Rooftop Garden NOW Outside!

Hello everyone!  I'm a little behind on visiting your blogs but I hope to do that very soon! 

My days have been jam packed with writing - not only at work - but at the various sites I contribute to - as well as HOME issues.  My brother in law had to have emergency surgery a few weeks ago.  My husband has been having stomach issues again.  We've been in and out of vet's offices, etc. 

Because I try and keep this blog positive and optimistic - I have been doing more and more reflecting.  Because of the things around me - it's put some things into prospective.  These issues continue to speak to me and tell me just how important diet and physical activity is and it's never to late to make changes in your life.



Everything is a reminder to show LOVE to those you hold dear but also to those you may not know.  Be compassionate and understanding as much as possible.

I've been thinking about the small things in life, lately, too!  The little things that make a difference in each day.  The tiniest of occurrences that put a smile on ones face.


One of the MANY things I am thankful for and interested in these days is the progress of our Container Garden and Rooftop Garden Projects that myself and a few co-workers have been working on.

You can see some recent photos throughout this post!  Sure...some attempts have been better than others - but - you won't know unless you TRY - right?

In the first photo you can see that we have hardened off many of the indoor plants and they are now outside full time.  Many of them remain in the containers and/or reused/recycled items I've mentioned in previous posts.  By keeping them in containers we are able to move them if need be.  One thing we have yet to find out is the impact the hot roof will have on certain plants.  If this is an issue we are able to move each containers location to another part of the roof and/or we may put down reused plastic tarps or shelves underneath to cut down on the heat/temperature.  In the 2nd photo you can see some of what we are trying to grow a bit better. 

From left...we have one of the Dragon's Tongue Bean plants.  We kept about 6 other plants indoors.  I think they are thriving better inside actually.  The difference I have noticed with ours is that the indoor Dragon's Tongue are more plentiful and the yields are higher.  The individual beans are larger, too.  However...this outside plant is smaller but more colorful.  If you have read my previous posts about the Dragon's Tongue you may remember that when they are mature they are purple and green in color.  They are gorgeous!  The flavor is amazing, too!  We have harvested some already with more on the way!  They are EXTREMELY Crispy and Juicy!  YUM!

Next up we have some Spinach growing and regular green and white Swiss Chard as well as some Bright Lights Swiss Chard.  We are also attempting some regular spinach.  On the far end you will see a few other the smaller Brussels Sprout Plants we are trying.  These aren't growing as well as the ones we are growing in the orange buckets which I will be showing you in a bit.  We thought we would try a few of them in a different section just for kicks.

In the next photo you will see a table along the back with items on top.  We have everything from Beans and Peas to Basil and Chives.  We have some cucumbers and peppers, too!  In the smaller white containers - for the time being - we are using them to catch rain water.  We also have a few tomato plants and sunflowers started. 

You can also see we have some stairs.  We have more chives on the stairs, a few attempts at onions - which may or may not work - time will tell, and we have more space to expand!

Also under the stairs we have some leafy greens.  We have the Spicy Mesclun Mix as well as the Sweet Mix.  Both have been doing VERY well!  With the Sweet Mix I have already gotten 4 or 5 salads out of it and when I looked at it again this morning it looks like I could pick another lunch-size salads worth!  Since we took this photo we have re-arranged a few things and the peas are no longer in that spot.  We have Kale going there instead, now.

Off to the right of this last photo you can see our STRONGER Brussels Sprouts in the orange buckets.  Next to that is our MASSIVE Broccoli that is sprouting up VERY nicely!  We are stoked!

We decided to keep our Little Marvel Peas INSIDE along with the other Dragon's Tongue Beans.  We have some Rosalita Lettuces we are trying to bring back from the brink and a few other things in our indoor container garden, too!  I will try and share that in the future.  As for the house - we won't be doing much after all.  I did, however, find a Cherry Tomato Hanging Basket from a local greenhouse and purchased that as well as a Hanging Strawberry Plant.  Our Hosta's are taking over 3 sections of our yard!  I'll be sure to share photos of those with you soon, too!