Blogging the Green Roof Garden

June 3, 2009

Molly de Aguiar, Program Associate

Here’s an extra-curricular project we’re excited about at Dodge: our rooftop garden.

We planted our containers two weeks ago. We filled them with herbs (sage, rosemary, dill, parsley, cilantro, basil), flowers (zinnias, dahlias, sunflowers), strawberries, squash, and several kinds of tomatoes, including the Ramapo – the famous Jersey tomato that time almost forgot. Many of the plants came directly from Rutgers’ own greenhouses.

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Two weeks later, our plants are growing like mad (note how the grass in the background has grown too).

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Our flowers are blooming:

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We can see our first squash:

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And our first strawberry!

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We’re thinking of this year as an experiment, to see what will grow, what will withstand the summertime heat and what will not. Stay tuned: we’ll keep showing the garden’s progress and sharing what we’re learning about our urban gardening experience.

How about you? What’s in your garden this year? Did you do anything different – whether in response to the economy, the increased awareness of the benefits of growing your own food, or some other reason?