Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Oct 2012: 80-Degrees Roof Clean-Up (?) + Flowering Tomatoes

It poured yesterday, but 80 degrees is predicted for Wednesday (with temps in the 70s bookending it), making this a good Chicago week for roof clean-up, which entails cutting back plants and getting damp potting mix out of the SIPs to dry.

I'm letting those tomatoes up there ripen on the vine, hoping a kiss of warmth this week will sweeten them further.

Amongst the detritus Oct 22:

Cleaning the growing roof involves lowering down tubs filled with spent plant material to the compost bin on the ground. It's the very antithesis of in-ground organic growing, where end-of-season plants can simply be knocked down and left alone or dug under.

On the roof, we cut off and pick up every last bit to keep the gutters clear and prevent a layer of compost from developing on the roof's reflective surface. That old adage is true: compose happens.

3 comments:

Tracibub said...

I'm just starting my growing season here in the desert! :) I am trying my own version of SIP's. I'm using some hydroponics gear we have stored, and combining it with a set up we never quite finished, but should work out nicely for a SIP. My six tomato plants look like they are doing quite well. All thanks to the tutorial you had for pop bottle SIPs that we did with our daisy girl scout troop. :) Love the blog, many thanks!

H2 said...

Well done, Tracibub. I envy you your coming growing season, but we'll be delighted to have greens again.

Son Lakhani said...

Oh yeah, it’s good I’ve been reminded that I have to clean my own rooftop garden myself. I think keeping track of the weather is a good idea too, and is something I’ll probably be doing from now on. The last time, I ended up getting soaked up in my sweat. I just learned later that I had just been working on our roof in one of the hottest days of the year. >.< -->Son Lakhani