Available through Kindle here!
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| The Real Scoop about Urban Farming! |
Sunday, July 15, 2012
City Farming in Jacksonville, a Permaculture Narrative
Read about Kevin and Judy's experiences with all things Urban farming. Ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, hens and thousands of plants all on a city lot!
Available through Kindle here!
Available through Kindle here!
Permaculture & DIY City Farming - Patio, Backyard, Roof & Walls
Over the past thirty years we've accumulated much hands-on experience with growing food, flowers, fiber and medicinal plants in the Urban Core.
Many approaches we tried turned out to be les than optimal. However we considered even the failures to be successes for we knowing what doesn't work is just as important as knowing what does work.
City farming can occur anywhere where sunlight is available.
Of course, rain or condensate helps. But we've successfully grown plants and seen plants grow in the most harshest of places, without soil and without additional irrigation.
Growing lightweight food gardens on roofs has taught that even without massive roofing supports and even in cyclone prone areas, beans, tomatoes, herbs and greens can be grown.
Living walls can shade windows, provide habitat for wildlife, produce food, gourds and sponges.
Patio space may be utilized to create highly efficient food gardens in self-watering containers.
Hens, geese, ducks, turkeys and rabbits all have a place on the Urban Farm.
Learn about rooftop gardening, how to build a low cost, highly effective chicken coop or seed starting greenhouse.
Understand biodiversity principles of plant selection.
Urban Farming - our best dreams and worse nightmares.
Know what you are geting into before the adventure of your life!
You can read the details in our approximately two hundred page City Farming book available on Amazon Kindle!
City Farming, Lovely Urban Insanity is available exclusively through Kindle by clicking the link here!
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| City Farmed Permaculture Eggplant |
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Of course, rain or condensate helps. But we've successfully grown plants and seen plants grow in the most harshest of places, without soil and without additional irrigation.
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Living walls can shade windows, provide habitat for wildlife, produce food, gourds and sponges.
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Hens, geese, ducks, turkeys and rabbits all have a place on the Urban Farm.
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Understand biodiversity principles of plant selection.
Urban Farming - our best dreams and worse nightmares.
Know what you are geting into before the adventure of your life!
You can read the details in our approximately two hundred page City Farming book available on Amazon Kindle!
City Farming, Lovely Urban Insanity is available exclusively through Kindle by clicking the link here!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Small Residential Green Roofs for Fun, Food, Stormwater , Permaculture and More!
It is always good to talk to other green roof and Urban Core green/permaculture enthusiasts. Yesterday I was fortunate to speak to Alan Myers-Davis, a Senior Project Manager at Living Roofs Inc. of North Carolina.
Alan brought up the topic of small, lightweight green roofs for residential applications, sheds and garages.
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| Photo by Living Roofs Inc. of North Carolina |
Alan brought up the topic of small, lightweight green roofs for residential applications, sheds and garages.
There is a huge opportunity for America to green her Urban Core, small rooftop section by garage by shed by small rooftop.
Alan reminded me that our focus doesn't always have to be on mega-sized projects to make an impact. Take Rob Overly's small one meter square green roof section that intercepts and cleans almost three hundred square meters of rooftop runoff (See a photo of Rob's green roof here).
Kudo's to Alan and Living Roofs Inc. of North Carolina! See his note below the photographs.
Kudo's to Alan and Living Roofs Inc. of North Carolina! See his note below the photographs.
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Homeowners are extremely interested in green roofing and are always interested to know if they can transform their own roof into a living, breathing system.
Unfortunately, buildings in the southeastern United States are not built for the same structural load capacity as northern buildings simply because we do not receive as much snow.
Sometimes, the cost to retrofit an existing structure for increased load capacity can outweigh green roof advantages and homeowners are sent back to the drawing boards.
Living Roofs, Inc., a green roof design and installation company based in Asheville, NC, has recently launched SHELTER to give homeowners another creative option for greening backyard space.
These architectural drawings contain all of the necessary information required to build a DIY green roof garden shed…or art studio…or children’s playhouse…or even a man cave!
The plan sets contain construction and green roof details, a complete materials list, and a very useful green roof resource list. These are professionally rendered documents, so load capacities have been taken into consideration, and they have been designed small enough to bypass building codes. Whether you wish to build the exact design or use the plans to modify and tweak your own design, they are a perfect introduction to back-yard green roofing and offer homeowners an outlet for some green creativity.
There are two designs: a more traditional gabled roof and a single-sloped, more contemporary roof. The single-sloped roof comes in a 4” inch version and a 6” version, which allows for a more diverse plant selection of flowering perennials and grasses.
Contact Alan Myers-Davis, Senior Project Manager at Living Roofs Inc., with any questions, and go to their Small Green Roof page on their website to view similar projects. Cheers and keep on greening!
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Friday, May 25, 2012
Florida Urban Farm and Permaculture Plants - Tomatoes on the Roof, Walls and Patio!
Tomatoes are growing on the roof!
Got patio? Think food garden!
Rooftops, living walls and permaculture gardens can support a variety of vegetable plants but tomatoes are one of the most rewarding food plants to grow in the Urban Core.
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| Permaculture wild cherry tomatoes for the roof, patio or garden |
Tomatoes in the kitchen can be easily turned into many delicious and nutritious dishes. Salsa, salads, soups, sides for sandwiches are just a few of many tomato based culinary creations.
Unfortunately, organic tomatoes are expensive to buy in the market!
Importantly, growing your own tomatoes can greatly reduce your exposure to pesticides. Tomatoes are typically heavily sprayed in greenhouses and production fields.
Yet growing your own supply on the roof, across your living wall system, in your permaculture garden is easy!
I love growing my 'monster-sized' tomato plants in containers.
All you really need is a small container for patio or windowsill, sunlight and water. Add coir and a few seeds and you'll soon be on the way to a summer and fall full of juicy, sweet-tasting tomatoes!
Over the years we've tried many varieties of tomatoes here on our Urban Farm. We've grown them on the roof, on the patio in containers, in rain gutters, across walls and anywhere else we could think of.
Wild cherry tomatoes always end up being the hardiest and most productive.
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| Urban Farm tomatoes we've found to be most productive are the wild cherry type |
We harvested over one hundred gallons of wild cherry tomatoes last year off our living food roofs.
Wild cherry tomatoes will stand tall even in the driest, hottest rooftop afternoons, under conditions most other hybrid tomato plants quickly droop and wilt.
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| Hybrid tomatoes may suffer from desiccation under rooftop heat |
Cherry tomatoes will grow in the poorest of soil medium, thriving in-fact where other food plants suffer.
Importantly, we always add natural calcium sources. Tomatoes must have calcium.
Without calcium in the soil many of the hybrid tomatoes will develop 'Blossom-End Rot'.
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| Blossom-End Rot results from a lack of calcium. Seashells can correct this issue. |
Ground up oyster shells, some limestone types and seashells all provide a significant source of calcium and other trace elements necessary for good growth.
Adding ground up seashells is one of my favorite approaches for supplying trace minerals to green roofs, living walls and Urban Core micro-gardens.
Next time you are walking through the market, admiring the bright red tomatoes, just think - you too could easily be growing more than you could ever use with just a few containers, a bag of washed coir, shells, organic fertilizer and wild cherry tomato seeds!
Got patio? Think food garden!
Here is the link to my favorite wild cherry tomato seeds... http://www.southernexposure.com/matt%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99s-wild-cherry-tomato-cherry-008-g-p-981.html
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Florida Permaculture Plant for Living Walls, Florida Green Roofs and Backyards, Seminole Pumpkin, Cucurbita Moschata
One of my favorite vines this year is the Seminole Pumpkin, Cucurbita moschata.
An adapted garden wonder to Florida, the Caribbean and Latin American, this variety of pumpkin or squash is acclimated to the harsh, humid climate of the region.
A fast grower who provides ample shade, Seminole Pumpkin makes a great end of summer living wall and green roof plant.
Thriving on neglect and drought, Cucurbita moschata, is ultra resilient to squash vine borers and other pests. Here she is used as a cover to our geese pen, providing a wall of privacy, security, shade and food.
When thinking of drought tolerant plants for tropical green roofs and living walls, they don't just have to be wildflowers.
Nature has provided us with some awesome food plants who will thrive well in the permaculture garden and on the hot roofs and walls.
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| Florida Green Roof and Living Wall plant, Seminole Pumpkin (Permaculture Food) |
An adapted garden wonder to Florida, the Caribbean and Latin American, this variety of pumpkin or squash is acclimated to the harsh, humid climate of the region.
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| Unripe Seminole Pumpkin, resistant to pests |
A fast grower who provides ample shade, Seminole Pumpkin makes a great end of summer living wall and green roof plant.
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| Florida Living Wall plant, Cucurbita moschata |
Thriving on neglect and drought, Cucurbita moschata, is ultra resilient to squash vine borers and other pests. Here she is used as a cover to our geese pen, providing a wall of privacy, security, shade and food.
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| Seminole Pumpkin creates a living wall and green roof for the Urban Farm fowl |
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| Seminole Pumpkin is a heavy food producing plant |
Nature has provided us with some awesome food plants who will thrive well in the permaculture garden and on the hot roofs and walls.
Florida Permaculture Plant for Living Walls, Florida Green Roofs and Backyards, Seminole Pumpkin, Cucurbita Moschata
One of my favorite vines this year is the Seminole Pumpkin, Cucurbita moschata.
An adapted garden wonder to Florida, the Caribbean and Latin American, this variety of pumpkin or squash is acclimated to the harsh, humid climate of the region.
A fast grower who provides ample shade, Seminole Pumpkin makes a great end of summer living wall and green roof plant.
Thriving on neglect and drought, Cucurbita moschata, is ultra resilient to squash vine borers and other pests. Here she is used as a cover to our geese pen, providing a wall of privacy, security, shade and food.
When thinking of drought tolerant plants for tropical green roofs and living walls, they don't just have to be wildflowers.
Nature has provided us with some awesome food plants who will thrive well in the permaculture garden and on the hot roofs and walls.
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| Florida Green Roof and Living Wall plant, Seminole Pumpkin (Permaculture Food) |
An adapted garden wonder to Florida, the Caribbean and Latin American, this variety of pumpkin or squash is acclimated to the harsh, humid climate of the region.
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| Unripe Seminole Pumpkin, resistant to pests |
A fast grower who provides ample shade, Seminole Pumpkin makes a great end of summer living wall and green roof plant.
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| Florida Living Wall plant, Cucurbita moschata |
Thriving on neglect and drought, Cucurbita moschata, is ultra resilient to squash vine borers and other pests. Here she is used as a cover to our geese pen, providing a wall of privacy, security, shade and food.
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| Seminole Pumpkin creates a living wall and green roof for the Urban Farm fowl |
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| Seminole Pumpkin is a heavy food producing plant |
Nature has provided us with some awesome food plants who will thrive well in the permaculture garden and on the hot roofs and walls.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Rooftop Permaculture for Urban Core Food
Rooftop permaculture holds the key to feeding the cities.
Here are a couple lightweight rooftop vegetable growing panels.
Easy to grasp and pick up, 52mm thick and they clip together allowing for many designs and layout configurations.
The wheat grass will be thick in a couple days.
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| MV Wheat Grass Green Roof Modules |
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| MV Wheat Grass Green Roof Modules |
The next photo is of the MV rooftop veggie growing area.
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| Rooftop permaculture - Veggies grow better on the green roof! |
Garden soils here in Florida are widely inflicted with nematodes.
Nematodes burrow their way into a plant root, causing the root to swell into nodules and damaging the plant's vascular system - resulting in stunted plant growth and limiting produce production.
However the rooftop garden tends to stay nematode free. Solarized by the sun's rays, rooftop garden soil tends to stay free of many of the common plant issues found in ground level soil.
Industrial Agriculture is one of the most intense forms of land use. Machinery chops the soil and vegetation covering the ground, pulling up and discarding all native plant DNA. The soil is graded and tilled, plowed and fertilized. All traces of the original soil structure disappears. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are soaked into the ground.
But it doesn't have to be this way.
We can reforest the farmlands, restore wetlands, recreate habitat and replant what we've destroyed.
We can use the millions of urban rooftop acres for green roof gardens. Rooftop permaculture. Feed the hungry. Feed the cities. Provide habitat. Reduce heat island effect.
Clean stormwater. Sequester Carbon and pump fresh oxygen into a stale atmosphere.
But we need to be smart about how we accomplish this.
Today on Twitter I read the pundits as they laughed about how Toronto was backing down from green roof legislation. The industrial lobby may have successfully convinced the city that green roofs are not cost-effective alternatives when compared to white TPO or single-ply reflective roofing materials.
So there will be two types of green roof initiatives in the future. One will grow stale and eventually disappear, relying on expensive, heavy planting systems and monocultures of non-native highly temperamental landscape plants.
The other will become dynamically organic in growth, seek out eco-friendly components and methods using ultra-light weight (less than 10 pounds per square foot) systems with nature-based or highly efficient recycled rainwater & micro-irrigation systems. Native plants for biodiversity contributions and ethnobotanicals such as food, fiber and medicine plants will flourish.
Expanded shale with it's huge carbon footprint will no longer be used for planting media. On site composting of organic material for the green roof will become the norm. Drainage technology advances will allow for this accommodation. Moreover, composting and reuse of organic matter conserves a rather large water footprint.
Mega-heavy, expensive green roofs will give way to the small commercial building and residential rooftop garden. Governmental efforts in the green roof arena will be overtaken by grassroots local initiatives and small rooftop gardens will appear throughout the neighborhoods, especially as food prices rise and the dangers of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers become known.
The potential is exciting.
We can feed the cities.
We can reforest our agriculture lands.
We can envision the urban core ripe with organically grown, open-pollinated rooftop gardens, supporting bees, insects, birds and wildlife.
Millions of acres of green roofs.
It begins with a rooftop wheat grass tray and small veggie garden.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Urban Rooftop Permaculture, Bringing Organic & Healthy Food to the Urban Core
"Gene manipulated corn fields feed people"
The above comment was a response this morning to one of my suggestions rooftop permaculture can help. It is really sad because some truly believe this.
Fortunately - people around the world are beginning to grow their own food, on patios, in windowsills and on rooftops in the Urban Core. I believe rooftop permaculture and vertical permaculture is well on its way to replacing the old and becoming the new frontier in volumetric and rooftop green.
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| Green Roof Rooftop Permaculture - Brassica |
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| Green Roof Vegetables - Broccoli |
Understanding permaculture principles and integrating those maxims into rooftop gardens can pay off with substantial results. Organic greens, which cost four or five dollars at the market can be grown in masse on a small roof plot from an inexpensive packet of seeds.
Unfortunately, large corporations view rooftop permaculture and the citizens taking the task of feeding themselves back into their own hands as a serious threat to profits.
But I reject the above statement that "Gene manipulated corn fields feed people" as the only successful approach.
Many people may want to eat GMO corn products. Yet I believe a large portion of the population may not want to.
So I see a grassroots movement arising to support rooftop permaculture, one where common people can make nutritional decisions for themselves rather than having the State or a Large Multi-national Corporation do so.
Check out just how big the Brassica grew. Look at the root architecture. We planted them close together to brace against wind issues and ate the greens daily. The plants adapted to the 4" soil (100mm) dispelling the myths of need for deep dirt to grow.
ECHO, see http://echonet.org is a great resource for rooftop permaculture practices, tips and design guidelines from a cost-effective approach.
Our $2.00 worth of seeds provided a daily bunch of organic greens and broccoli tops that would have cost US $ 5 in the store for six months. As I see it the numbers work out to be close to $1000 savings in food costs, not to mention the health benefits. That is just for organic broccoli alone. Add the collards, mustards, sugar snap peas, pok choy, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes and the benefit of fresh air and gardening companionship and one can easily see the economic advantage.
No thank you to GMOs and to the outdated, stale industry guru's that are old news.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Green Roof Root Architecture, Understanding Water Adsorption
Today brought the monthly watering of a 1/4" H2O for the Alliums. Within a matter of hours they were bright green.
We've been working with Resurrection fern also - and I love this plant. Resurrection fern, Polypodium polypodioides, was the first fern in space - going up on a 1997 Space Shuttle Mission to see if the roots would absorb water in a space capsule.
Both of these plants, the Allium and Resurrection fern have unique root characteristics.
We call plant root structure by the name - 'Root Architecture'.
Green roof design has unique root structure and root architecture requirements.
Unless you have a huge potable water or well water source and are going to pump all that water up on a roof to keep plants up there watered, then your green roof plants need to be somewhat drought tolerant.
Certain root architecture patterns support plant acclimation to drought conditions better than others.
Remember, Florida's rainfalls usually are short, afternoon events of 1/2" or less and because rain generally occurs between the hotter months of the year - June - September, there is a tendency for it to evaporate quickly.
Except for hurricanes and tropical storms, rain events in Florida are usually over relatively quickly.
Meaning green roof plants have to scramble to grab the rain water.
Also recall, most green roof plants do not like wet roots (wet feet) so the soil must be well drained.
Proper green roof plant root architecture is crucial for providing a Florida extensive green roof plant with the advantages needed to survive a Florida vegetated roof.
Examine the diagram below showing the root architecture of a green roof plant raised in a one gallon standard nursery container and then a green roof plant raised on a green root mat.
The plant raised on the mat possesses 8 times the amount of Root-Rain surface contact area as the same size plant grown in a nursery container.
So when the afternoon 1/2" rainfall (13mm) event occurs and every drop is important - the green roof plant with the appropriate root architecture will sequester the most water.
More stormwater is captured, runoff is reduced, plants acquire necessary water volumes, plants have less of a tendency to uproot in high winds, and more.
Green Roof Plant Root Architecture is important to the success of a green roof.
We've been working with Resurrection fern also - and I love this plant. Resurrection fern, Polypodium polypodioides, was the first fern in space - going up on a 1997 Space Shuttle Mission to see if the roots would absorb water in a space capsule.
Both of these plants, the Allium and Resurrection fern have unique root characteristics.
We call plant root structure by the name - 'Root Architecture'.
Green roof design has unique root structure and root architecture requirements.
Unless you have a huge potable water or well water source and are going to pump all that water up on a roof to keep plants up there watered, then your green roof plants need to be somewhat drought tolerant.
Certain root architecture patterns support plant acclimation to drought conditions better than others.
Remember, Florida's rainfalls usually are short, afternoon events of 1/2" or less and because rain generally occurs between the hotter months of the year - June - September, there is a tendency for it to evaporate quickly.
Except for hurricanes and tropical storms, rain events in Florida are usually over relatively quickly.
Meaning green roof plants have to scramble to grab the rain water.
Also recall, most green roof plants do not like wet roots (wet feet) so the soil must be well drained.
Proper green roof plant root architecture is crucial for providing a Florida extensive green roof plant with the advantages needed to survive a Florida vegetated roof.
Examine the diagram below showing the root architecture of a green roof plant raised in a one gallon standard nursery container and then a green roof plant raised on a green root mat.
The plant raised on the mat possesses 8 times the amount of Root-Rain surface contact area as the same size plant grown in a nursery container.
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| Green Roof Plant Root Architecture - Florida Extensive Green Roofs - MetroVerde |
So when the afternoon 1/2" rainfall (13mm) event occurs and every drop is important - the green roof plant with the appropriate root architecture will sequester the most water.
More stormwater is captured, runoff is reduced, plants acquire necessary water volumes, plants have less of a tendency to uproot in high winds, and more.
Green Roof Plant Root Architecture is important to the success of a green roof.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Biomimicry for Green Roofs, Catching Dew with Plants
Nature offers the finest examples for us to look to when resolving green roof, or any other for that matter, issues.
Yucca, with hairs across the surface edges of her leaves is a highly efficient fog and dew catching plant.
Likewise, with waxy, tough leaves and CAM (Crassulacean Acid Mechanism) photosynthesis, she can serve as the perfect green roof edge wind-break perimeter plant.
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| Hairs on Yucca's leaf edges allow for fog and dew collection on the Green Roof |
Especially relevant during periods of extended drought, dew and fog can add much needed moisture to a green roof. Because yucca is effectively adapted to low annual rainfall areas we can learn much from studying her botanical physiology.
Yucca biomimicry tells us high dew catcher surface area to air mass contact is most efficient for air water vapor to occur.
Many yuccas and agaves thrive in hot, dry, windy areas and make excellent choices for green roof plants.
Yucca filamentosa, Adam's needle is a favorite green roof plant of mine, reliably hardy in the freezing cold temperatures, evergreen, very drought tolerant, a dew catcher and the perfect CAM perimeter plant.
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| Florida's native yucca, Yucca filamentosa ready for Green Roof install |
Planted in mass, Yucca filamentosa acts as a green roof parapet, allowing interior plants a more welcoming ecosystem for growing.
Yucca filamentosa also has long hairs growing from the leaf edges, allowing for water vaopr in the air to collect as the humid breezes flow across the plant.
Turbulence is another factor necessary to help drop the condensed air water vapor from the catcher to the green roof soil below.
Success of a nature irrigated green roof depends heavily on sourcing a steady supply of water through rainfall, fog, dew and even frost. Understanding biomimicry based green roof planting layout allows for important air water vapor collection.
Additionally, understanding the principles behind Agave's and Yucca's' water capture successes lie also in an understanding of air humidity. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air.
Humidity is an important source of irrigation for nature irrigated green roofs and is often present when rain is lacking. Humidity is often described in terms of ‘relative humidity’ and ‘dew point’.
Relative humidity is the phrase commonly used by weather reporters to communicate the percentage as the amount of actual water vapor in the air divided by the amount of water vapor the air could hold.
A relative humidity of 75% means air contains 75% of the amount of water vapor possibly held.
Dew point refers to lowest air temperature where water vapor remains in vapor form. Once the ambient air temperature reaches the dew point temperature the water vapor condenses into dew or liquid.
Dew and fog reference and collection resources available on the web include;
Fogquest.org is a great informational resource on capturing dew and fog
A Great & Fascinating design paper about dew catchers
Youtube video on dew catcher constructionAir humidity can be a significant component in the irrigation of any green roof system. Consider those months with lower than average precipitation and check to see if dew occurs frequently. Validate the average relatively humidity percentages.
Think of the times you have walked across a lawn in the morning to find your shoes soaking wet.
Research dew and fog collection websites. Look to the green roof plants you work with to see what species appear to accumulate dew.
Mimic nature. Mimic the Yuccas and Agavaceae.
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