The Rooftop Growing Guide: How to Transform Your Roof into a Vegetable Garden or Farm Paperback – February 16, 2016

When the Rooftop Growing Guide arrived and I started reading it I just couldn't put it down. With my passion for plants, soil and gardens I was literally spellbound and finished it in one reading. I was fascinated by the history of gardens on page 12 and 13. I loved the pictures as the photos are not only beautiful but assist one in being able to imagine designing and making their own "special" rooftop garden. All the very detailed "how to advice" about how to successfully create a variety of rooftop gardens included is extremely helpful. I cherish the book and will share copies with my friends. I am very grateful to Annie Novak for writing and generously sharing her hard won knowledge (gained from actual experience and no doubt tons of hard work) on how to develop Rooftop Gardens with others around the world. The Rooftop Growing Guide opens up wonderful new horizons regarding how to grow both healthy food and create lovely green outdoor lawns and privacy spaces that include trees, shrubs and flowers on formerly unused rooftops. Miriam W.

I have bought several rooftop gardening books this past year, but in my opinion, this is THE rooftop gardening/farming book to buy! It is full of accessible, quality information on just about anything you will need - The clear how-to guides cover everything from how to assess your sun exposure to building a worm bin to figuring out what nutrients your plants need. The author also includes interviews with other rooftop growers, including imagines from their spaces for tips and inspiration. I especially enjoy the general aesthetic of the book - it is full of information, but not too big to carry with you, the photographs and sketches are beautiful, the organization of the text makes it easy to read, and the margins and big enough to take your own notes as you use this book as your guide to start trying things out and making things grow!

No rooftop, no problem-- the advice in Annie Novak's "The Rooftop Growing Guide" also applies to balcony, patio, rental, and other non-permanent gardens you might be planning for the space you have available. Just replace "rooftop" with "constrained space" and it all still works!I was a little disappointed at how little the politics and feasibility of a rooftop garden are discussed. Only about three pages of text (starting on page 28, should probably be much closer to the beginning) discuss the very complicated aspects of structural assessments and building codes, which can quickly put an end to most rooftop gardening plans. The cost of having an engineer out to assess a building's roof and structural load limits is prohibitive in and of itself, and the complication of doing this in a shared building owned by someone else is not even addressed. Having replaced the flat roof of my own small rowhouse a few years ago, I know the building would not have supported the additional weight of soil and water and I would not have gone to the extra expense of retrofitting the required support.However, there is no reason that the methods prescribed in this book can't be adapted for other spaces. Container gardens can be squeezed in to almost any corner, and framed or raised beds and greenhouses work the same directly on the ground (if not better, insulated by the ground). Advice in this book on soil, irrigation, design, etc. is good for any garden working in a restrained space, and the book is interspersed with inspiring profiles of working rooftop gardens that are practical or stylish to show what an established rooftop garden can be.I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this honest review, and look forward to killing more grass and using some of the rooftop methods from this book to make healthy raised beds and containers to grow vegetables this year.

This book caught my eye since I have been curious about growing my own vegetables and live in the city. I was glad that it was simple enough for me to get a grasp on where and how to set up my garden, but also could be used as a reference guide as my vegetables grow (includes tips on harvesting and organic fertilizers). It also much easier to read than other books I've read with many vibrant colors and great pictures of rooftop farms with city views in the background. Great buy!

A fantastic book jam packed full of useful tips both for the person planning a rooftop farm of their own, as well as for any urban farmer wanting to maximize space and utilize smart organic tricks to improve yield and avoid plagues.

Even if you're not growing on a rooftop, you'll learn a lot from this book about growing fruits and vegetables. I would love to know if the author or her many contacts was successful growing asparagus on a roof.

Everything you need to know, and don't know you need to know, about roof & container gardening. It's easy to follow and very user friendly with lots of photos and illustrations.

Should be titled "Rich person's guide to having other people design and build your rooftop garden". The author relies on hired designers and expensive pre-made soil mixes to have others build her garden fur her. Not a DIY book at all. She waltzes in after others have done the work and then starts gardening.A rooftop garden can be built for a fraction of what is depicted in this book with sourcing used materials and making your own soil mix.There are some generalities of container and rooftop gardening in the book, but nothing one can't find in a few minutes with an internet search.