Green Building Adventure | Phase I

We've replaced the piles of
wood in the driveway with a
mountain of dirt. Much of
this pile will go on the roof,
and the rest wil be used
throughout the garden on the ground.

We are building a container
garden on the roof...not a traditional green roof.
The bottom of the containers will be
automotive drip pans and the sides
will be left-over trex from the deck.
Those little brown blocks are
the scraps from cutting the pickets for
the deck railings.

Andrew and Cindy drill lots
and lots of holes in the
metal trays. This will
ensure proper drainage.

Matthew marks the
line to cut one of the
container sides.

Matthew cuts a board
to be used as a container side.

Andrew and Cindy add the
corner supports. These are the
picket scraps from the
deck railing.

Matthew attaches the
container sides to the
corner supports.
The first container is almost complete!

Because our roof is so flat,
we added mastic in each seam
where the metal sheets overlap
to make sure it doesn't leak.
We had lots left, so Matthew & Andrew
add it under the container.
This will help secure the container
and will also seal the holes
where we screw it to the roof.

Andrew levels the dirt
in the first container.
It has been seeded with
lettuces and peppers since
they have shallow root systems.

Here is the second container
as we begin to fill it.
We mixed soil, leaves, perlite, and compost.
This combination will add nutrients
and improve drainage.

Matthew mixes the soil
combination well. The garden
is coming along!

Here's the third container. It
is a bit deeper than the first
two containers because it will
hold blackberries.

Each container is attached with
roofing screws. These have a washer with a
rubber seal so they won't leak.
And there is mastic between
the container and the roof to
further seal each hole.

Check out our garden!
The first three containers are done!
More to come tomorrow....come lend a hand!

Two more beds built!
Two more almost completed!
What a day!

Check it out!
We have a garden!

We have one more bed to build
and we'll add some railings
to keep everyone safe.
Then comes the rest of the plants!

Our garden has the best view
of the lake!

Happy plants! Almost ready to
provide delicious fruit.
So far, we've seeded lettuces,
peppers, 5 types of basil,
plus planted three types of
thorness blackberries and a
dwarf blueberry bush.
With much more to come!