City Rooftop hydroponics- what's best?

19 years ago

Hello Y'all,

I currently live in the city of Manila, Philippines. Don't have much of any arable land or space for green houses but I do have a sizable (albeight irregularly shaped) space that is our roof. I want to try and grow something to augment my income.

I'm just entering hydroponics and a real green thumb. Any suggestions as to what I might grow?

Parameters:

* i don't have a greenhouse. only open air is possible... I can install shading nets if really needed.

* Air Temperatures here are tropical all year round. Ranging from 29 to 35Â° celsius in daytime.

* Water source is quite stable as we get it from a water treated facility that supplies the whole city. PH around 7

* My roof is made from corrugated GI Sheets on top of wooden beams and is relatively flat with a small inclination for rain water.

Appreciate any comments or help you can offer. :-)

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Comments (6)

edurink
19 years ago
GreenGorilla,

Everything sounded OK until you mentioned the GI roof. Two reasons why I have misgivings. 1) The temperature could rise far above 35 degrees. 2) How much weight can your GI roof take. 3) GI roofs are usually sloping. That poses some problem. If your roof were concrete it would be more promising cause you can minimize the heat by watering the concrete or constructing a structure to support some kind of screen to shield the plants from the hot sun. I am from Quezon City. My hydroponics systems are on an open ground level concrete terrace. This time of the year, the heat is excessive, a sun screen is imperative. Even so, some crops like lettuce simply can't survive with the heat.

Ed

Here is a link that might be useful: Notebook
baci
19 years ago
If you do a search using the key words "green roof", you might find some ideas. They have some rooftop gardens in LA where real estate prices are at a premium.
I will send you some links to some sites I have found Â I prefer to not link to companies.
Some companies have developed lightweight products designed for roofs, which may provide you with some ideas.
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GreenGorilla
Original Author
19 years ago
Hello Ed and Baci!

I'm so excited to get your responses. I'm so new at this that everything is exciting and confusing (sometimes overwhelming) and it's just GREAT!

Ok with regards to the GI sheets... i don't have a choice that's the only place where i can put it. So to offset this disadvantage i've decided to plant Tomatoes, from what I've read they need lots of sun and will prolly do better than lettuce.

Type of system that i'm looking at now is something like an NFT system. The base raw material i'm looking at to work with is a PVC pipe. since the PVC pipe has a round bottom i was thinking of making the nutrient solution be about 1.5" to 2" so that the roots of the tomatoes will have more to soak in. PVC pipe diameter is about 6" to accomodate the large root system of the tomato plant.

Any thoughts on this?
baci
19 years ago
The NFT system can work for tomatoes in areas of high heat. They use NFT tomato systems in the desert although they probably quit growing during the summer - when the temperature reaches around 32 C. I do not know the size of pipe they use although you will need a large one. You may also need to use some shading if the heat gets too hot in your area. You will need to get your pH decreased since you are at 7. Be sure & use determinate tomatoes.
edurink
19 years ago
With fast expanding urbanization, roof gardening is definitely an option. In Japan for example, roof top gardening is so widespread. In Singapore, they practice this also. One case in point is the roof top hydroponics garden of Changi Hospital, that supplies a large portion of the vegetable needs of the hospital. Singapore is much warmer than Manila.

From experience and discussions with other enthusiasts using NFT PVC tube, I gather that the inside of the tube heats up a lot. Hence the solution becomes lukewarm and adversely affects the plants. What some do is to use white PVC tubes or wrap the dark colored tubes with foil insulation. According to them, the rise in temperature inside the tube is negligible. The foil insulation consists of a foam sheet (about 1/2 in. thick) with a layer of foil, as in aircon ducts. The tube is wrapped with the foil outside to deflect the heat of the sun.

Another consideration for roof top hydroponics in the Philippines are the strong winds during the stormy season. The area is prone to storms. Preparations have to made for this.

Given a chance I'd like to do roof top hydroponics, if I had the appropriate roof space.
GreenGorilla
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for all your feedback... it really helps shape what i need to do.

I know what you mean by the foil insulation... it's not really cheap but it should last you a long time... although i think the manufacturer didn't mean for it to be used in direct sunlight. It's about PHP94.00 per sq meter.

I've just about given up on the PVC/NFT system. The more i look into it the more expensive it's getting to be! and the weight is also not very ideal for a GI roof.

Right now i'm leaning on... well actually i've started to make my growing platform from styro boxes. i found a styrobox that is more commonly referred to as a Tuna Box. It's relatively cheap and about the correct size.

Hey does anybody know a good place i can blog and put pictures in? i'd like to share this experience of mine. hehe.

City Rooftop hydroponics- what's best?

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