Brit Abroad - Advice Needed!

[Briggers]

Hello all,

I have just moved to Hong Kong and am excited to grow as much as I can on our fairly large roof terrace in a little village on one of the outlying islands called Lantau.

So far I'm struggling a little with keeping things alive or maybe just thriving in the strong sun. We do get seasons here so its going to be cooling off over the next few weeks, but to give you an idea, it's 33C today and feeling more like 40C on my oven like roof. The coldest months of Dec and Jan will bring lows of perhaps 10C but more likely an average of 15C. I've added a climate graph below if you're interested

Does anyone know of any resources such as books or blogs for growing fruit and veg in a similar climate?

So far I have a lemon tree, a tropical orange (they stay green I believe), a local chilli variety, a rather diminiutive fig tree, lemon grass, mint, thai basil, sweet basil, coriander and passion fruit. I'd like to grow a variety of veg we commonly eat and use, especially the veg that is expensive in the supermarket. Initial thoughts are: a selection of tomatoes, sweet peppers, courgette, cucumber, cabbage, pak choi (or similar) and a few root veg but they will inevitably take up more space.

Any help is much appreciated!

[ameno]

You might be better off looking online for articles on recommendations of crops to grow in a subtropical climate. It shouldn't be too hard to find such sites in English, since parts of the southern US would have a similar climate.
Based on what I know, you should certainly be fine with what would be considered "tender" crops here in the UK.
On the other hand, crops with prefer cooler conditions will need to be grown in the winter. Brassicas, potatoes, etc. will all be winter crops where you are now. They would have no hope if you tried to grow them in the summer.

[mothhawk]

Google - growing veg in Hong Kong - you will find lots of sites about rooftop and balcony gardens, and guides about how and what to grow.

[Nicos]

Hi there - welcome back, and congratulations on your move to Hong Kong.
I can’t recommend any books but wanted to mention that I have seen sun sails/ shields hung up over potager crops to shelter from direct sunlight.( I first saw them whilst on holiday in Israel many years ago)
I am actually thinking of trailing some next summer. It was far too windy here to attempt this year.

My first thoughts would be maybe using a slow watering drip system for a constant supply and mulching the soil surface. I use white gravel in my pots to reflect the light and retain soil moisture given that my gravel driveway seems consistently more productive than anywhere I try to control

[Snoop Puss]

Hello and welcome, Briggers (though I see you've been a member for a while).

In Barcelona, I've seen rooftop gardens with soil spread fairly thickly on fabric to protect the actual surface of the roof, and other gardens where fruit and veg are grown in pots. Which are you doing out of interest?

[Briggers]

You might be better off looking online for articles on recommendations of crops to grow in a subtropical climate. It shouldn't be too hard to find such sites in English, since parts of the southern US would have a similar climate.

I hadn't thought about the connection in climate with places like Florida, thank you!

[Briggers]

Google - growing veg in Hong Kong - you will find lots of sites about rooftop and balcony gardens, and guides about how and what to grow.

I have done this already - they are quite useful but I do love delving into a book or really thorough blog - I'll keep looking

[Briggers]

Hi there - welcome back, and congratulations on your move to Hong Kong.
I can’t recommend any books but wanted to mention that I have seen sun sails/ shields hung up over potager crops to shelter from direct sunlight.( I first saw them whilst on holiday in Israel many years ago)
I am actually thinking of trailing some next summer. It was far too windy here to attempt this year.

My first thoughts would be maybe using a slow watering drip system for a constant supply and mulching the soil surface. I use white gravel in my pots to reflect the light and retain soil moisture given that my gravel driveway seems consistently more productive than anywhere I try to control

Yes, my neighbours roof has a few sun sails and I think I might give them a go - we also get bad typhoons so thye need to come down then but hopefully the storm season is almost done!

After watering some fo my plants this week I had considered mulching but didnt want to add too much heat - white gravel sounds like a perfect compromise! Thank you.

[Briggers]

Hello and welcome, Briggers (though I see you've been a member for a while).

In Barcelona, I've seen rooftop gardens with soil spread fairly thickly on fabric to protect the actual surface of the roof, and other gardens where fruit and veg are grown in pots. Which are you doing out of interest?

So far the plan is to go with pots, but I am interested in the idea of building beds up there. The downside is we're renting - although I dont envisage us leaving soon, pots would make that a lot easier!

I've actually been a member for even longer than it says on my profile, not sure why it says 2014. I started to grow veg when I was at school...maybe 2006/7? Used this forum a lot then and loved the community. Since then I have been so nomadic I haven't really been able to commit to growing anything!

[Snoop Puss]

I guess if you're renting, you need to get permission from the landlord/lady for something like beds in soil spread out on the rooftop. Pots are a bit easier to justify as they are easier to remove. The person you're renting from might be worried about you leaving and them having to remove all the soil you've imported and taken up onto the roof.

I reckon all your proposed plants are go-ers in pots except perhaps cabbages, unless you grow miniature varieties. Cabbages have very extensive root systems that spread quite a way outwards and downwards and hence would require big pots to grow well if you were growing the standard-sized ones. You might think them not worth the space.

Good luck. You'll remember from before how much people here like to see photos... Keep us updated.