Chicago Roof Top Garden

[tyrus]

Well, this is my first try with the Earthboxes and I'm hoping that they do well.  I live in Chicago and have a roof deck with about a 12 x 15 ft section that isn't covered with decking, so I decided to plant a garden.  These get full sun all day so I think they should do well.

I started a week ago and planted some Onions, Romaine and Red Leaf Lettuce.  Unfortunately, my soil settled a bit in these boxes so I added more potting mix to the others before planting the rest.  Here are some pics:

Laying it all out:



The finished product with starter plants:



I went with tomatoes in 4 boxes, Romaine lettuce, Red Leaf lettuce, Onions, Broccoli, Strawberries, Peppers (3 bell, 3 hot), Eggplant (1 Japanese, 1 regular), Cucumbers, and Zucchini (both in one box).  I messed up the Cuc/Zucchini box and didn't plant in a row, instead I tried one in each corner.  We'll see how they do.

[tag]

Nice setup you have.

[mjb8743]

Very nice! I'm just amazed you got those 20 ft boards up on the roof. How on earth did you do it?

Mickie

[gator]

Hi TYRUS,

   Looks like a nice setup.. Can you see the sides when the water comes out or are you gonna go with a AWS..

                                                            GATOR

[luvgardening2]

Very NICE!  I now wish I had a roof top garden.  You will do GREAT!

Nancy

[kebaldwin]

Too cool.  Thanks for sharing!

[John]

Hello Tyrus,
Very impressive!
Welcome to the Forum.  How did you hear about EarthBox?

[tyrus]

Thanks for the encouraging notes.  The boards are actually 2x10's, 12 ft. long.  It wasn't bad carrying them up, just a little tedious walking them up the stairs.  We have a private staircase that leads to our deck, with is basically on the fourth floor - so lots of steps.  As for the overflow hole: the wood doesn't press against the hole so the water can come out pretty easily.  I just look for the dripping on the deck to know that I'm full.  So far, so good but I may look into an AWS for next year.

I heard about the Earthboxes through GardenWeb initially but my mom lives in Bradenton, FL and we visited the Research Center while down there.  Their results were encouraging and I'm hoping this works out well.  The boxes are hard to find here in Chicago and nobody seems to know anything about them, except some schools and community programs that have them donated for learning.  My hope is that this could be a great way for urban dwellers to garden.  I'm documenting the progress on a well-known food forum in Chicago as well.  Thanks again!

[paul]

The boxes are hard to find here in Chicago and nobody seems to know anything about them, except some schools and community programs that have them donated for learning. 

I'm seeing nine dealers within 25mi of 60617 (first zip I found in Chicago) in the dealer locator.

http://www.earthbox.com/dealers/dlr/locator/

(We've had some issues with zips that started with a zero not working correctly in the recent past but that should be fixed now and doesn't seem to be an Illinois issue.)  Hopefully that'll make things easier to find, though I'd advise calling to see what's in stock at what dealer.

Paul

[tyrus]

The boxes are hard to find here in Chicago and nobody seems to know anything about them, except some schools and community programs that have them donated for learning. 

I'm seeing nine dealers within 25mi of 60617 (first zip I found in Chicago) in the dealer locator.

http://www.earthbox.com/dealers/dlr/locator/

Paul

Yeah, I did the same search before ordering them online.  I'm actually about 2 miles northwest of the loop (downtown) Chicago.  It should be noted that it's about 7 miles between the Cubs and White Sox fields (North and South side respectively).  Most city dwellers don't travel further than a couple of miles due to traffic.  On that list, there were really only 2 options for me, both of which carried them but only had 8 boxes each.  Also, one was charging $45 and the other $55/each.  When I asked the garden center personnel if they carried them, most didn't know what I was talking about and had to call a manager to find out what they were.

That's okay though.  If this project goes well, I'll be telling everyone about them - maybe even start a city gardening club. 

They have a few advantages for the city gardener.  One of the first things I noticed is that the soil stays moist.  That's a huge problem for roof decks - no shade, hot temps, evaporation.  The other thing is that it gets windy up there.  That's why I had to place them between the 2x10's.  The only other problem I see is daily watering.  Although I should be able to handle it just fine, I may invest in an AWS w/timers, next year.  I'd really hate to miss a day and have my whole garden ruined because of it.

I'll keep you posted.

[mjb8743]

The only other problem I see is daily watering.  Although I should be able to handle it just fine, I may invest in an AWS w/timers, next year.  I'd really hate to miss a day and have my whole garden ruined because of it.

Why use a timer? The big advantage of the AWS is that it's an 'on-demand' system, which means it delivers only the amount of water any particular box may need, and not a drop more. It solves the problem that many timed systems have: The water turns on, all boxes get water whether they need it or not, and the system turns off. Meanwhile, the very thirsty tomatoes didn't get enough water while the timer was on.

Mickie

[jazan]

Just a beautiful set up.  I'm totally jealous!

~J

[kathy]

Tyrus; Beautiful set up, almost artful. As far as Chicago dealers, I honestly think there are more than we have posted in our locator, we update our locator every Friday and really try to get our retailers on the web. Chicago has been a big EarthBox spot for years, and there are many garden clubs in the area that are familiar with EarthBox, I met many of the members at Sid's open house in the early spring.
Good luck and keep posting pics, we all love pics on the forum.

[tag]

Very nice! I'm just amazed you got those 20 ft boards up on the roof. How on earth did you do it?

Mickie

Forget about the boards. Think about carrying all that potting mix up 4 stories!

[tyrus]

Progress report:  Well the cool spring in Chicago has not affected too much but the winds sometimes do a little damage.  I'm thinking of creating a wind guard around the smaller plants for protection.  Overall, the "urban garden" is doing pretty well in it's first year and I've already started eating baby romaine and red sail lettuce salads.  Here's a few pics:

Strawberries:


Broccoli:


Onions:


Romaine:


Red Sail Lettuce:


Overall garden (with helper):