Nature's Living Wall, Fifty Species in Coquina Stone, Castillo de San Marco

Native plants play an important role in supporting worldwide biodiversity heritage, and offer an awesome opportunity to explore history.  Weaving history into present green roof technology is one of the most exciting aspects of touring historic places like St. Augustine, Florida.

I always love exploring the Castillo de San Marcos structure on the banks of St. Augustine inlet, just north of the Bridge of Lions.

Though not what you would expect, one of the many ways to learn about native plants on the fort park property is to 'look up'.  This week I spent several hours walking in the moat of the old Spanish Fort in St. Augustine.  Plants grow all over the rough coquina shell stone wall.

In my opinion the National Park Service has it backwards - they charge for going inside the fort but allow you to walk for free in the moat and around the grounds.  The moat is where you can see many, many native and other plants species growing in the coquina walls!

Castillo de San Marco, St. Augustine

As you can see in the above photo, most plants grow underneath the downspouts on the walls. Though the downspouts provide water primarily when it rains, they also collect dew and fog from surrounding areas and funnel the water to the plants.

Interestingly, learning about green roof and living walls plants from the fort offers insight into those plants that not only do well under the hot Florida sun and with no additional irrigation, but also the plants shed light on soil media composition.

Coquina shell and the limestome mortar have a quite high pH level.  High pH is usually one of the toughest issues to work with on green roofs and living walls.

If you are looking for native plant species that thrive and survive under harsh conditions such as; relentless sun exposure, salt spray, hot desiccating winds, heavy frosts, hurricanes without irrigation other than rainfall, then plan a trip to Castillo de San Marcos, or other similar stone structure.

It is amazing just how many different species can be found growing vertically, forming amazing living walls.  Park staff have identified over fifty different plant species growing in the coquina stone walls!  What an awesome living wall created by nature!

Samolus valerandi

Pteris vittata & 2 Cuban anoles

Wildlife seeks out plants, especially those providing resource benefit such as food or nectar or shelter.  Native plants are best suited at providing the most optimum level of ecological benefit to those wildlife endemic to an area.

In otherwords, planting native plants on green roofs and living walls encourages and supports native populations of insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife.

Many popular landscape plants used on green roofs may not offer the same level of resource benefit.

Learning about your local native plants broadens design capabilities for both green roofs and living walls.

Limestone & Coquina Walls are Harsh Ecosystems

Fighting Hypertension and Supporting Cardiovascular Health Through Haiku

I have been working with various types of stress relief therapies to lower my blood pressure and reduce hypertension, including diet, cardio, medications and also short poetry.  If you notice, this site has a new tab entitled "One Breath Poetry".  Enjoy the nature centered haiku and other short poems, all of which are a reflection of my search for peace and health.

Worth

quiet confidence
realizing self worth comes
from within one's heart 

 ...

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Flagler County, FL, September 2013

Renal and Aorta Dissection in Marfan Syndrome. Color Doppler Views.

For those of you interested in color doppler photos of a dissected renal artery and aorta, these are my latest, taken a couple weeks ago.

Color doppler showing blood flow through my aorta #Marfan Syndrome #Dissected Aorta

Color on a doppler echogram represents the direction of blood flow.  As indicated by the legend bar on the upper right, red and the shades of red represent the velocity of blood moving towards the ultrasound transducer.  Oppositely, shades of blue ranging from light to dark reflect the speed of blood flowing away from the doppler unit.

In the photo above the blue represents blood flowing through the true aortic lumen ( the open, original aortic channel) while the redish orange colored section represents blood flowing back towards the ultrasound, or blood caught in the false lumen or channel and flowing back towards the doppler after being caught in the dead-end channel.

The false lumen is like a dead end street.  There is no outlet to the false lumen channel.  Blood flows into the false lumen through the tear in the inner most aortic wall layer called the intimal layer.

My aortic dissection, the torn intimal flap is easily seen crossing the inside diameter of the thoracic aorta

  The photo immediately above shows the ultrasound without doppler effects.  My aorta's false lumen is visible running directly through the middle of the channel.   This 'flap' you see is the section of my aorta torn away from the rest of the vessel.  

Blood flows through an open channel on one side.  The other side of the intimal flap though goes no where.  It is a dead end opening where blood flows in, then back out.

As long as the true lumen is open enough to provide adequate blood flow and the aorta wall does not aneuryze from loss of strength then the flow of blood to the body may still occur.

Another side view of the intimal flap inside my aorta.

Medications and diet can help control blood pressure and pulse rate.  The lower these variables are the more likely the blood flow can be managed.  My blood pressure averages 109/59 and I have a pulse rate of around 45 beats per minute.

The issue with my massive dissection is the fear of aneurysm or total blockage of blood flow.

Because renal artery dissection is one of the health problems I am dealing with, my hypochondria goes into high gear whenever I see blood in my urine.  Is my dissected renal artery aneurysing or bursting?

Doppler view of the flow through my left renal artery

 In fact, last month while visiting my parents in Tallahassee I started having lots of blood in my urine.  My wife, Judy took me to Tallahassee Memorial Emergency Room.  I honestly thought I was having an aneurysing renal artery because of the pain's location and the amount of blood.  Fortunately the blood was caused by a kidney stone. 

But living with constant fear, knowing one's aorta wall is compromised is a constant physical and mental challenge, one experienced by most of those struggling with Marfan Syndrome and other connective tissue disorder issues.

Doppler view of my right renal artery

Cardiac Arrhythmia and Marfan Syndrome, Socks and Gloves

Cold temperatures and I have never been fond of each other.  My heart too detests what the cold does to my circulatory system.

Touching cold objects causes my heart to beat wildly

With the Marfan Syndrome issues affecting my body, including extra height and long limbs, the heart inside has to work extra hard every moment just pump blood those extra long distances.  But when cold affects my fingers and toes my heart sometimes goes crazy trying to figure out how to handle pumping blood through now constricted blood vessels way out there in the fingers and toes.

To put it simply, when my fingers and toes become cold my heart sometimes starts racing or jumping around with crazy atrial fibrillation, also know as cardiac arrhythmia.

My simple solution for avoiding this type of heart fluttering lies in warm socks, a pair of soft comfy gloves and warm weather.

Its that easy for me to avoid certain types of cardiac arrhythmias.  Keep those toes and fingers warm.  Don't let them get cold.

Our body has certain reactions to cold.  One of the first things our body does when our peripheral temperature (temperature of toes, limbs, fingers, arms and ears) drops is to vaso-constrict blood vessels.  There is a good, brief explanation about cold and our body's cardiovascular system on the Livestrong.com website.

An even more comprehensive and excellent brief, visually oriented website explaining the fundamentals of cardiovascular output and variables that can affect both blood pressure and heart rate is published by James Doohan and is a site I highly recommend.

As my curiosity concerning peripheral body temperature and arrhythmia grew, I wondered about my own body.

Judy says my fingers and toes are unusually cold and I agree.  I hate the cold weather or touching anything cold or jumping water.

So I measured my body temperature orally with our medicine thermometer.  The temperature in my mouth was 97.7 F, or 36.5 C.  My fingers and toes were so cool that the digital medicine thermometer could not determine the temperature.

Not to be thwarted I found the industrial infra-red digital thermometer I had in the garage, installed a new 9 volt battery and pointed the laser at my toes.  The readout told me why my feet felt like ice.  Toe temperature was a cool 74.4 F or 23.6 C.  My fingers were not much warmer at 76 F.  The house temperature was a pleasant 79 F while the outside temperature hovered in the mid 80's F.

For comparison I measured my wife's and children's peripheral body temperatures, though the teens thought I was crazy.

Judy's finger and toe temperatures were in the low 90's F.  The two marf teens, with their long limbs were more like me, with lower peripheral body temperatures.

These temperatures are no surprise to me because I know my heart has to pump blood extra long distances, all the while dealing with installed metal parts and foreign aortic components.  The old clicker is also stressed from multiple open heart surgeries, functioning well below normal output.

So when the fingers and toes get cold and the skin vessels constrict as they do naturally to conserve body heat, the heart has a harder job pumping blood.  At this point all the node chemicals and signals start to fire, diastolic pressure jumps and my heart attempts to increase output.

It is kind of like flooring the accelerator pedal in a car with an engine about to throw a rod.  Motor starts shaking, clanging, huffing and puffing and, well you get the picture.

Of course there are many causes of arrhythmia.

But because they are so frightening to me with my beat up heart and aorta, controlling one cause is important.  When  my heart  goes into erratic beat patterns I become concerned the dissected descending aorta will further aneuryze, dilate or even burst.

Fortunately warm comfortable socks, like those made for diabetic patients can moderate lower body peripheral temperatures and reduce the likelihood of signalling for increased cardiovascular output.  Gloves too address the same issue on the hands.

Avoiding cold weather is my big strategy.

But wherever you live, keeping peripheral body temperature fluctuations to a minimum might help you solve some of your afib or arrhythmia problems.  It is worth a try!

Green Roofs, Many Times the Last Defense for Water Quality!

Green and living roofs are so very important to our water quality, sometimes being the last line of defense for removing pollutants before runoff enters our ecologically sensitive and important waterways.

Green roofs slow down stormwater, cleaning and sequestering pollutants 

Even small green roofs can provide a significant benefit to reducing peak runoff amounts and reducing loadings on creeks, rivers and ponds by removing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous.

Blue Hole, Ichetucknee Springs

Once stormwater hits a roof and flows to the street below it may only be a matter of minutes before the water and any contaminants picked up as the volume flows across streets, drives and roads enters Florida's drinking water supply. Green roofs also moderate and attenuate the volume of stormwater leaving a building footprint.

Floating wetlands, Gainesville, Florida - greenroof on a pond

Storm drain allows pollutants to enter waterways

Florida has a unique geology across many parts of the state called Karst.  Karst formations are typified by limerock with caves, tunnels and holes throughout the  formation.  Once stormwater runoff enters the limerock above drinking aquifers the flow to the pools of underground water can be very quick.

Many times storm drains are a direct connect to water supply aquifers

Green roofs, living walls, floating wetlands and other best management practices can help keep water clean by slowing the runoff and removing contaminants from the water.

Wekiwa Springs, Florida - higher in nitrogen and algae

Wekiwa Springs, located just north of Orlando, Florida and shown above is surrounded by houses, streets, roads and commercial development.  Though many good best management practices are in place to contain nutrients and runoff, the springs still suffer from high nutrient contents such as nitrogen and phosphorous.

Salt Springs, Ocala National Forest, not as impacted by development

Salt Springs in the Ocala National Forest on the other hand, though threatened by development, does not have all the septic tanks, stormwater runoff and as you can see, the water is much clearer, contains less nitrogen and other nutrients and is so much more healthy.

Installing a green roof on your commercial or residential building is just one small contribution you can make in the Urban Core to help protect clean water supplies and ensure a healthy Florida for future generations.

Morninga can be Deadly too. Plant Interactions with Medicines.

Seems lessons are always learned the hard way for me.  It is my own fault though.

Moringa oleifera, a very powerful herb that can cause bleeding

I had always read about the many benefits of the plant moringa, especially as a food and source of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.

In fact, moringa provides solutions to far more issue than just health.  The tree can remove pollution from water, grows easily where water is scarce and provides livestock with protein.

As a plant biologist, I've always munched on berries, leaves, nuts and fruit from plants in the garden and plants in the wild.  And I've never had a problem, until the other day after a week of eating a handful of moringa leaves each day.

Immediately after eating the moringa leaves I began feeling full of energy.  There is quite a bit of literature available pointing to how the phytochemicals in moringa can actually improve peripheral circulation.

But within a couple of days I began to urinate blood, lots of blood.

At first I thought I was passing another kidney stone.  It'd only been a couple weeks since I passed three very large stones and they did some serious damage on the way down, creating lots of blood flow with their razor sharp edges.

But the kidney stone damage cleared up within a couple of days.

After a week of urinating blood I began to think the problem at hand was not a kidney stone issue.

Then someone sent me a link to a website where the information suggested moringa could cause internal bleeding.  So I began to research moringa's effects on bleeding and clotting.  There are several quite complicated scientific papers on how moringa's chemical components can interfere with blood clotting.  After reading and rereading the medical terms I realized that the plant is actually a very powerful anti-coagulant and even an abortifacient.

So the morning habit of eating moringa leaves stopped.  And within a day there was no more blood in my urine.

The more I read and researched, the more I realized this plant is not a plant to be taken lightly when ingested for any reason.

Moringa was causing me to hemorrhage.  I was actually bleeding out internally.

Now before I would had scoffed if I had read this.  I would have said something to the effect of 'it was a fluke interaction with other medications', or 'actually something else and not moringa'.

But once you experience first hand the power, good or bad, of this plant, you stand in awe of it.

We have several moringa trees planted around the yard.  Now everytime I walk by one I shiver just a little.  The plant can be a blessing.  The plant can also be a monster.

Lesson learned the hard way.  Herbs, leaves and berries can be good.  They can also be deadly. 

Florida Green Roofs and Allelopathy

Allelopathy is the little referenced yet extremely important green roof secondary design principle of the bio-chemical influences certain plants and trees have on other plants and in this instance - on green roof plants.  A recent Green Roof we completed had a planting area surrounded on three sides by tall trees. Some of these trees are deciduous and loose their leaves during the winter, others like the laurel oaks keep leaf cover most of the year.


An alleopathic tree usually exerts negative influence on adjacent vegetation via a number of different processes including;

• Fog & dew drip
• Leaf litter
• Volatilization 
• Sap drip
• Pollen
• Other biological processes

Trees impacting the recent green roof include;

• Triadica sebifera, Chinese tallow - western border of green roof
• Quercus laurifolia, Laurel Oak - northwestern corner and eastern side of green roof
• Platanus occidentalis, American sycamore - southeastern and southwestern corners of green roof

According to the University of Georgia, School of Forestry Resources , there are a number of significant allelopathic trees requiring attention when planting other plants nearby.  They include;

Strong Potential for Allelopathic Impacts 
Acacia spp
Acer saccharum
Ailanthus altissima
Celtis laevigata
Celtis occidentalis
Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Eucalyptus globulus
Eucalyptus spp 
Juglans cinerea
Juglans nigra
Leucaena spp
Myrica cerifera
Picea engelmannii
Platanus occidentalis 
Populus deltoides
Prosopis juliflora
Prunus cornuta
Prunus serotina leaf 
Quercus falcata leaf 
Quercus marilandica
Quercus rubra
Quercus stellata
Robinia pseudoacacia
Sassafras albidum
Ulmus americana


Moderate Potential for Allelopathic Impacts
Abies amabilis
Abies balsamea
Abies grandis
Acer circinatum
Acer negundo
Acer platanoides
Acer pseudoplatanus
Acer saccharinum
Aesculus glabra
Aesculus hippocastanum
Aesculus octandra
Arbutus menziesii
Carya illinoensis
Carya ovate
Corylus spp
Crataegus spp
Fraxinus excelsior
Ginkgo biloba
Gleditsia triacanthos
Juniperus monosperma
Juniperus scopulorum
Kalmia spp
Picea spp
Pinus banksiana
Pinus contorta
Pinus densiflora
Pinus edulis
Pinus elliotii
Pinus monophylla
Pinus ponderosa
Pinus sylvestris
Prunus pumila
Quercus alba
Quercus borealis
Quercus douglasii
Quercus gambelii
Quercus michauxii
Quercus shumardii
Rhododendron maximum
Rhus copallina 
Sorbus sitchensis
Tsuga canadensi



Slight Potential for Allelopathic Impacts
Abies concolor
Aesculus spp
Betula pendula
Carpinus spp
Casuarina spp
Cupressus macrocarpa
Fagus spp
Fraxinus spp
Larix decidua
Picea excelso
Pinus palustris
Pinus spp
Populus spp
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Quercus petraea
Quercus robur
Quercus rubra
Salix pellita
Sambucus racemosa
Sequoia sempervirens
Taxus brevifolia
Thuja plicata
Tilia americana
Tilia cordata
Tilia planifolia
Ulmus laevis
Ulmus parvifolia
Umbellularia californica

As mentioned, a recently completed Green Roof will be adjacent Chinese tallow trees, Laurel Oaks and American Sycamores.

Quercus laurifolia, Laurel oak - although literature suggests laurel oak does not possess allelopathic qualities, care should be given to potential impacts of pollen and flower litter.  The laurel oak adjacent the northwest corner of the green roof has stained the white TPO and covered the roofing material with a layer of leaf and pollen litter.  Though laurel oak may not exhibit direct allelopathic influence on the green roof plants, potential for covering the plants with litter exists.  Continued site inspection will be required to confirm any impacts on the green roof plantings.

Triadica sebifera, Chinese tallow - one medium height tree exists adjacent the western border of the BGC green roof.  Chinese tallow has been the subject of numerous allelopathic studies and research.  Interestingly, research exists to support the theory of Chinese tallow leaf litter and fog drip may actually support germination and shoot growth on adjacent plants.  In fact, Chinese tallow was shown to actually improve germination and growth rates in Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium


Importantly, the American Sycamores, Platanus occidentalis located in the southeastern and southwestern corners of the green roof have the potential to exert significant negative influence over the green roof plants.   As indicated in the above list, American sycamore produces strong allelopathic effects.  Data exists showing the active ingredients, scopoletin and chlorogenic acid found in the sycamore leaf may interfere with the ability of stomata on certain plant's leaves to malfunction,  interrupting the vital processes of photosynthesis and either stunting plant growth or killing the plant.  Close observation will be required on the effects of the American sycamore on the entire green roof planting area and in particular, the southeast and southwest corner plantings.  Pruning of sycamore limbs away from the green roof may be necessary.


Finally, good green roof design incorporates the effects of adjacent trees and other vegetation and allelopathic effect possibilities.  Recognizing and dealing with a potential allelopathic problem is much easier and more cost-effective up front.  Know the basics of adjacent tree and plant allelopathism and how your green roof design integrates into a site with pre-existing trees.


One of the related positive issues of anti-allelopathism and green roof adjacent trees is a benefit derived from leaf micro-nutrient content. 

Green Roof Plant Design - Understand Heliotropism and Paraheliotropism

Understanding photosynthesis processes in green roof plants is crucial to the green roof designer and we have discussed the difference between C3, C4 and CAM photosynthesis processes in prior notes, including;

• CAM Plants for Green Roofs, Effects of Heat and of Humidity
• Adaptation and Green Roof Plants

• Green Roof Vegetables - A List of Recommended C4 Plants

   

   

   

Under Intense Sunlight Leaves Fold to Prevent Desiccation

Yet nature is complicated and does not limit herself in resisting environmental stressor conditions to just the above three types of photosynthesis processes.  In fact, some plants have evolved other survival mechanisms to help prevent dessication and to conserve water, especially in arid and hot climates.

Some plants, and many of these are excellent species to use on Green Roofs, can move, open or close their leaves to prevent dessication.  This is commonly referred to heliotropism and paraheliotropism.

Cowpeas and other plants for example possess the ability to adjust their leaves position to either increase or decrease the amount of leaf surface area receiving direct sunlight.

Under optimal Sunlight C3 Leaves Open Widely

Under Optimal Sunlight Conditions C3 Leaves Open Widely

Heliotropism is the term used to describe a plant's actions when it orients leaves to receive more sunlight and thereby increasing photosynthesis capabilities, i.e. - more CO2 fixation.

Diaheliotropism describes a plant whose leaves actually track the sun'd path, maximizing solar contact.

Paraheliotropsim denotes a plants actions similar to the above photographs.  During paraheliopropsim, plants may fold or move their leaves to either;

• Minimize solar contact, or
• Minimize total leaf surface area,

either way reducing water loss and preventing desiccation.

Though C3 plants such as the beans - and most other of the world's food plants except the grasses, maize, and sorghum - do not possess as complicated a multi-cellular Calvin Cycle as C4 plants and are more susceptible to drought, they - through Heliotropism biomechanisms they do possess their own unique desiccation prevention mechanisms.

Green Roof designers take note!

Florida Green Roof Plant Root Architecture - Think Lateral!

Florida Green Roof plant root architecture and the converse relationship to irrigation is an important design function for the Green Roof professional to understand.

We've been working with Resurrection fern as a Green Roof plant for Florida and the tropics - and I love this plant.  Resurrection fern,  Polypodium polypodioides, was the first fern we know of 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.

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.

So think lateral.  Think horizontal.  Experiment with green roof planting designs that encourage outwards rather than downward root growth.

Green Roof Plant Root Architecture is important to the success of a green roof.

Green Roof Plant Selection for Tropical and Florida Green Roofs

Best Florida Green Roof Plant?

We are always working to find suitable plants for Green Roofs in Florida.  For years Northeast Florida has been experiencing a severe drought.  Finding the toughest and most visually appealing is only part of the process.  Habitat value, invasiveness, wind and drought tolerance are other issues we consider.

Green roofs in Florida are harsh places – remember the 7 (or more) H’s:

• High Humidity
• Hot, hot heat
• High desiccating winds (killer)
• Hurricanes (not the football team)
• Hard Freezes
• Horrible temperature swings
• Hurtful droughts
• Harmful floods

And we all are cautious about irrigating a green roof (I speak as a lawyer – not a botanist here) – our litigious society has already bred a number of legal articles on green building and tort.  Imagine – the issues of:

• Mold
• Water damage to interiors
• Collapse from weight (water is heavy)
• Bacterial breeding
• and who knows what else…

So if we choose to acknowledge Florida’s water shortage problem and build a green roof with micro-irrigation or no irrigation at all, then we need to look to plants that:

• Can survive the many H’s
• Are visually acceptable by the community
• May be cost-effective
• Are preferably native species (or non-invasive species)
• Do not present a fire hazard or contribute too much dry leaf litter
• Are low maintenance
• Can survive long periods of drought
• Can survive twenty inch downpours
• Resist fungal infestations
• and much more

Five of the most outstanding plants that almost begin to come close to the above requirements are:

• Frog Fruit, Lippia nodiflora
• Wild Garlic, Allium canadense
• Adam’s Needle, Yucca filamentosa
• Lemongrass, Cymbopogon spp.
• Purple Muhly Grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris

What works for you?

Green Roof Plant Dwarfed 2 Year Old Allium Canadense

Fasting, Cardiovascular Issues and Marfan Syndrome

Quite excited about the four day get back to nature fast I am on. 

Kevin Songer's Marfan Life Challenges

Follow my diet journal here on the blog under the diet tab.  Trying to stick to juiced or raw vegetables and fruits.  After Day One so far so good.

Even with all the meds I felt no additional dizziness, blood pressure or blood sugar issues.  In fact yesterday afternoon I had so much more energy that I spent additional time doing my physical therapy in the pool. 

My blood pressure had dropped about ten points both systolic and diastolic  - and this is OK for me because of my dissected descending aorta.

I will do an in-depth post towards the end of the week, but so far so good!

Florida Green Roofs, Living Wall Permaculture Plant, Seminole Pumpkin, Cucurbita Moschata

Seminole Pumpkin should always be considered for tropical green roofs and living walls due to its amazing leaf color and massive summer biomass production.

Summer time here in Florida usually brings the rains.  Rains mean more water on the green roof.  Seminole pumpkin drinks water like a thirsty athlete.  She also casts a fair amount of sprawling shade to help cool the roof from solar rays, in addition to the evaporative effect of photosynthesis and plant respiration. 

So it is easy for me to say, one of my favorite vines this year is the Seminole Pumpkin, Cucurbita moschata. 

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. 

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.

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.

Seminole Pumpkin creates a living wall and green roof for the Urban Farm fowl

When thinking of drought tolerant plants for tropical green roofs and living walls, they don't just have to be wildflowers.

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.

Living Architecture, Urban Hen Coop - Low Cost, Simple Design

Urban Farm Coop Frame

Out of the Archives - Here is our Urban Hen Coop Design that easily hed our 27 hens and doubled as a rabbit home, grape arbor and greenhouse.  Built out of scrap for almost nothing.

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One of the first tasks at hand we were faced with when starting an Urban Farm was the design and construction of a chicken coop.

With twelve newly hatched chicks growing rapidly each day we knew it would only be a matter of time before the puffy peeps would no longer comfortably fit in the large, blue tupperware storage bin.

I'd never built a coop before and honestly had no idea where to start.  The images we found on the internet were complicated looking, possibly requiring days of intricate cutting, nailing and screwing.

I'd just rather bang-bang get it done quickly.

But the coop had to look good and had to be functional.  Most of all the chicken pen had to be cheap.

Here is how we made our really cool, pimped out fowl parlor.

First we figured four square feet per bird, pretty much the standard for chickens as stated across the omniscient web.  Ten birds would be forty square feet - not a overly large area - but sufficient enough to let the chickens roam around in, chase bugs and roost at night.

Then we decided on the spur of the moment to quadruple the size to one hundred sixty square feet with no good reason except we wanted our hens to be happy hens.  Whether or not larger coops make happier hens remains to be seen.  But I am glad we have a large coop and the hens seem to enjoy chasing each other around the coop aggressively determined to rob whatever morsel of food one or another hen may be carrying in her beak.

Coop frames are the foundation on which the final coop appearance and function develops.  I like arches but don't want to have to bend pipe or purchase pre-bent pipe.  The coop walls also need to be critter proof.  below is a photo of a basic coop frame upon which living walls will be established.


The frame is inexpensively constructed with grey electrical conduit (Outdoor plastic type) that easily bends to create the arches.  The ends of the conduit are zip-tied to either farm fence posts or chain link posts hammered into the ground.  Finally chicken wire or fencing is added to the frame to keep critters out and fowl in.

The frame can be covered with a variety of native materials, such as bamboo or saw palmetto fronds.  We also grow native flowering vines and food plants around the coop for shade, visual effect and feed for the hens.

One year later our coop begins to blend into the urban farm fruit vines.

Grapes covering the Coop walls

Cost-wise we have less than one hundred dollars into a very large, hen happy chicken coop with all the reuse of scrap materials we incorporated.

Coop Door View Living Architecture