Isa
Find a plant detail, take a photo, and leave a clue for the gallery.
This is just garden.srikrishnan.work
Toronto rooftop field station
Rooftop Garden Lab
A small family science project: watch tomatoes, peppers, and snow peas grow, save field notes, and use a tiny sensor kit to find out what the rooftop is telling us.
The field kit: one box, one soil probe, one air sensor, one light sensor, one memory card.
Isa & Sia Upload Gallery
Take a rooftop photo, choose who took it, write one short note, and save it into the gallery.
Sia
Choose a rooftop discovery, take a photo, and add your note.
Add A Gallery Photo
Isa Uploads
Sia Uploads
Meet The Rooftop Plants
The first real subjects are tomatoes, hot peppers, and snow peas. The exact pepper variety still needs a photo or label check, so the site treats it as a mystery pepper for now.
Steak Tomatoes
Likely beefsteak-style tomatoes: big fruit, big leaves, and a plant that needs support as it grows taller.
- Needs lots of sun: about 6-8+ hours.
- Likes steady watering, not big wet/dry swings.
- Question: which tomato pot dries out first?
Hot Peppers
Could be banana peppers, Hungarian hot wax, or another long pepper. A photo will help us identify them.
- Likes warm sunny spots.
- Container peppers can dry out quickly.
- Question: do peppers like the hottest rooftop corner?
Snow Peas
Cool-season climbers. They are fun because kids can watch tendrils grab supports like tiny hands.
- Needs something to climb.
- May slow down when Toronto heat builds.
- Question: how fast can one tendril find the trellis?
What We Will Measure
The sensor kit does not "solve" the garden. It gives clues. The kids still do the scientist part: noticing, guessing, comparing, and asking better questions.
Soil moistureIs this planter getting thirsty?
TemperatureHow hot is the rooftop near the plants?
HumidityIs the air dry or damp today?
LightWhich spot gets the most sun?
PressureWhat is the weather background?
The Build Timeline
Order Day
The sensor parts are ordered. We start with a website and a mission board.
Kid Kickoff
Pick plant names, make first guesses, and draw what the field kit will do.
Parts Arrive
Build the logger indoors first. No rooftop test until the bench test works.
First Lab Run
Try one short rooftop reading and compare tomato versus pepper clues.
First Activity: Plant Detective
1
Choose the first two plants
One tomato and one pepper. Give them public-safe garden names, not people names.
2
Make a prediction
Which plant will be hotter? Which soil will be drier? Which one gets more sun?
3
Draw the sensor path
Box -> soil probe -> light sensor -> air sensor -> microSD card. The drawing becomes the first lab artifact.
4
Bring one question back
Example: "Why are the pepper leaves smaller?" or "Does the wall make this pot warmer?"
The 10-Week Lab Arc
The project can grow slowly: first a garden journal, then a sensor notebook, then a tiny public science page, then a data story the kids can explain to someone else.
Notice
Choose plant names, draw the field kit, compare leaves, and write first predictions.
Measure
Run short sensor sessions. Compare tomato, pepper, and snow pea spots.
Explain
Turn readings into simple charts. Ask what changed after watering, heat, or rain.
Story
Turn garden photos, predictions, and readings into one clear weekly story.
Invent
Choose a new experiment: shade versus sun, watered versus dry, or tomato versus pepper.
Today On The Roof
1. Take Turns
Isa takes one photo, then Sia takes one photo. Keep the game moving.
2. Add One Note
One short sentence is enough: "I saw a tiny pepper," or "This leaf is huge."
3. Parent Check
Before saving, make sure the photo is okay for the family garden page.