Hello, My name is Vivek.M; that's pronounced Vee Wake. I live in
Bangalore, India; with: one Dad, one Mum, one younger blister and a
furry brown dog called Putty.

I am a student doing my EEE; My hobbies are playing chess, monkeying
with the computer and fiddling with electronic gizmos, IRC'ing more
than is good for my health, playing computer games ( Starcraft and
Total Annihilation ) and reading ( Sci-Fi: Robert Heinlein, Orson
Scott Card, Kurt Vonnegut, Asimov, Clark; Murder-Mystery: Agatha
Christie and John Le Carre; Action-Adventu Alistair McLean, Desmond
Bagley, Rafael Sabatini; Oh! and heaps of other stuff. ). I'm also
trying to pick up a wee bit of Metal-working. Err..it does look like a
long list, but I'm no expert at any of it!!

I've just started gardening and the only stuff I've ever grown are a
pair of watermelons though I've helped my father..well not really
*grin* He grows all boring stuff!!


The news-groups have been good fun so far; I shall do my best not to
get in-to too much trouble.. Well, I promise not to SPAM under any
circumstance and will strain every nerve not to flame..But, you musn't
preach; your moral values are your own. I'll follow the stuff in the
charter and hold true to it's spirit.

I'd better clarify the above: There was this issue with someone's
computer and it got discussed with advice on how to fix the issue and
stuff; not really off-topic but not exactly on the ball either.

Now it's very likely that I would have told her how to fix it and what
software to use and how to pirate the darn thing. See what I mean?
I'm not breaking any laws but ..

Software piracy, religion..I don't believe in God, Good and Bad, Right
and Wrong; I'm absolutely a-moral and have resolved these things to my
satisfaction. If you flame me I won't be able to respond because that
would be even more off-topic; I shall assume you are a ass and leave
it at that. If you really wish to Err..discuss my wayward ways *grin*;
well, post in alt.philosophy and mail me; we'll fight each other till
our fingers fall off!! .


Anyway! Phew! Introductions are tedious! Gasp!!
My email vivekm..@cybersp.... allows only in-coming. If I need to mail
you in return I'll use Yahoo, so don't start in surprise.

That's about it I guess. Oh and I tend to lurk a lot..classes, exams,
home-work, other hobbies, my pathetic gardening knowledge *grin* so
feel free to mail me on Yahoo..If you want help on computers or a few
web pages done or some Perl programming..chess games..etc etc..

We don't have much of a garden right now though Dad had great stuff
growing ( hollyhocks, tons of asters, coxcomb, gladiola, sunflower and
heaps of veggies ). Right now we have some Banana, 1 small mango tree.
We have about 4000 sq feet of garden and another 3000 sq feet of roof.
I'll be going to buy some seeds tomorrow; hopefully I shall get some
nice stuff.

"Vivek.M" wrote in message
...
snip intro

We don't have much of a garden right now though Dad had great stuff
growing ( hollyhocks, tons of asters, coxcomb, gladiola, sunflower and
heaps of veggies ). Right now we have some Banana, 1 small mango tree.
We have about 4000 sq feet of garden and another 3000 sq feet of roof.
I'll be going to buy some seeds tomorrow; hopefully I shall get some
nice stuff.
Begs the question....

What *can* you grow on a roof?

"One and Only" wrote in message
...

"Vivek.M" wrote in message
...
snip intro

We don't have much of a garden right now though Dad had great stuff
growing ( hollyhocks, tons of asters, coxcomb, gladiola, sunflower and
heaps of veggies ). Right now we have some Banana, 1 small mango tree.
We have about 4000 sq feet of garden and another 3000 sq feet of roof.
I'll be going to buy some seeds tomorrow; hopefully I shall get some
nice stuff.
Begs the question....

What *can* you grow on a roof?

loads :~))
http://www.ljconline.nl/garden/indexgarden.htm
jenny

Yeah ! Seriously ! Heaps even ! Anyway It's June end here and the sky
is dark with the monsoon.

I've bought the following ( Flowers: Chrysanthimum, Antirrhinum,
Cockscomb, Candytuft,
Sunflower, Aster, Salvia, Larkspur, Hollyhock; Veggies: Pumpkin,
Radish, Egg Plant and Bell Pepper ).

No doubt this was a brilliant move on my part, *grin*, anyway, i should
have started this earlier like in Feb, but i didn't want to wait till
next Feb ! I'm resigned to nothing sprouting, but i now know what stuff
is available in that place and can research stuff on them.

The seeds were cheap ( paid pound 1.50 for the lot ); I need to see how
many sprout !
There's another seed shop, but we weren't going that way.

If i plant the stuff in beds ( on the ground ) the light will be low
and I'll have to protect the stuff from the rains ( Chrysanthimum needs
moist soil ). I'm thinking of using 1 liter milk packets and placing
them on the roof till they sprout and the main leaves pop up and then a
wee bit more; then I'll move them to beds. Or can i scrap the 2 stage
process and just directly heave emm in to the soil ? I could aereate
the beds by digging deep ( 1/2 a foot deep ) and making emm fluffy and
soft and covering them with plastic.

The roof receives a lot more sunlight ; no trees and shadows.
Temperatu 18-32 deg Centi and light-level: dull grey sky. But we do
have patches of brightness !

Are there any wily tricks and cunning strategem's that i can use to get
good results.

Hey Jen, neat site !! How do you prevent dampness in the roof ? Have
you given it a incline; won't the plants slow down evaporation of water
from in-between the gravel? What about in winter? Have you had any
problems with the roof? And how did you figure out the load bearing
capacity off the roof - structural engineer?

Vivek.M writes
Yeah ! Seriously ! Heaps even ! Anyway It's June end here and the sky
is dark with the monsoon.

Sounds a bit like Leeds this morning.
--
Kay

"Vivek.M" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hey Jen, neat site !! How do you prevent dampness in the roof ?

It was meant to be a terrace when built. It's concrete and I just added pots
and gravel :~))

Have you given it a incline

No. Any excess water runs away through drain[pipes at the corners.

won't the plants slow down evaporation of water from in-between the gravel?

Ys :~)) I have a theory that the gravel keeps the roof damp and therefore
make the lead coping dry out less and therefore keeps the roof in better
condition.

What about in winter?

About half the pots stay where they are. Some tender plants are bought into
the greenhouse.

Have you had any problems with the roof?

Not where the plants are. The upper roof of the second floor with no plants
ect started to leak and had to be repaired!

And how did you figure out the load bearing capacity off the roof -
structural engineer?

I got in touch with the architect and the builder. It's 150 kilos per square
meter. My original plan was to have a shallow pond with the water being
pumped round, but that was too heavy :~((

Most of the heavy pots are around the edge or on top of a load bearing wall
about 2/3 way down the 'garden'.

What's your roof like??
Got any pictures??

Jenny

In article ,
"JennyC" writes:
| "Vivek.M" wrote in message
| oups.com...
| Hey Jen, neat site !! How do you prevent dampness in the roof ?
|
| It was meant to be a terrace when built. It's concrete and I just added pots
| and gravel :~))

Designing flat roofs for such use is the key.

| Have you given it a incline
|
| No. Any excess water runs away through drain[pipes at the corners.

The normal problem with those is bowing in the centre, forming a
semi-permanent lake - see above and below!

| won't the plants slow down evaporation of water from in-between the gravel?
|
| Ys :~)) I have a theory that the gravel keeps the roof damp and therefore
| make the lead coping dry out less and therefore keeps the roof in better
| condition.

Yes. The normal reason for leaks in lead is that it cracks after the
expansion and contraction due to extremes of temperature.

| And how did you figure out the load bearing capacity off the roof -
| structural engineer?
|
| I got in touch with the architect and the builder. It's 150 kilos per square
| meter. My original plan was to have a shallow pond with the water being
| pumped round, but that was too heavy :~((

That's about half standard office loading. Anything designed to have
another story (in the UK!) will be that or higher. Roofs not so designed
may not be.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Vivek.M" wrote Hello, My name is Vivek.M; that's pronounced Vee Wake. I
live in
Bangalore, India; with: one Dad, one Mum, one younger blister and a
furry brown dog called Putty.
((snip))
I've just started gardening and the only stuff I've ever grown are a
pair of watermelons though I've helped my father..well not really
*grin* He grows all boring stuff!!



Bangalore, that's the "Garden City" isn't it?
Very beautiful as I remember, lots of plants and green everywhere (unlike
some parts of your country).

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

Vivek.M writes
Yeah ! Seriously ! Heaps even ! Anyway It's June end here and the sky
is dark with the monsoon.

Sounds a bit like Leeds this morning.

How's your mango tree and bananas? :-)
Tackle hugs The Janet and sits on her grin

Bangalore, that's the "Garden City" isn't it?
Very beautiful as I remember, lots of plants and green everywhere (unlike
some parts of your country).

Well, our family has been here for eons; well, ever since my
grandfathers time. Since 95, because of the software boom, the
population has sky-rocketed with real estate prices going through the
roof. I used to love the place when we first moved, as a kid. The
roads used to be deserted and we used to play cricket in the by-lanes
and wander all over. There used to be a huge park ( at least it looked
huge at that time, now it looks a little small ) which was
un-developed ( brambles, a broken down old brick shed and a huge dirty
gutter in which black tadpoles would swim ); Now it's a place for
plump ladies to jog!! There's heaps of traffic and everyone wants to
sit in Coffe Day! Hopefully we'll sell and move out once i'm done with
college. I've been trying to con Dad in-to buying some land ( 'bout 20
acres ); he seems keen on it, so.. *grin*. Partly why i decided to
learn gardening..The countryside can be very nice, unlike the citys
which are glorified slums, with little islands of opulence.

On Sat, 24 Jun 2006 18:46:50 +0200, "JennyC" wrote:
What's your roof like??
Got any pictures??

I'll post pics if things go as planned, next week end or perhaps the
week after.

Our roof is similar to yours in that it's got two distinct levels.
Both the ground floor and first floor roofs can take another level,
however the roof has got something called surki ( left over brick
powder, fibre from some plant, jaggery, cement and other stuff ) put
over the roof slab and compacted. It's water proof and we haven't had
any problems in ages..it's also inclined, but not sure if i can let
water stand on it. In fact i'm fairly sure i'll get killed if i try a
roof garden. Dad won't mind the odd potted plant, but i'll have to
make sure the whole area is dry.

BTW would anyone know what the word "berrain" in "doing berrain work"
means? Is it English or Irish? I'm sure it's a valid word.

Nope, it's a valid word alright. I came across it in a P.G.Wodehouse -
The Manoeuvres of Charteris.

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1936/ ( just search for
berrain ). Great story too, if you like PGW.

It goes something like this:

'Why on earth are you slacking in here on this ripping afternoon?'
'Slacking!' said Charteris. 'I like that. I'm doing berrain work,
Babe.
I'm writing an article on masters and their customs, which will cause
a profound sensation in the Common Room. At least it would, if they
ever saw it, but they won't. Or I hope they won't for their sake _and_
mine. So run away, my precious Babe, and don't disturb your uncle when
he's busy.'

Charteris isn't Irish and i haven't come across a dict that had that
word and i've always wondered.. though the sense does come across.

"Vivek.M" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Jun 2006 18:46:50 +0200, "JennyC"
wrote:
What's your roof like??
Got any pictures??

I'll post pics if things go as planned, next week end or perhaps the
week after.

Our roof is similar to yours in that it's got two distinct levels.
Both the ground floor and first floor roofs can take another level,
however the roof has got something called surki ( left over brick
powder, fibre from some plant, jaggery, cement and other stuff ) put
over the roof slab and compacted. It's water proof and we haven't had
any problems in ages..it's also inclined, but not sure if i can let
water stand on it.

Pots will probably only be damp underneath. You could stand them in trays -
this would be a good idea anyway as a water reserve for the plants. You can
use almost any container to grow stuff.

In fact i'm fairly sure i'll get killed if i try a
roof garden. Dad won't mind the odd potted plant, but i'll have to
make sure the whole area is dry.

I presume you have a LOT of rain at monsoon time??

BTW would anyone know what the word "berrain" in "doing berrain work"
means? Is it English or Irish? I'm sure it's a valid word.

A P.G. Wodehouse word :~))
http://www.google.nl/search?hl=en&ne...rain+w ork%22

Jenny

Pots will probably only be damp underneath. You could stand them in trays -
this would be a good idea anyway as a water reserve for the plants. You can
use almost any container to grow stuff.
Yeah, we have some empty plastic buckets and left-over paint cans that
could be used. Look good too

In fact i'm fairly sure i'll get killed if i try a
roof garden. Dad won't mind the odd potted plant, but i'll have to
make sure the whole area is dry.

I presume you have a LOT of rain at monsoon time??
Yeah, a fair bit! It's not too bad though. I'll try K's suggestion for
plastic sheeting. It will protect the leaves from the force of the
rain and keep the ground from getting too soggy. Been busy the whole
day ( Sunday ) mucking around the garden, making beds - though it
was drizzling. I'll let the water dry a bit before planting. Hopefully
tomorrow will be a bit sunny!

BTW would anyone know what the word "berrain" in "doing berrain work"
means? Is it English or Irish? I'm sure it's a valid word.

A P.G. Wodehouse word :~))
http://www.google.nl/search?hl=en&ne...rain+w ork%22
LoL! yeah, i did check that; in fact i read about it in that very same
novel. Nice short-story, that.