Robin Rowland : Repeat as Needed

Repeat business must be a sign that you’re doing something right. Maybe the price was right or the quality and delivery of your product surpassed a customer’s expectations. 

Perhaps, both.

Here at Microfarm, repeat business isn’t uncommon. in fact, customers frequently will have us back over to add a cedar garden bed or two, or build a greenhouse complement the organic garden. Sometimes, it’s a compost bin or rain tank to pair with cedar garden beds we had perviously installed. More than a few of our chicken coops were added later, after we had already completed a customer’s organic garden design.

But, occasionally, these repeat business examples stand out for, well....just the amount of repeated business and extended scope of the work.

 

When we first met Robin Rowland, she already had an organic garden  - a modest design, just under a foot tall, and made with landscape timbers. With it’s loosely-fitted plastic mesh barrier - presumably intended to keep out rabbits and Abigail, the dog - we had to agree with Robin that the existing garden did seem a bit sad and lonely out there in the center of her South Charlotte backyard.

After reviewing some of the many the raised bed design examples on our Flickr account,  Robin selected a U-shaped cedar garden bed design the measures 3’ wide, 6’ on the sides, and 9’ across the back side of the planter.

And to keep Abigail and the neighborhood rabbits our of her new organic garden, we made it 25”-tall ; 6” taller than the standard 19” height of our Kitchen Garden raised bed design. 

With the new installation completed, Robin stopped just long enough to pose for a photo with her new cedar garden bed ( and Abigail ), before she began planting seedlings.

Admittedly, the new U-shaped cedar raised bed was quite an improvement over the old garden. 

And it even seemed to stand up tall and proudly as we gathered our gear together and said goodbye to Robin.

 

But the U-shaped planter must have been lonely out there by itself. Or Robin simply wanted more garden area. Or both. Because it wasn’t even half a fortnight before Robin called to request that we build an identical, 25”-tall, U-shaped cedar garden bed to be placed opposite the existing one. 

We promptly made it happen, and we have to say that the two U-shaped planters placed opposite each other did create quite a pleasant sense of balance and symmetry. 

Good idea, Robin. 

And this wasn’t the first time a customer suggested a garden design that was so good that we routinely offer it to others. We’re happy to build a customer’s own design, suggest one of ours, or even combine elements of both to create something entirely new.

With her two U-shaped raised beds now neatly facing each other, Robin seemed to be all set ; a skilled organic gardener that had all she needed to ‘take the ball and run with it’.

 

But the bright red color of the cedar boards on her new raised bed hadn’t even begun to fade to that iconic silver/grey, when Robin called back to ask if we could make a cedar arbor between the two U-shaped raised beds.

“Of course we can”, was our response. 

After all, we’ll take on just about any outdoor project design that’s strong, beautiful, and made with red cedar.

We built Robin’s  cedar arbor design with a combination of 4”x4” cedar posts, 2”x6” cedar beams, and 2”x4” cedar rafters. This post and beam style is essentially the way pergolas, livestock sheds, and manner of outdoor structures have been made for eons.

Now, the primary purpose of the U-shaped raised beds is organically growing edible varieties, but Robin wanted to plant an evergreen jasmine vine that could grow up and onto the arbor, providing the needed shade to screen some of the all-day sun that her garden receives. 

 

To help the jasmine plant make its way to the top of the arbor, and to give vertical support to climbing edible varieties like cucumbers and pole beans, we built and installed four new cedar trellises into Robin’s new garden design.

With pea pebbles placed between the two U-shaped planters and the cedar arbor firmly anchored in place, it was finally time to say goodbye. By now we had gotten to know Robin pretty well and learned all about her gardening hobby, and we have to confess, it was a bittersweet parting.

 

At the same time, we had also noticed a pattern forming ; the pattern of repeat business from Robin. And we weren’t quite as surprised to receive the next call from Robin - this time requesting a third U-shaped cedar garden bed and an extension of the cedar arbor. 

 

“Done deal,” we said, and soon delivered the work as requested.

By now, Robin and the Microfarm team were becoming fast friends. Instead of “hello”, we answered her calls, with “Hi Robin!”, and we practically had our own dedicated parking spot out front.

 

The new, expanded garden cut such a prominent figure in the center of Robin’s modest-sized South Charlotte backyard, that it surely seemed like now, our work here was finally done. 

But the repeat business pattern having now been so clearly formed, we could only presume that that sooner or later, we would be back over to Robin’s house.

And it proved to be sooner than later.

“Tell me about your cedar-framed greenhouses”, Robin began our next phone conversation.

 

“Well, they’re framed with rough sawn red cedar, and glazed with 8mm twin-wall polycarbonate. We anchor our cedar-framed greenhouse to a level base made with two courses of red cedar timbers, and we fill in the floor with decorative pea pebbles. Automated roof vent windows help control the temperature inside, and we can even build tiered cedar shelving and a cedar potting bench that fit neatly inside your greenhouse  - to maximize the interior space. The robust cedar frame and stout base paired together make a sturdy, rock-solid structure that stubbornly defies wind storms, and heavy snow and ice loads.”

“Okay, let’s do an 8’x10’ cedar-framed greenhouse, with the tiered shelving and the potting bench”, replied Robin, by the end of the call. “There’s a perfect place for the greenhouse, on the left side of the backyard, between the house and the storage shed.

A visit back to Robin’s to measure the site confirmed this, and in about two weeks time, Robin’s organic garden and cedar arbor shared the backyard with her new 8’x10’ cedar-framed greenhouse, with tired cedar shelving and cedar potting bench.

So does the story end here? 

For now, anyway. After all, there’s only so much space in Robin’s backyard.

Still....there are a few choice, sunny areas back there. And we know how much she loves organic gardening. And she does seem to like the things we build.

So we won’t be at all surprised - or in the least bit disappointed - to receive another call from Robin Rowland.

An Elegant Garden Fortress

Country meadows and farm pasture nestled among towering native forests. Hardly any traffic, or the noise and stress that comes along with it. Lower taxes. Better schools. Rural beauty paired with the convenience of family-friendly neighborhood living. Who wouldn’t love that? Many do, and it’s for these reasons and more, the Ahumada family chose their Fort Mill home when relocating from California. 

As if to enjoy to enjoy that rural beauty to the fullest, the family’s home sits at the back of  a cul-de-sac, on the very edge of their graciously-designed, upscale neighborhood. The view from the family’s backyard paints a striking picture with stands of hardwood and conifer trees. A gently sloping meadow, with boulders. A sparkling pond off in the distance. 

And, of course, this heavenly slice of country living wouldn’t be complete without wildlife ; all the rabbits, foxes, raccoons... creatures that fly, walk, crawl, and slither. And especially the deer. Those hungry, hoofed, and agile creatures that move in groups that can wipe out an organic garden in 15 minutes. Or less.

Now, the family’s new home already had an existing organic garden that was well-placed on a sunny rise, towards the back of the backyard. The home’s previous owners had installed irrigation in the garden area, and had worked, with some success, to amend and improve the existing soil. But the Ahumada family wisely opted to seek a garden design comprised of raised beds that would greatly improve their chances of success, enhance the beauty of their property, and and make gardening more comfortable. And they knew that their new organic garden design had to have protections from deer.

The decorative metal fence that runs around the border of the property is attractive, and, to be fair, it does keep the family dog inside the backyard. But for hungry deer, the metal fence might as well be a small threshold to hop over on the way to dinner.

So the Ahumada family’s garden design needed to combine plenty of garden area, along with a sturdy wildlife barrier to keep out rabbits, but especially deer.

To maximize the garden area in the property’s previously established organic garden site - which was, an excellent, sunny location for an edible garden - We created a ‘keyhole’ garden design, that measured 3’ wide and 15’x17’, with a 3’x5’ raised bed placed in the center of the ‘keyhole’ planter. 

And instead of placing the wildlife barrier on the ground in a perimeter outside the keyhole planter, we anchored the series of  50”-tall fence panels right on top of the keyhole planter. This created a sort of ‘elegant fortress’ effect that proved to be attractive, and also very functional - yielding a total height of nearly 6’. 

 

Now, it’s worth noting here that deer can easily clear a 6’-tall fence and for a standard deer fence, the height should be 8’ to ensure that even the most agile deer can’t jump over. 

And we’ve built plenty of 8’-tall deer barriers, using the same red cedar frame style, clad with 1/2” galvanized hardware cloth.

( click here if YOU'D like to see some of our 8'-tall wildlife enclosure designs. )

But, because we’ve found that deer tend to avoid jumping into smaller enclosed areas - where there isn’t enough room for the deer to feel comfortable landing inside - or to make the jump back out of the enclosed area - garden fences that are even just 4’ or 5’ tall can be highly effective in keeping deer out of smaller enclosed gardens.

The Ahumada family’s keyhole raised bed and the 3’x5’ planter were both made with naturally durable, rough-sawn red cedar, and filled with a premium organic soil blend. We also fitted both cedar garden beds with 1/2” diameter drip irrigation, connecting our irrigation tubing to the existing irrigation line that was, conveniently, already right at the garden site. Even better, the existing irrigation supply to the garden area was already set up on a dedicated watering zone at the main control panel. This is the ideal irrigation scenario for an organic garden, as edible varieties have different watering requirements than ornamental plants like grass, shrubs, and trees.

We framed the 50”-tall wildlife barrier panels with rough sawn, red cedar 2”x4”, and clad each panel with 1/2” galvanized hardware cloth ; a rugged steel mesh that lasts for many years outdoors, and can easily fend off the claws and hoofs of wildlife like deer, raccoons, and even coyotes.

Once the wildlife barrier panels were screwed to each other, and screwed down to the top of the cedar ‘keyhole’ garden bed, the barrier height was nearly 6’-tall, and rock solid. Decorative pebbles spread between the keyhole planter and the 3’x5’ cedar garden bed added the needed charm to balance out the rather fortress-like feel of this organic garden design. And with the sturdy, hinged entry gate and barrel bolt finally installed, we turned the garden over to the Ahmad family - who were already making their way up to the garden, with seedlings, trowels, and smiles all around.

A Lesson in Due Diligence

Months of greenhouse product comparisons. Extensive research on the benefits and disadvantages of various types of greenhouse frame and glazing materials. Greenhouse kit vs. new construction. How much to spend. What design will work best on our property, and for our growing needs?

No one would blame greenhouse owners like Rosemarie DiGiorgio and her husband Dan for so carefully considering these important elements before making their selection. That’s the due diligence that any prudent consumer should employ in this case. And since greenhouse costs can run well into the five figures - and even beyond in some cases - it’s no trifling decision, either.

Now, we’ve found that most of our greenhouse customers are like Rosemarie and Dan in conducting this same level of ‘due diligence’ before buying. 

 

By the time greenhouse customers  contact us, they’re usually already well informed about greenhouse frame and glazing materials, pros & cons of greenhouse kits, price ranges, and can choose one of our cedar-framed greenhouse designs based solely on photos and videos of examples we’ve built, along with an on-site consultation where we carefully scout the ideal location for the greenhouse, answer specific questions, clarify details, etc. 

(click here if YOU'D like to see photos of some of our cedar-framed greenhouses.)

We even bring small samples of our rough-sawn red cedar framing lumber and polycarbonate glazing to our on-site visits, to help further illustrate how our cedar-framed greenhouses are unique.

Rosemarie and Dan were interested in a greenhouse about 8’x10’ in the backyard of their home in Greensboro, and with a few clicks, we emailed them links to photos of many cedar-framed greenhouses we’ve built, ranging in size from 8’x8’ to 8’x12’. 

In a follow up phone call, we explained in more detail about the features that set our greenhouses apart ;  the sturdy, red cedar frame, durable twin-wall polycarbonate glazing, automated roof vent windows, base built with red cedar timbers and filled with decorative pebbles. 

 

And of course, this phone call was also the time to explain our construction process in more detail ; the way we craft greenhouse walls and roof sections in our Charlotte workshop - assembling and ‘dry fitting’ each structure there first, to ensure a smooth and efficient reassembly later, at the customer’s home.

The many cedar-framed greenhouse example photos and videos made a favorable impression on the couple. And the phone conversation fully clarified all the small, but important details that can’t be gleaned from the photos and videos. 

We had even decided on a size and design for their greenhouse ; an 8’x10’ gable structure. 

But this prudent, and thorough couple just needed one more thing to pull the trigger ; Instead of the standard, on-site visit at their home, they wanted to see one of our cedar-framed greenhouses in person.

Now, this is an easy enough request to accommodate as we have plenty of greenhouse examples for prospective customers to visit ; it’s just that most of them are in the Charlotte area. 

We didn’t have any greenhouse projects in Greensboro for then couple to visit in person.

But we did have a 10’x12’ cedar-framed greenhouse project in the final stages of completion, just outside of Charlotte, not far from I-85.

The couple quickly accepted our offer to see this project in person, gladly making the hour and a half drive to tour an active worksite, meet our team face to face, and see the finished product take shape. We were happy to make arrangements for their visit to the work site, and we were now beyond impressed with the couple’s patience and careful due diligence before purchasing their greenhouse.

With all of the details of their site visit prearranged, the couple arrived on the appointed day and time to find our team installing and sealing the cedar trim on the 10’x12’ greenhouse’s seams, and installing the roof vent windows with automated vent window openers. 

About fifteen minutes after their scheduled arrival time, the phone rang here at the Microfarm.

In an excited tone of voice that said much more than the words themselves, Rosemarie eagerly placed her order for an 8’x10’ cedar-framed greenhouse - right there from the worksite, as she and Dan watched the Microfarm team in motion. 

Rosemarie and Dan selected the same 8mm, clear, twin-wall polycarbonate glazing that had been installed on the 10’x12’ greenhouse, along with four automated roof vent windows and a single 36”-wide hinged entry door. And just like the 10’x12’ structure they saw nearing completion, the couple also requested a base made with red cedar timbers and filled with decorative pebbles.

This simple and attractive greenhouse base/floor design is our first choice, as it has several major benefits over a concrete slab greenhouse floor.

-Water drains down through a pebble floor anywhere inside the structure ; there’s never a chance of a drain clogging up. 

-A decorative pebble floor is easier to install, costs less, and is more attractive than concrete.

-There’s less chance of slipping and falling on a pebble floor than on a concrete slab ; greenhouses floors make with concrete frequently become slippery, especially if the slab isn’t poured correctly and the floor doesn’t drain properly.

Why is Our Sign on the Wall at Blackhawk Garden Center?

If you’re a gardener, and you live in the Charlotte area, you’ve almost surely been to Blackhawk Garden Center, located in the back court at Park Road Shopping Center. They have the absolute highest quality garden merchandise, including live plants, garden art, imported ceramic planters, sturdy garden tools, organic insect pest control sprays, bagged organic soil products,  and much, much more. But what really makes Blackhawk Garden Center stand out among the many other places where you can pick up a shovel or a bag of potting soil, is their people. Every team member there is an experienced grower that either already knows the answer to your plant question, or will quickly find out while you wait. They’ll even help you load your purchases into your car. 

 

Now, if you’re already a patron of Blackhawk Garden Center, you’ve probably noticed our company’s sign mounted in a red cedar frame, and placed high on the brick wall that faces the shopping center’s back court parking lot. If you go to Blackhawk Garden Center for the first time, look out for the sign - It’s hard to miss, unless you stare at your shoes the whole time you’re there. 

So why is the Microfarm Organic Gardens sign up there? Read on, because the primary goal of this article is to shed a little light on that sign and our close relationship with the garden experts at Blackhawk Garden Center.

 

For eleven years now, we’ve served the Charlotte area with high-quality cedar garden products, including raised beds, chicken coops, greenhouses, compost, bins, potting benches, and more. Blackhawk Garden Center’s discerning customers often ask staff if they stock these kinds of larger, and often very heavy items. If the answer is no, customers frequently ask Blackhawk staff for a trusted referral to a company like Microfarm, that can build and deliver the desired cedar garden item. Now, Blackhawk Garden Center does have a sprawling area, with every square foot seemingly filled with garden merchandise, but they simply don’t have space to stock most of the bulky cedar garden items that we build and install.

 

So it didn’t take long for us to connect, and for Microfarm to earn a place on Blackhawk Garden Center’s highly-respected list of local contractor referrals. And our relationship with them has blossomed ever since.

You see, we’re a niche outfit,  and our days are filled with designing and building high-quality cedar garden stuff. So we prefer not to staff and maintain a retail location -  just our modest-sized workshop across town in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood.

 

But Blackhawk Garden Center, on the other hand, has a remarkable retail store, with plenty of parking, in a convenient location, and staffed with Charlotte’s most learned and experienced plant experts. 

So we make a good match, and the partnership between Microfarm Organic Gardens and Blackhawk Garden Center has thrived over the years,  as each one brings unique value to the table that well serves the other’s customers.

And if you’re a grower, and haven’t been to Blackhawk Garden Center yet, make plans to visit - you’ll be delighted you did. Look around at all the smart garden merchandise on display there, and don’t be shy about asking their staff a tough garden question or two - they’ll almost surely know the answers, and they can tell you a lot abut what we do here at Microfarm, too.

 

Five Crucial Considerations for Rooftop and Terrace Gardens

It sure would make it easy if every grower had a spacious, level backyard with six hours of sunlight, a water supply nearby, and a convenient pathway that leads from the back door to the organic garden. But much of the world’s population lives in multifamily housing. There are lots of places to call home that don’t have a backyard ; from two-story townhomes in tranquil neighborhoods, to urban condo and apartment buildings that stretch high into the skyline of the busiest cities, and everything in between. Sometimes these multifamily communities have a site on ground level for an organic garden that residents can share. But often, the only option is to place raised beds on the building’s actual rooftop, or on an existing, above-ground recreation area, like a pool deck or green roof park. And some multi-family building residents do have the option to have a garden on their own unit’s terrace or balcony, which is certainly more convenient than a shared rooftop garden, but is also subject to many of the same considerations described below.

Strength of the roof

Remember that raised beds filled with organic soil are heavy, and this is perhaps the very first consideration, before you embark on a rooftop garden project. One 4’x8’x18” Kitchen Garden raised beds, for example, requires about two cubic yards of soil, which tips the scale at about 2000 pounds for just the dry soil alone. Imagine the added weight that single garden bed takes on when every cubic inch of the soil is soaked through during a rainstorm, plus add in the weight of the actual cedar garden bed itself, and...well, you get the idea.

Many high-rise condo and apartment buildings already have a pool deck or similar community outdoor recreation deck, with landscaping, trees, pathways, benches, a covered area for grilling, etc. Sites like this are almost surely more than strong enough to carry the additional load of an organic garden that includes multiple raised beds, and the property will have the technical data to confirm the load capacity of the roof. For smaller rooftop gardens without this data readily available, a structural engineer should always be consulted to confirm that the roof can carry the additional load of a rooftop garden. What sad and dangerous irony to put an organic  garden up on the roof, only to have it crash through the ceiling on top of the dinner party where the first harvest of seasonal greens has just been plated and served to your guests.

Once the load capacity of the roof is confirmed, consider the actual roof material itself ; the rubber roof membrane, asphalt shingles, slate, or other roofing material that actually keeps rainwater from leaking into the building. Could raised beds realistically be installed without damaging the roof material? Can the existing roof material handle the added foot traffic of gardeners walking to, from, and around the garden? Should the existing roof be covered with a protective product before any work begins? Consider this carefully, and remember that roof repairs can get very pricey, especially on large buildings with high-tech, multi layer roof membrane material.

Drainage

Soil drainage is always important in an organic garden, and often even more so on a rooftop garden. In a backyard setting, it’s easy enough to evaluate the setting, and place a raised bed so that it doesn’t block any existing stormwater drainage swales or channels, and then fill the planter with a lightweight organic soil blend that allows water to easily pass through the grow media, and into the native soil below the raised bed. Drainage issues solved, time to start planting.

But It’s not always that simple with a rooftop or terrace garden. An existing rooftop recreation deck that already has landscaping, should already have a carefully designed system to channel rainwater safely off of the rooftop. But before you add an organic garden, you should consider how the water runoff from the garden will drain through the existing drainage system. Is the existing system adequate? Should it be modified to accommodate the addition of raised beds on the rooftop? 

For terrace and balcony plantings, will the water drain neatly away into an existing rain gutter system, or would it cascade like a waterfall onto the downstairs neighbor’s balcony?

Sunlight

Many popular edible plant varieties need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight, and at first glance, it would seem that any rooftop would surely deliver those six hours, and probably  many more. But in many urban areas, the rooftop of one building may be shaded for some or even much of the day by taller, adjacent buildings. Often the above-ground outdoor recreation area of a high rise apartment building may only four or five stories high, meaning that the deck may be shaded by the much taller, residential portion of the building itself. And sunlight is an even bigger factor when considering a garden on a terrace or balcony. Many leafy green varieties can thrive with as little as four hours of direct sunlight, but if your unit’s terrace doesn’t get at least that much sunlight, it would be better to look around for a sunnier place to garden.

And for those rooftop gardens that actually do get a whole day of uninterrupted sun exposure, you may have to add shade to maintain a healthy growing environment. This can be accomplished by hanging shade cloth above the garden, by building a pergola with lath strips above the garden, etc.

Water Supply

Everyone knows that plants need water. Exposed rooftop gardens, with perpetually windy conditions, and many hours of direct sunlight, need a lot of water - usually every day.  Does your rooftop garden site have a convenient water supply? Is there an existing drip irrigation system that can be tapped into to water the new raised beds on a dedicated irrigation zone via the main control panel? If there’s not an existing irrigation system, can one be installed? If the answer is no, and there’s only a spigot and a garden hose up there, and the garden must be watered by hand, is there someone committed enough to carry out that often unglamorous and time-consuming task - every day during the hottest parts of the summer? Be realistic and carefully consider how the garden will be watered before investing the time and money in building your rooftop garden.

And if you’re considering an organic garden on your own unit’s terrace, watering logistics are especially important. Is there a spigot or would you have to water the garden with a watering can or bucket? Can a watering can be filled in the sink, or would you have to fill one in the bathtub? How many trips back and forth would it take to keep your balcony garden well watered?

Access

Your building or home’s rooftop might be the only place to put an organic garden. But do you have permission from the property management to even go up on the roof, let alone have a garden up there? And if you do have the property management’s full backing for your rooftop garden project, but how easy is it to get up there? Is there a  standard-sized door that leads out onto the roof? How would you bring you bring lumber for making raised beds, and other growing supplies from the ground floor up onto the roof? Large apartment and condo buildings have freight elevators that make this process possible, but sometimes tedious when multiple trips up and down are needed to compete the project. But a stairwell may be the only way up to the roof for smaller multifamily buildings and single family homes with a section of flat roof suitable for a rooftop garden. In cases like this, bringing building materials and soil up flights of stairs is unrealistic and a mechanical lift of some type is needed to bring these materials up to the rooftop.

Of course, once the garden is in place, it’ll need regular maintenance. Is there easy, open access to the rooftop for the ongoing maintenance that’s essential for a successful rooftop garden? Hopefully, the answer is yes, and you’re ready to begin designing your new rooftop garden.

Having an organic garden up on the roof is a lot of fun, and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and skip important steps in the process. Resist the temptation to “rush it”, and make costly mistakes that could have easily been avoided. Take your time, consider each one of these points thoughtfully, your rooftop garden is sure to be a success.