While the history of green roofing may still be somewhat controversial – some writers point to sod roofs of Iceland and Ireland, some to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and others to pit houses among the First Peoples of the Southwest United States – even so, statistics show that contemporary green roof use enjoys consistent and global growth today.

 What is a green roof?

At a very basic level, green roofs are similar to container gardening. Only, these containers are on top of your house instead of in your backyard – and instead of barrels, lightweight plastic mats are used. The lowest layer is the man-made roofing material itself, then a waterproof barrier, then a layer of insulation and a drainage system are installed on top of that. Finally a system of mats filled with growing medium and plants is fitted together and installed on top. Up there, access to plenty of sunlight and rain water encourages the vigorous and healthy growth of the plants.

Green roofs come in three flavors:

Extensive green roofs: in which less than 6 inches of growing medium is used;

Intensive green roofs: in which more than 6 inches of growing medium is used;

Hybrid roofs: which include elements of both of the above and can accommodate plants of varying sizes.

But how “green” is it?

From an environmental standpoint it’s easy to see why this movement is catching on around the world. Even just the benefit of capturing and utilizing rain water can go a long way in supporting the wider community of environmental systems and improving water quality. Some reports show that green roofs reduce rain water flows by more than 70%, which minimizes flood danger and runoff into nearby streams and rivers. Water also flows more slowly through these systems, saving wear and tear on local storm water infrastructure. Green roofs provide habitats for birds and insects. They are more beautiful than traditional roofs and they provide all of the benefits of any meadow or garden: air purification, oxygen generation, and space for growing food. And these roofs reduce the urban “heat island” effect, which leads directly to mitigating smog.

When you think about adding what amounts to more meadowland to your neighborhood, It’s easy to show these kinds of amazing environmental benefits. However, many homeowners wonder about the bottom line, especially these days. Will there be a measurable return on investment? Well, with green roofs homeowners can benefit from a reduction in energy costs, as the thick layers of living plants and growing medium insulates the building during winter months. During summer, homeowners benefit from cooling as dew evaporates into the air. Green roofs can enhance fire protection and, by absorbing and deflecting UV radiation, they can extend the life of the typical roof from the standard 20 or 30 years to more than 50. It’s truly a living, breathing system with tangible economic and environmental benefits.

The proverbial 500-pound gorilla

You may have guessed that one of the biggest challenges of green roof technology right now is weight. With all those plants, captured rain water and the additional weight of the growing medium, contractors and do-it-yourselfers have to be extremely conscious of how much the roof will weigh. Luckily, as a growing medium, Growstones solve that problem quite handily.. Growstones are lightweight, hold water and nutrients, but provide good drainage and aeration.

Engineers generally calculate the weight of soil as 120 pounds per cubic foot at a typical moisture content. That is more than TEN TIMES the weight of Growstones! At just 11.5 pounds per cubic foot, Growstones can allow a whole new class of roofs that previously were not candidates for green roofs. Up to now, if a typical homeowner wanted to plant a green roof, they would have to go with a very very thin layer of soil. The thinner the soil layer, the higher the physical demands on the plants and the less rain water is mitigated. Using Growstones as the basis for a green roof growing medium allows shallow soil depths without risking root damage from heat and frost fluctuations. At the same time, Growstones’ capacity for holding moisture encourages the plants to grow deeper, more substantial root systems.

So, if you’re a homeowner, contractor or engineer who has been dreaming about installing a green roof on a smaller building, Growstones can help make that dream into a reality. Power to the people!

Have a green roof growing near you? Send the photo and we’ll share it with the world!

Our post this week is by Grubbycup, an avid indoor gardener for over 20 years. His magazine articles were first published in the United Kingdom, and since then his gardening advice has been published in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czechoslovakian and German. His latest book “Grubbycup’s Garden Notes” has been used as a text for hydroponic gardening classes in several states across the country. He is also considered one of the world’s leading authorities on crochet hydroponics.

Neem oil is extracted from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) which can be grown either outside as a large tree, or inside as a houseplant. Originally from India and Burma where an estimated 18 million neem trees still grow, this relative of mahogany has white honey scented flowers, and yellow, olive shaped fruit. It is a broadleaved evergreen tree that as a tender perennial cannot withstand freezing temperatures. It grows well in hot, dry conditions in poor soil, but cannot withstand overwatering or frost. Neem can be used against hundreds of insect pests, as well as mites, nematodes, and some pathogenic fungi.

Neem trees can be started from seeds, or cuttings. Neem seeds have an extremely short shelf life, usually staying viable only a few weeks. Fortunately I was able to get a couple of neem tree sprouts from Vicki Parsons, founder of Neem Tree Farms in Florida. Because of neem’s short lived seeds, and the tender nature of the sprouted plants, availability is restricted during the colder months, so call the “Neem Queen” herself at (813-661-8873) in the summer months to check availability. Vicki has been instrumental in raising neem awareness in the United States since 1992.

To make a primitive but effective insecticide from neem plant material, crush and steep the leaves and/or seeds in water or alcohol, strain, and use. Water is commonly used, but alcohol creates a much more potent product as the desired limonoids are not very water soluble, but dissolve readily in alcohol. Adding a small amount of dishwashing soap to the water as an emulsifier can help suspend the neem in water. Sesame oil has shown indications of improving performance as well. I personally have had good luck with a mix of 1 liter water, 2.5 ml soap, and 5 ml neem oil (about 1 qt water, ½ teaspoon soap, and 1 teaspoon neem oil).

Neem is not a fast-acting toxin, but it interrupts the life cycles of unwelcome invaders. The method of protection varies depending on the invader. Neem’s built in “friend or foe” system works on the principle that unwanted pests are those that eat or damage plant material. Beneficial insects that crawl on the surface of plants appear to be unaffected. Neem sprayed on plants will create a thin coating that will either dissuade insects from eating it, or effect changes in those that do.

One of the most potent components is the limonoid azadirachtin, which causes some insect larvae to be unable to metamorphosize, and thus prevent them from becoming adults and reproducing. Azadirachtin is similar in structure to the hormones used by insects that control development. Once introduced, it blocks the normal functioning of these hormones, and prevents the insects from becoming sexually mature. It is also responsible for a fair amount of neem’s repellent properties.

Neem has a variety of uses in the garden, and in moderation can be good for plants as a “soft” pesticide, especially when used early in an insect invasion. Growing neem at home can inexpensively supply a gardener with a steady supply of leaves that can be used as needed. By homecrafting your own neem pesticide, unnecessary packaging, transport, and other carbon costs can be avoided. Adding neem to your garden can help it be more self sufficient, and less reliant on commercial pesticide products.

Did you know that you can use Growstones to eradicate fungus gnats with no chemicals? Know of another way to get rid of unwanted pests without the toxins? Share it here!

On the surface, business seems a far cry from nature. But as the old song lyric goes, “That ain’t necessarily so”. The late Ray Anderson who founded Interface Carpet used a discarded mountain of ripped out carpet as his inspiration and gave birth to the recycled carpet industry by seeking a better way. He believed there was a way to make business thrive on this planet without the ecological and social impacts that make our current “take-make-waste” system obsolete.

Biomimicry, using nature as a model, is that better way. Nature, by its very nature creates, destroys then reuses what it needs to recreate itself by using its own resources in a never-ending circle of life. That is something well worth studying and copying.

Trees spring up, grow and mature, create leaves, which drop to the forest floor and decay, becoming the very substances trees need to regenerate and grow. Life itself is in a constant cycle of regeneration leading to recreation.

For business, the question becomes: Can it become regenerative? Here at Growstone we think it must. Our model relies on that very principle and is the basis of our company. We take a product, glass bottles whose intended purpose have ended, and rescue them from the landfill. Those bottles are then given new life using systems that respect the environment. Little water, low energy use. Everything that can be is recycled for reuse without any unnecessary resource depletion.

By reincarnating that glass into high performance growing mediums and substrates, we take what was waste and make useful products that help growers grow better, cleaner and more efficiently. Useless becomes useful, ugly becomes beauty. Waste creates new jobs that would not have life without it.

By watching nature as a core principle, the way it works and its intrinsic respect for itself, all of us can find ways to do it better. Systems that have sustained our planet since time began seem to us as intelligent models to copy. What lasts, survives and passes the test of time must do so because they work, or nature would have found another better way.  

From all of us here at Growstone, to follow that model seems the natural choice. What do you think?

Under a hopelessly antiquated 1872 mining law, one of the country’s most pristine sites, the sacred Cabinet Mountains in Montana, is now going to be decimated and turned into a proposed copper and silver mine. We need your help to stop it.

The National Forest Service says they can’t because of a mining law passed in 1872 is still on the books. To make matters even worse, this law will hand over more than $20 billion worth of publicly owned minerals to a Canadian company, Revett Minerals, for free.

This law was enacted once upon a time when individual prospectors and miners with picks, shovels and donkeys sweated value out of the earth one bucket full at a time. Today, they have been replaced by mining giants who have fleeced us out of 10′s of billions of dollars under this archaic law.

Here are some of the shocking and disheartening facts:

• Mining leases can still be purchased at 1872 prices of $2.50-$5.00 per acre.
• Companies can mine public land for minerals without paying any royalties at all.
• This law contains no environmental protections.
• 40% of the Western watershed is polluted. Clean up costs are over $30 billion. Guess who pays?

But there is hope. You can help us stop it. Sign this petition and tell Congress to update this ancient 1872 law immediately.

Act now. It’s 2012, not 1872.

Guerrillas call it “urban gardening” as well as food justice. They even use biodegradable moss graffiti to advertise their activism. Guerrilla Gardeners started in the late 60′s, not surprisingly in Berkeley California. 

On the other end of the spectrum, convicts in the Washington State Department of Corrections can become part of the Sustainable Prisons Project which is in its 7th year. Partnering with Evergreen State College, incarcerated men together with prison staff, created the Moss-in-Prison Project farming moss for the horticultural trade as a way to help protect the planet and pay their debt to society. 

Both of these positive impact projects are programs we at Growstone support because of the positive changes they engender both for the participants and for society in general.

What’s so remarkable once again is the role nature can play in enriching lives, neighborhoods, health and the general welfare of all of us and the planet as well. At Growstone, we feel we are part of this mission taking waste and turning it into valuable eco-friendly products.

As we look around our nation, we see numerous opportunities to solve our problems by the wiser use of earth and resources. How much more could be done when we rescue blighted land and damaged lives through nature and gardening? How many more could we feed around the globe by wiser techniques? How many lives can we positively impact by putting hope back into peoples hands and lives?

As spring takes hold across the country and green thumbs start itching to get dirty, we invite you to think about others ways to grow not only food but hope, and ask you to share them with us.

We’d love to hear from you.

Our very own V.P. of Marketing, Patrick Beare, demonstrates Growstone’s superior air / water ratio properties at the Maximum Yield Show in Denver. Check out how well Growstones hold water in this video. “It just sucks that water right up,” says Patrick. See it with your own eyes!

CNN just reported the findings of The Global Footprint Network that calculate that we are about a half Earth short of what we need to keep on going. Simply put, we need another half planet if we are to survive and keep eating. The article quotes experts that say we are not just at peak oil but at “peak everything” and it’s not environmental but economic.

Feeding this extra half earth may take some doing, but hydroponics can go a long way to help making it happen.

In Brooklyn, New York a good part of the answer has sprung up on a 100,000 square foot roof.  It’s been turned into a hydro farm. If a rooftop farm can grow in Brooklyn, how many others can grow in unused space around the country and around the world? Millions would be the answer.

What we see at Growstone is an opportunity to supply food, jobs, and opportunity around the world by growing smarter, cleaner, healthier and more abundantly in less space with more yield and protection from weather, drought and disease.

The more we hear about food shortage, the more enthusiastic we are about Hydroponic advances and how it can literally transform the landscape. As tillable acreage shrinks, the shortfall can be taken up by those with the vision to seize the day and create gardens and farms where only blight existed.

Hydroponics is but one scientific advance with big gains for us all. Here at Growstone, we’ve turned waste into value and want to increase its value even more by helping growers grow more and better. Now that so much can be done with what we already have at our disposal we encourage all to take up the challenge.

We’re all hungry for change. How are you doing it?

The more you think about growing hydroponically, the more sense it makes. Your field is anywhere you can find some available space. An unused garage, a warehouse, a vacant building. Under those circumstances, inner city, rust-belt locations can become fields of dreams.

What if we turned underutilized locations into highly productive indoor farms? That could go a long way to bringing fresh produce and food into locations that have not seen a farmers market since the land were probably farms. It could provide a lot of jobs and training for hundreds who want to work in a truly productive industry. It could restore a sense of pride to areas long without it.

The beauty of hydro growing is how much more can be produced in much less space with much less water and energy usage. Today, hydro systems, which employ vertical growing methods, produce even more, turning the air space into additional growing space. With advances in indoor lighting such as LED lighting, even greater yields are possible.

Here at Growstone, we are providing growers with high-performance substrates that produce improved yields and results in hydroponic systems and in soil operations. We are turning waste into valuable and efficient substrates, which enhance growing, save resources and improve yields.

As food security becomes more and more a mainstream concern, we see hydroponics as a viable answer. We just have to change our view of farming as an open-air large acreage system to one that uses available space in a much more efficient manner.  

Tell us what you think.

by Paula Costa, PhD, Growstone Consultant for R&D Applications

Effect of Growstones Drier Nature on Greenhouse Crop Yields

Until recently, the most common growing media in hydroponic greenhouse vegetable production was mineral wool. However, in commercial hydroponic greenhouses, grower’s high level of technical knowledge and experience is leading to significant shifts in the choice of growing media. This shift is being driven by several needs: increased control over the root zone moisture content and EC; reduced energy and labor costs; reduced post-use disposal issues, environmental impact; and the possibility to capitalize on the added-value of using more sustainable agriculture inputs and practices.

A growing media that can satisfy all or most of these requirements, while maintaining consistent high yields and quality, will satisfy the three sustainability principles of environmental consciousness, social responsibility, and economical profitability; and will play a important role in the future sustainable agriculture. Growstones is one such alternative.

Find out how Growstones can help greenhouse operations become more sustainable while maintaining a competitive edge.

So it’s not too early to do something that can keep those pests from pestering you and fine dining on your plants and produce.

Growers all across the country that have used Growstones to top-dress their plants have discovered not only the ideal water holding capacity and aeration of Growstones, but also a side benefit they and their grows are now benefitting from: Natural, non-chemical, non-polluting pest control. 

Growstones, used as a grow medium and top dressing discourages pests, including fungus gnats.  Gnats grow and thrive in moist environments. Allowing your soil to dry between watering kills gnat larvae, making your plants less hospitable to adult gnats looking for a suitable place to lay their eggs. The rough, highly porous texture and surface of Growstones create an inhospitable place for gnats to land, so they pack up and go elsewhere.  

As one of our customers, a South Florida bug elimination expert reported, “I highly recommend Growstones as a safe and effective solution for eliminating fungus gnats”.

For gnat eradication, simply top dress your soil with 1/2 to 1 inch of Growstone Super Soil Aerator. Be sure to completely cover all soil, peat or coco coir, with Growstones.

In addition to the significant saving on all the pesticides you once needed, natural, chemical-free, non-toxic Growstones help you save and conserve water, and do not add to the dangerous chemical runoff into our streams and aquifers — while providing superior air and water retention for superior yields and beauty.

The beauty of Growstones is not just what they provide, but what they prevent. Let us know how they work for you.