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Roof Vegetable Garden


rawsondsr

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Thinking of having a vegetable garden on the roof this year in planters.

 

Not being very green fingered currently, what's the best way to do it and what plants?

 

Compost - seeds - fertiliser/water/feed - pick and eat?

 

Thinking lettuce, bell peppers, radish, tomato, broccoli, cucumber.

 

Would these work out?  looking for flat low growing produce, not towering plants.

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Before you go all Percy Thrower, give some thought to the type of planter you are going to use. One which sits flat on the roof (like a grow bag) will cause paint to lift and rust to developed.

A planter with feet at the corners is probably the best bet.

Tomatoes grow tall but bush varieties are shorter. Forget about Broccoli, cucumbers need to be grown on a mound of compost and are very thirsty and hungry. 

Stick with Lettuce, Radish, Spring Onions, salad veg basically. 

Phil

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I apologize for starting your answers on a negative note, but after 40 years as a professional horticulturalist, I never have anything growing on the roof of my boat (although I did find some moss growing recently - removed!).  It blocks the view ahead and would get in the way of ropes and access - I frequently am on the roof.

 

Growing your own vegetables on a boat is certainly not cost-effective, once containers and compost are taken into account, but \I can see why you may want to do it.  Peppers are unlikely to ripen outdoors in most summers, and broccoli would probably get too tall.  Dwarf french beans, early carrots and dwarf peas all do well in containers - I grow them that way at home.  Don't use ordinary garden soil - it's not suitable for containers.  You can make your own compost cheaper than buying it - look up home made potting compost on the internet.

Good luck

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I spoke to a lady who had bought some of those wall pocket grow bags.

 

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D12Q84M/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07D12Q84M&pd_rd_w=nG2ML&pf_rd_p=8e5be0e3-b258-4b06-8b6e-695b24f935a4&pd_rd_wg=IqguE&pf_rd_r=8633QA9H1H2Q9E46PZES&pd_rd_r=1e9b84f5-1b46-11e9-86d5-2d0b37739c40

 

She had tied them around the rail on her boat's stern, and was planting them up with strawberry plants. Never saw her again so I don't know how they turned out.

 

I thought of doing it, but in the end I couldn't stand the hassle from my OH should there be an accident, or if watering made a mess. I guess if the boat's paintwork was protected, a few of them could be hung from the cant rails?

Edited by Jennifer McM
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Cucumbers not for t'amateur, or a boater,

Try buying pots of herbs, they will tolerate abuse,

Seeds of radish OK, sow every 5 days French variety. not the round globe ones.

Go to poundshop and buy seeds there.

Some flowers are edible, like marigold, nasturshum, and others. Geranium leaves , a splinter of them,, they are flowers, don't eat buttercups. dandelions are fine. roots shoots, and all, sparingly.

Lettuce leaves , pull out and eat the roots an all.

 

Edited by LadyG
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Apart from the implications of rusting roofs and not being able to see to drive we found when we tried this years ago as noobs that on very hot summers like last year it was a considerable chore watering enough and plants got scorched and other summers which have been windy the plants get blasted to death that way. In the well at the front can work if you have space and I am with you on having a go as there is somett about eating yer own veg rather than shopping that outweighs the cost.

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29 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Apart from the implications of rusting roofs and not being able to see to drive we found when we tried this years ago as noobs that on very hot summers like last year it was a considerable chore watering enough and plants got scorched and other summers which have been windy the plants get blasted to death that way. In the well at the front can work if you have space and I am with you on having a go as there is somett about eating yer own veg rather than shopping that outweighs the cost.

You could always grow mushrooms in the composting toilet buckets, hidden under the bed.

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What I nice idea - I did once see a narrowboat where someone had an entire garden on their roof - if I remember I think it was edged with decking and most likely stood off the roof as much as possible (water/rust etc) as I remember thinking it had been done rather well and was reasonably durable and practical.

 

One thing to consider is watering - if you by planters / pots / etc with no drain holes, you'll be ok in the summer as they wont dry out if you are away for a day or two (fingers crossed) whereas ones with drain holes can't hold any surplus and can be difficult to really re soak once they get a bit dry. On the other hand, once it gets to raining a lot, you can end up with totally flooded containers, but prolly not until the very end of season. Another thing with the drain holes is that you will get streaks of muddy water  even with saucers underneath as they don't really hold much. 

 

Produce wise - I always do really well with cucumbers, but they are not for the roof as too tall. (Put a large pot on your bow hatch!) I would do only short crops up top, so root vege as others have suggested, radishes are good because you don't have to have very deep pots. Herbs good also. Lettuce too.

 

To sum up, have a good think about it then give it a go - always wonderful to see things coming up at the start of the season :)

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Advantages of growning veggies on a boat roof:

 

1.  You can move into sun or shade.

2.  Ready supply of water.

 

Disadvantages:

 

1.  Your view will be blocked by anything which isn't very low growing.

2. Dampness will affect the paint on the roof (even if the boxes are raised above it).

3.  Canal water for watering may make your veggies poisonous.

4.  You may fall in while tending your plants

 

If you must do it, then stick to low growing salad type things which can be grown in small modules.  The drainpipe idea above is good.  Anything with a deep root is a problem. Anything which grows tall is a problem (although daft people do it).

 

I miss growing things so I always have veggies growing in a growbag or similar on my cruiser deck.  Last year I grew beetroot and now have a huge kilner jar of pickled beetroot :) I used to have big boxes on the roof but I ended up not being able to see in front of me and it was dangerous.  I had a couple of near misses and the other boaters told me off quite sternly!!  Now I won't have any plants on my roof, it's not worth the risk to me.

 

If you're that keen, get a mooring where you can have some raised beds.

 

 

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If I were doing gardening I might buy a large bag of compost designed for hanging baskets and which has water retaining crystals, then lay it flat on the rear deck, or maybe the well deck, and plant things in it, any overspill could be used for pots which need watering every day.

 

Edited by LadyG
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