Planting various trees in big cities helps to improve air quality. However, the lack of enough space and the high price of land make it challenging to increase city parks.
A rooftop garden is a landscaped green space created by humans on top of a residential building or apartment. You can grow fruits and vegetables in the rooftop garden. Simulately, green plants help reduce air pollution and absorb noise.
The article is a detailed guide to rooftop gardening. So, keep reading this article to learn all the advantages and disadvantages of rooftop gardening and how to start it.
Advantages Of Rooftop Gardening
There are various benefits of a rooftop garden. I am listing some of them below.
1. Visual Appeal
Rooftop gardening adds visual interest to the roof of your apartment or residential building. It turns your bare roof area into a pleasant outdoor space. You can add a pergola, firepit, or chairs to enhance the beauty of your rooftop garden.
2. Improves Air Quality
Humans breathe in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. But plants do just the opposite thing. They take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen, which benefits the environment and human beings.
Vehicles in big cities emit many pollutant gases that harm human health. A rooftop garden in most residential and commercial buildings can help improve air quality. You can breathe fresh air by staying in a polluted city like New York.
3. Recreational Space
A roof garden helps to add a vibrant color to your roof. You can have a small get-together with your friends or family members in the seating area of your rooftop garden. They serve as an excellent outdoor space to relax and enjoy.
You can connect with nature even in a highly polluted city. It helps to reduce stress and improves your mental health.
4. High Chances Of Abundant Sunlight
The plants on the rooftop garden will receive abundant sunlight compared to plants growing in the ground or houseplants.
The ample sunlight on the rooftop gardening allows you to grow various sun-loving plants.
5. Grow Your Food
You can grow nutritious fruits and vegetables on the rooftop and enjoy eating them during harvest. It even helps to reduce your grocery bills.
6. Pest Resistant
Whenever you have small plants on the ground, they are usually susceptible to either weeds or local wildlife, such as rabbits. But whenever you grow plants on your rooftop, there are significantly fewer chances of weeds or attacks on local wildlife.
7. Increases The Value Of The Property
A rooftop garden in a residential or commercial building can increase the resell value by 10-20 percent.
Disadvantages Of Rooftop Gardening
1. Water Issues
One of the significant drawbacks of rooftop gardening is the difficulty of watering your plants. It becomes a significant problem when there is no water source on your roof. You need to fill up the bucket, lift it, and then provide water to your plants. Hence, it requires more effort than delivering water to ground plants.
2. Limitation Of Plants
Rooftop gardening dont have any shaded places. So, you cannot grow shade plants on the rooftop.
3. Adverse Weather Conditions
Plants on rooftops face adverse weather conditions like extreme sunlight, wind, and rainfall. So, you need to select the plants wisely.
I prefer planting hardy plants on the roofs so that they can tolerate extreme weather conditions.
4. Limited To Containers
Rooftop gardens are much above the ground. So you can grow shrubs or plants only in containers.
Planting in the container is more expensive than growing directly on the ground.
5. Weight Restrictions
A roof can handle up to a certain amount of weight. Hence, before doing rooftop gardening, ensure that your roof can handle the weight of the plant container, water cistern, and soil.
What Are The Good Rooftop Planters?
1. Grow Drought Tolerant Plants
The plants you will be growing on your rooftop are usually exposed to wind and harsh sun rays. If you dont have water supply facilities on the rooftop, you will soon get tired of lifting buckets of water to the roof to provide plants.
We will recommend growing drought-tolerant plants. They are simple to manage and require low care and maintenance.
2. Consider Wind Tolerant Plants
Most roofs experience high wind conditions as no big trees are there to block the wind. Hence, you need to consider wind-tolerant plants like honeysuckle bushes and hydrangeas for growing on rooftops.
How Can I Start A Roof Top Garden?
You can begin rooftop gardening by following the steps below.
1. Check The Building Code
Your first duty is to check the local building code to ensure you can plant on the roof. If you are staying in an apartment, ask the building owner about growing trees on the roof.
2. Select Plants Wisely
Inspect the weather conditions of the roof before selecting any plant for growing on your roof. If the roof is fully exposed to the sun, consider growing the sunloving plants on your roof. If the roof has windblocks, then consider growing some low-to-ground plants.
3. Set Up Wind Blocks
If your roof is exposed to a lot of wind, it can badly hamper your roof plants. In the worst cases, it can blow away the plants. Hence, you need to set up wind blocks. For example, a trellis around the plant can block heavy winds and help to anchor the plant in the soil.
4. Prepare The Soil
You will be growing plants on the rooftop. There will be no availability of soil. Hence, you have to buy soil and bring it to your rooftop. Most plants can survive in well-drained, fertile soil.
5. Start Planting
Once you prepare the soil, start making holes in the container. You can then start planting the plants in the container. Water the plant thoroughly so that the plant can settle down in the soil properly.
6. Water The Plant When Necessary
One of the most simple ways to water your rooftop plants is by can. But it’s pretty tiring to climb stairs daily by carrying a bucket of water to give them to your rooftop plants. You can set up a rain barrel or cistern to catch rainwater.
Conclusion
Setting up a rooftop garden involves fun. It even provides a relaxing space for fun with friends and family. Light up your garden at night to enhance the space.
So what are you waiting for? Start a roof garden on your residential or commercial building to connect with nature and breathe pure air.
