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  • From: miranda@tagoresmith.com
  • To: "gardenwriters-on-gardening" <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] Bill McDonough and The 'Green' Skyscraper
  • Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:00:26 -0600 (CST)

Growing on rooftops makes so much sense. For one thing, there are fewer
pollutants from auto exhaust up there and for another, there is a greater
chance of having good sunlight.

In 1974, I was part of a group of engineers and horticulturists who got a
grant from a Canadian government agency to experiment with greenhouses,
coldframes, and large and small growing boxes on rooftops. The roof wasn't
strong enough to support a solar greenhouse, so we installed large solar
growboxes--large enough to get into during the winter and work--and used
waste heat from the chimneys to heat other growboxes. We also taught area
residences how to grow in containers on their balconies and roofs. The
project was called "Rooftop Gardens" and yielded lots of good information
and education. Personally, that's when I began working with worms to
produce low-weight media as well as developing what I called an "organic"
hydroponic solution--it had no chemically derived nutrients and was based
on leachates from worm castings but also contained fish emulsion and
liquid seaweed. It worked quite well, so we were able to have many more
boxes on the roof that we otherwise might have.

Miranda Smith







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