roof top gardens

**"a.h.steely" g*@mindspring.com**

In Harrisburg there is a roof top garden on the building that houses OIC at
6th and McClay.  OIC is the Rev. Sullivan's organization for training
unemployed and underemployed people.  The man who runs it has containers
made from plywood, kids swimming pools,  lots of crates lined with plastic
bags as well as donated plastic containers of all sorts.  The owner of the
building had the roof assessed for adding two more stories and when that
didn't happen the architect was asked if the garden would be too heavy.  The
garden project is quite safe and will not put undue stress on the roof.
Children can not be part of the project as there is no fence around the roof
but there is a raised rim.

Hopefully you can have someone make an assessment of the bearing ability of
your roof.  Landlords should be part of the decision.  Yes, the use of green
plants on the roofs will help lower the temperature in the surrounding area.
You should use drip irrigation so that the water doesn't puddle and possibly
work it's way through the roof.  You will have to find a way to drain the
containers in the event of weeks of rain as we have had for the last month.

Look at all of the Land Grant Universities websites to determine which have
Extension Service links to Rooftop Gardens.  Penn State, Rutgers, Cornell
are three in the Mid Atlantic states.

Sincerely,
Helen Steely
Harrisburg,Pa.

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