TEXAS A&M GREEN ROOF AND LIVING WALL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS (FALL 2014) – BLOG 3

Since the use of fruit and vegetable crops on one of the green roofs seemed like a good idea, my classmates and I also thought it would be interesting to see how such crops would perform on a living wall. As with the green roof, various types and varieties of crops were used, as well as different growing techniques. Due to the living wall system consisting of pockets, all transplanted plants had to be wrapped in cloths and then inserted into each pocket. For plants that were directly seeded, we prepared pockets of soil in advance and then inserted the seeds by hand.

Unlike the green roof that was planted prior to this, a few of the plants on the wall do not seem to show much promise and water intake appears to be an issue. Weekly observations have indicated a slight decline in many of the plant species we selected, particularly some varieties of mint. Should these conditions continue, it is likely that many of the plants will have to be replaced. However, since these projects are primarily for research purposes, any results or data collected are helpful in understanding how these systems work and how our current methods and techniques can be improved.

TEXAS A&M GREEN ROOF AND LIVING WALL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS (FALL 2014) – BLOG 2

After collecting all the inventory data that was needed, my classmates and I spent a couple weeks rearranging plant modules and removing any unwanted plants from them. Once we had removed all plants from the unsatisfactory modules, we began brainstorming ideas for what kinds of plants could be used as replacements. The consensus was that we would be experimenting with vegetable and fruit crops to determine whether or not they would thrive and adapt on a rooftop setting. Some of the crops we chose to work with included different varieties of strawberries, lettuce, kale, and garlic. Many of these crops were selected for their hardiness, but some were chosen for the sake of experimentation.

While some of the plants were simply transplanted, others were directly seeded. This was done to determine which method would yield better results. Weekly observations have indicated that both methods are successful and many of the plants have begun to show promise. If these results continue, we may actually be able to harvest some of the crops within the next couple of months or so.

Texas A&M Green Roof and Living Wall Experiential Learning Projects (Fall 2014) – Blog 1

For the first few weeks of the green roof and living wall experiential learning class, we concentrated our efforts on inventorying existing plants on two separate green roof systems. These systems had already been established prior to this semester and our objective was to determine which plants had survived and which ones had not. Each student was given a set of plant lists, which were then used to identify and record the condition of the plants that had originally been planted in each module (nine total for each system). We also began removing any weeds from each module, which were then identified and tallied. This was done so that we could have a better idea as to what types of weeds were invading each plant module and to determine their overall invasiveness and potential threat to the remaining plants.

Once all surviving plants had been accounted for, we began discussing the possibility of placing the best modules under one green roof system. This of course meant that we would have to relocate and replant several modules. Relocating the modules took about two weeks to complete, but once the task was done, we proceeded to remove the plants (if any) from those modules which had been deemed as unsatisfactory, as well as brainstorm ideas for what could be planted in those modules.