My Rooftop Garden

My rooftop garden

When I was still living in Rotterdam, Holland, I had a Rooftop Garden.

I had about a square meter on the roof which I filled with small pots. And some space in between the two roofs where I could put some bigger pots in a row. All in all about two square meters...not really a garden you would say.

But you couldn’t believe what I grew up there. I started in March with buying the pots, the soil and the seeds (mostly organic). I couldn’t choose, so I bought many different things to be able to see what would grow best in the Dutch climate.

I grew:

• Tomatoes, small and normal sized ones. They grew pretty fast and gave lovely plump tomatoes in the summer. I had three small pots (20 cm diameter). They grow upwards so they need to be supported with a stick of bamboo for instance.
• Beans. They grew very fast and I got a small crop every few weeks during early summer. I grew three plants in a bigger pot (40 cm diameter). Which was a bit crowded...

• Potatoes. Just let an organic (or any kind you like) sit in the sun by the window for a week until it begins to grow roots. Then put it in a big pot about 10 cm deep, so it does not get to see the sun. It takes about three months to grow, but then you’ll have the most velvety, creamy young potatoes you’ve ever eaten! And one potato can make up to 50 new ones, if your pot allows it.
• Lettuce. I grew different kinds. It’s quite hard to grow outside, when it’s still chilly every now and then. But it works!
• Fennel in big pots. Mine didn’t fatten very well. But they still tasted lovely. It just takes a while to grow.
• Beetroots, which didn’t grow very well. They stayed small, but tasted great!
• Courgette, wow! That really worked! I had just one plant in a medium pot and it gave me lots of good courgettes. I also used the flowers of course!
• Pumpkin, unfortunately these didn’t do it very well. It grew a lovely curly plant which went all the way up to the roof. And it even made some tiny pumpkins but they fell off after a while. It could be that they weren’t fertilized properly by the bees (who carry the much needed seed on their bellies). Hopefully that will work better next time.
• Hot red chillies, they grew pretty slow and some flowers fell off. But the lovely looking red chillies tasted great! P.s. I just grew them from the seeds of a regular red chilly. 
• Strawberries, from a bought plant. What a great feeling to eat your own strawberries!
• Then I grew fresh herbs like mint (from the seed, which is difficult, but it worked), thyme and basil. And some flowers, just because I like them so much!

I grew everything from seeds and started them up in the house as it was still too cold outside. This rooftop garden lasted for only one season but I’m planning to get a new one soon. The veg should grow a lot better here in Italy, where it’s already starting to feel like spring....

look at the courgettes in the upper left corner!

Snoes loved to sit with me while 'gardening'