Goloveyko’s roof garden has five rows of plants which provide her family with the long-term financial advantages of regular access to food while sustaining a healthy ecosystem for wildlife.
“We have a water garden now, so we have a bunch of water plants, and all the rain that falls goes in there, and there’s a couple of little snails in there. When we’re done with our watermelon rinds, we put them in this water garden, and the snails all eat them,” said Goloveyko.
The family grows several types of melons, four varieties of peppers, many kinds of lettuce, and six different varieties of tomatoes. There are two bins for compost [shown on right].
One compost bin holds the biodegradable food waste from their kitchen, and the other holds the soil that they produce from that food waste to use in their garden.
Goloveyko said her inspiration for the rooftop garden were her parents, who are avid gardeners. She says they have always loved growing vegetables in their community garden. She said this is how they all love “connecting with the earth.”