Have you ever thought of installing a green roof? They are a great option for the family that wants to have a more environmentally friendly home. If part or all of your roof is flat or nearly flat, installing a green roof may cut your heating and cooling costs during the winter and summer, respectively, and give you a relaxing spot of outdoor space up off the ground! Green roofs are generally more aesthetically appealing than traditional roofing systems, and may help improve local air quality. If you live in an urban area, taking this step will also help mitigate the urban heat island effect which results in higher temperatures over urban areas that retain heat better than surrounding areas which are more vegetated. Increased temperatures not only mean elevated power consumption, but can also negatively impact air quality and public health in general. Here are some things you should know about green roofs: Green roofs are mere slabs of nature placed exclusively on the rooftops of corporate skyscrapers and couture-designed architecture? Think again! Green roofs are practical constructs that should and can be added to all buildings – tall and short, residential and commercial – in various ways, as they provide numerous benefits to not only the environment, but to the architectural soundness of the artifice and even to your health.
Regular gardening soil will not work the same way on your green roofing, even if you plant the same flower or vegetable from your backyard. Soil used on green roofs is specifically formulated to make the most out of your green garden-scape without weighing down on the roofing structure or insulation, which is something regular gardening soil can’t provide.
Know What You Are PlantingThe types of plant you place on your roof are usually what determine the type of soil you use. Because green roofing structures aren’t able to support plants with expansive root systems, short plants like grass, flowers and easy-to-handle vegetables are perfect for the shallow soil depth that most green roofs are able to sustain. Small, local plants are a great way to take further advantage of being an eco-friendly roof. Larger plants like fruit trees and other small arbors should be placed in their soil pots to prevent crowding root space and over-absorption of nutrients.
What to Look For If there is one thing you need to understand about green roof-engineered soil, it’s that is needs to be lightweight. No heavy gardening soil, period! Though some roofs have structures that can handle a bit of extra weight, most will not, particularly residential roofs. It is wise to not take the risk of using regular soil and watching your roof cave in or experience leaking from oversaturation.
With that in mind, here are some other things to look out for when soil shopping: water permeability and retention, rot resistance, nutrient saturation, and balanced aeration. Do not be intimidated, as these are all simple concepts that are quite easy to understand once you move past the terminology.
No standards exist in the U.S. for green roof soil specifications, but they are generally determined by the depth and weight of plants, climate and roof irrigation. The latter is particularly important, as an imbalance in its structure could lead to all sorts of problems for the rest of the building.
So be choosey about your soil! It can make or break the project! Green roofs are a great step toward sustainability and green living! And at Bayes, we are dedicated to green living, which is why we have designed our line of green home cleaning products to suit your family's need for organic options in green living. Come by and see what we have for you today!
