green roofs

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I'm gardening again. Basically, I'm just mixing up batches of "found" seeds, sprinkling them just inside the front yard wall (a lot of the seeds are "climbers:" beans, vines, etc.), sprinkling shredded paper over them and watering them. The rototilling took care of teh concrete-like resistance of the dirt. A little goat- and chicken poop, and that's all that's required.

Anyway, I'm thinking, once again, about how miserably hot it gets here and how little we attract clouds -- particularly with black streets, concrete buildings, etc.

And I'm back to my dream of retrofitting every building in town for green roofs. This is a project which even includes chickens! Here is a kitchen garden on a roof.

Here's a basic website, http://www.greenroofs.net/

There's even a commercial site, greenroofs.com.

Aluminum "I" beams could be used to build an inexpensive, weatherproof, durable exoskeleton around any existing building. They could even be bolted to walls, for extra support. The I beams would bear the load of the gardens. The gardens could be built of flatts, apx. a foot above the existing roofs. Between flats would be "cat walks." The entire structure would have guardrails, to keep people from falling.

Rain barrel water could be pumped, via solar energy, to irrigate.

This would provide protection for roofs from rain, wind and sun. The gardens would help insulate houses, particularly from heat. Governments -- particularly states like New Mexico -- could give tax rebates to property owners.

Parking lots could have "roof garden" shade protection.

Some planting could just be grass, for extra O2 and shade. But a lot could be foods, herbs, endangered native plants, etc. Indigenous and heirloom plants would thrive.

Now, NM has little water, true. But there are drought-tolerant plants that are in danger.

Other places, with higher rainfall (but higher land prices, making gardening extremely expensive) would see local residents eating virtually-free produce.

Even apartment buildings could produce substantial amounts of food for residents, especially if parking lots were also covered.

I wish I could do it here. We have a HUGE roof that just radiates and absorbs heat!

I'm already planning to scratch up the gravel driveway with a rake this year and plant lentils, marigolds, alfalfa and clover over it. I want to plant foods for goats and chickens. And marigolds contain pyrethrin (sp?), which is a natural bug killer. I grind the plants and make a "tea" which I spray around the kitchen. It's not toxic, at these low levels, to humans or pets, but it'll kill a roach fast.

The driveway was miserably hot last year. And it heated both bedrooms' outer walls, making going to sleep miserable without fan or air conditioning.

Last year, I did plant sunflowers against the wall. Morning glory vines climbed those. It did help. But six feet by forty feet of oven-hot gravel, radiating toward the house, is hard to overcome with a few sunflowers!

Well, the goats are fussing. It must be time for a bottle...

They're almost old enough to wean...