Total Money Spent 2016

Seeds: $34.65

50' Zero-G Garden Hose: $32.64

Jobe's Organic Vegetable & Tomato Granular Fertilizer (3 Bags): $22.44

T5 Grow Lights: $19.70

Total Money Spent 2016: $109.43

Total Money Spent 2015: $259.68
Total Money Spent 2014: $285.85
Total Money Spent 2013: $212.96
Total Money Spent 2012: $190.88
Total Money Spent 2011: $300.54
Total Money Spent 2010: $152.41
Total Money Spent 2009: $201.90

On The Roof!

At long last all of the plants are finally on the roof. The tomato plants went up mid May and the rest were held back until the overnights temps moved up into the 60's.

2015 Rooftop & Indoor Seed Selections

Ok, I'm back! The winter was long and brutal, but spring is finally here and I'm ready to get back to rooftop growing.

Total Money Spent 2015

Seeds: $33.15

Seed Starting Mix: $5.71

AeroGarden Ultra LED Indoor Garden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit: $174.19

AeroGarden Deluxe Grow Anything Kit (3 Season): $37.71

Rope: $8.92

Total Money Spent 2015: $259.68

Total Money Spent 2014: $285.85
Total Money Spent 2013: $212.96
Total Money Spent 2012: $190.88
Total Money Spent 2011: $300.54
Total Money Spent 2010: $152.41
Total Money Spent 2009: $201.90

Steady Progress

The garden is doing very well. I'm keeping my eye on the corn, but otherwise I'm very happy with the state of the garden.

Rooftop Debut

The dreary winter is over and the rooftop is ready to go!

2014 Rooftop Vegetable Seed Selections

Alright, back in business! Sorry for the delayed return, real life has been keeping me busy so I'm only just now fitting in gardening/blogging time. I've been doing mini-updates on the Bucolic Bushwick Facebook page, but mostly just quick snapshots, full length updates will always be exclusively for this site. So, without further ado, the 2014 seed selections:

Total Money Spent 2014

Seeds: $51.18

Fertilizer (1 bottle liquid, 3 bags granular): $42.80

Reed fence: $26.10

18 gallon totes, 16 units: $79.64

Spray paint for plastic, 8 cans: $45.25

Misc (rubber replacement garden hose washers, nitrile garden gloves and all weather duct tape): $19.97

Flower Seeds, Seed Starting Soil and Jiffy Pots: $20.91

Total Money Spent 2014: $285.85

Total Money Spent 2013: $212.96
Total Money Spent 2012: $190.88
Total Money Spent 2011: $300.54
Total Money Spent 2010: $152.41
Total Money Spent 2009: $201.90

Almost There

Alright, the rooftop garden is ready to go. Every container has been mulched and fertilized, limed too if they are used to grow tomatoes (helps prevent blossom end rot). All they need now are the plants and support cages. The tomato plants will be planted this week, the peppers some time next week and melons the week after.

New Plants on the Roof

On Deck corn is on the roof! The seeds were sowed at the beginning of May, once the overnight temps moved into the 50's. The netting keeps out any curious birds. I've been checking every day, but so far no signs of sprouting. This is my first time growing corn so I'm sure I'll be watching this container like a hawk the entire growing season.

Total Money Spent 2013

Seeds: $72.37

Self watering container mix and fertilizer from gardeners.com: $92.29

Yukon Gold Seed Potatoes & 16" Round Pot: $11.97

1 Pint Liquid Fertilizer & 2 Bags of Granular Fertilizer: $36.33

Total Money Spent 2013: $212.96

Total Money Spent 2012: $190.88
Total Money Spent 2011: $300.54
Total Money Spent 2010: $152.41
Total Money Spent 2009: $201.90

More First Fruits

The garden is steadily growing. The recent cool, wet  weather has kept me extra vigilant for signs of disease, but so far nothing has appeared. Let's hope it stays that way!

Preparing for the Unexpected

I'm not sure what this year's summer will bring in terms of high temperatures, but I'm preparing for the worst. I can't build any large, elaborate structures to help keep the plants cool, the wind will knock down anything too big, plus I live in a rental so whatever I make must be removable, so instead I focused on smaller fixes.

2012 Rooftop Vegetable Seed Selections

Charantais Melon - Hakucho Hybrid
Cherry Tomato - Black Cherry
Eggplant - Pingtung Long
Shelling Peas - Caselode
Sweet Pepper - Flexum Hybrid
Sweet Pepper - Giant Aconcagua
Tomato - Mountain Magic (F1)
Tomato - Summertime Green

Indoor Gardening Adventures Continue!

Last week I started a small indoor vegetable garden. My fall planted soybeans and carrots did not work on the roof so I'm trying again on the windowsill. So far I've successfully grown swiss chard, radishes and beets indoors, now I'm trying a few more vegetable varieties.

Total Money Spent 2012

Seeds, Soil & Smart Pots for Indoor Gardening: $33.25

Seeds & Seed Starting Pellets for Rooftop Gardening: $42.94

Rooftop Garden Prep: $90.21

3'x25' roll of window screen fabric for shade cloth: $14.68

3 large flower pots: $9.80

Total Money Spent 2012: $190.88

Total Money Spent 2011: $300.54
Total Money Spent 2010: $152.41
Total Money Spent 2009: $201.90

Garden Prep is Done + More Containers for the Roof

The garden is ready to go! Every container  has been mulched, fertilized, and caged/staked. All that's left to do is to transfer the plants to their permanent home.

Preparing the Garden

When the weather allows I've been prepping the garden for planting. I like to do this a little bit at a time, an hour after work or a couple hours on the weekend. Adding soil to containers that look a little low, adding stakes/cages where needed, removing/replacing mulch, etc. are tasks done over a long period of time and completed days before the plants go out. Doing this beforehand means an enjoyable, stress free planting day.

DIY Self Watering Planter: How to Convert a Standard Planter

Welcome to Bucolic Bushwick. Here you'll find advice on rooftop vegetable gardening, as well as several plans for DIY self watering planters. Please share this page with others and help spread the vegetable gardening movement.

If you're interested in gardening with self watering containers, but still want to make use of your existing standard planters, here's a great way to convert all your planters into self watering containers. This project would also be good for gardeners interested in growing in self watering containers, but want something more visually attractive than storage totes.

To convert a standard planter into a self watering container you'll need a watertight container with a lid, this will act as the water reservoir, a tall water bottle, this will act as the fill tube, and 2 strips of fabric, these strips will draw water from the reservoir to the soil above.

Southern Patio Jumbo Growing Tower for the Rooftop Garden

I was shopping at Manhattan's 23rd St HD when I came across this planter, the Jumbo Growing Tower from the HDR line of Southern Patio. This is the first self watering container I've ever seen sold in this store. I bought one for the roof, $15.98 plus tax.