A Rooftop Garden Delight

In the STEAM course "Food" we are learning about planting food/crops and plants. We also learned about the mathematics of planting plants and the science behind it. We learned about a farmer named Mr. Fukuoka who uses new ways to plant plants in a way that is better for the environment. I chose to plant my garden on the roof of my building. I will begin planting some vegetables and flowering plants in the garden. I like how the end results of my garden turned out. I also like the plants that I chose for the garden. What I am proud of is my garden overall and the illustration for my garden. The two things that I could have done better would be to choose some better ways to plant the plants in the garden and I could have made my drawing more specific.

My garden will be located on the roof of my building. I put it there because it is sunny, it is big, and small animals like rabbits and squirrels won't eat my plants. I will have to make sure that the wind doesn't destroy the garden or blow away the plants. I will be constructing a top over it so the wind won’t ruin it, but so it still gets sunlight.

I learned that plants need three main things from the soil to stay alive: Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), and Nitrogen (N). My volume is H16 in x W60 in x L84 in = 80,640 cubic in or 47 cubic feet. My garden will have soil in 10 squares surrounded by water. Instead of going on the roof every day I will go once a week because my water system will keep the plants moist over a longer time. I would find a way to keep the water in the garden without it coming out, probably some kind of plastic sheet lining. The plants for my garden are called mutualism because they all work together without one plant taking chemicals away from another plant.

AA Garden (2016)

The materials I will use for my garden will be seeds for vegetables and seeds for flowering plants. I also will need some soil, wood for the base and bed. I will need nails and a hammer to put the wood together. I will need water to feed the plants, and some clear plastic panels to block the wind. I also will have to find a waterproof material to keep the water in its holding area. I will line the area where the water will be with thick plastic sheeting so the water won't seep through the wood and ruin the garden.

My sample soil pH was a 7.9. I needed it to be lower, around 6.7 to 6.4. Therefore I will need to add organic matter to the soil to lower the pH level. The Potassium was only 200 parts per million. I will need to put Sulfate of Potash which is 1/2 per 100 square feet for the quantity. After that my soil should be good because I don’t need to add anything for Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Both at their current levels.

My Potassium calculations are:

35 square feet

0.5/100 = x/35

0.5 x 35 = 100x         

x=0.175 pounds of sulfate of potash

Test	Result	Parts per Million Equivalency Chart
pH	7.9	----
Phosphorus (P)	P3	50
Potassium (K)	K1	200
Nitrogen (N)	N4	80

Nutrient	Product	Quantity
Nitrogen	0	0
Phosphorus	0	0
Potassium	Sulfate of Potash	½ per 100 square feet

The plants I chose were basil, borage, dill, marigolds, mint, nasturtium, onion, oregano, radish and sunflower. The onion is the nitrogen fixer out of all the 10 plants listed here. Onion’s companions are basil, borage, dill, marigolds, nasturtium, oregano, radish, mint and sunflower.

What I learned from this project was that everything needs to be thought out in advance. You need to know a lot about the properties and the nutritional needs of plants in order to make the correct plant selection. You need know how to change your soil if you don’t have good soil. You need to know about pH level and how it works. You will also need to know about volume and how to calculate it.

The volumes for the three containers I chose to put my plants in are: Plastic milk jug V=H8in x W4in x L4in = 128 cubic inches; Water bottle V= 3.14 x 3^2 x 6 = 169.56 cubic inches; Plastic box V= H8in x W10in x L14in = 1120 cubic inches.

In conclusion my garden will have ten plants in it. I will only need to water them once a week. I won’t have to buy many vegetables at the store because I am growing them in my garden. The soil I have now is pretty good, but I will have to improve it slightly. This will be fun to make at home.

WORK CITED:

"Companion Planting Guide - Growing Tips Article at Burpee.com." Companion Planting Guide - Growing Tips Article at Burpee.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

"Cubic Feet To Cubic Inches Conversion." How Many Cubic Inches in a Cubic Foot? Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

"Top Ten Companion Plants." Porchside Gardening For Food and Fun. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.