.00 per SF range (YIKES!!!),

It is educational (and I highly recommend you do this if you are interested in green roofs) to go and talk to your local roofer that has experience with installing TPO roofs. A TPO roof is also a 'green' roof if it is white in color - because it will reflect heat! Usually those roofers who have experience in TPO know vegetated roofs also - but always ask them if their company (or parent company) sells green roofing systems. If they do, be sure to make sure you are receiving unbiased info). A good TPO experienced roofer is Rick Anderson with Delta Roofing in Jacksonville, Florida - call Rick at (904) 292-1592 - tell him you saw his name on Kevin's blog.

Green roofs are my passion, and I believe they are key to restoring green to the Urban Core! - Creating habitat, a sense of place, and resolution to stormwater issues.

Don't be scared off by a quote of $20-$40 per SF for a green/vegetated roof! Those complicated and expensive systems are not necessary!

Please - beware of green roofs that require irrigation. Please!!! - it is easy to grow an orchard on a roof with fertilizer and irrigation and cow manure and etc...

A doubter? Look around the next time you are driving through town at the volunteer plants that THRIVE in sidewalk cracks, overpass retaining walls, uncared for gutters, and more. I've never seen irrigation tubing here!

Now - if you are looking at a global system - greywater, reuse, rainwater catchment (Judy and I are members of ARCSA - check out www.arcsa.org), permaculture - then you may want to integrate recycle irrigation into your vegetated roof - but DO NOT BUY the story that you HAVE to have irrigation. I can show you plenty of applications that have successful and beautiful green roofs that grew up on only rainwater...

OK - want to DIY? email me at chockasacka@msn.com

But before you go and spend $ 20+ per SF shop and compare.

One final tip of the evening. We take and set up light level and temperature recorders on roofs we are evaluating for plant applications. Spend some time to assess what you are working with - this is the first step to good planning.

One last final tip. If you want a top of the line extensive vegetated roof - low maintenance but lush, tropical and beautiful - one that will treat stormwater, provide urban wildlife habitat like you will never believe and create a sense of place your DNA will connect to - email me.

Happy Green Roofing!

Kevin

Living Walls provide the same type vertiscaping - vertical green that vegetated and green roofs provide!!!