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EcoTrack 11: A visit to a decktop garden

Ann Albright lives in and owns a business in downtown Toledo. She decided to take her green business practices home, but she doesn't have yard space. So she focused her attention on her roof.
Reported by Tara Hastings email
Posted by Kate Oatis email

TOLEDO (WTOL) - Ann Albright lives in and owns a business in downtown Toledo. She decided to take her green business practices home, but she doesn't have yard space.

So she focused her attention on her roof.

"I spend hours out here. It's such a thrill," Albright said. "What I'm doing up here is not actually putting dirt on top of the rooftop membrane. I'm going with container gardens instead."

Horse troughs help to disperse weight across the roof. They're filled with vegetables, herbs and flowers. After a lot of internet research and trial and error, Albright's rooftop garden is flourishing.

Watering all the plants may seem like a big task, but Albright doesn't use city water.

"It fills up in about 5 min. with just a nice steady rain," Albright said, explaining how her rain barrel works.

The barrel holds 110 gal. of rain water. Using gravity, water is fed through a hose down two stories to her garden.

Albright is taking her green roof one step further. The deck is actually made out of recycled plastic.

There are also solar lights that provide some brightness at night.

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