farming in the sunshine state

I Grow My Own Veggies || photo by Lauren Mandel

Despite Florida’s abundant sunshine and rainfall, there is a surprising lack of rooftop agricultural activity throughout the state.  The growing conditions are perfect for food production at any altitude, and yet, most growing is reserved for the ground plain.

The one exception is I Grown My Own Veggies in Sarasota, FL.  This 3,000 sf open-air hydroponic farm rests atop a glass factory in a light manufacturing area of the city.  The farm’s Founder, Vincent Dessberg, began growing food on the roof of his factory in 2009 in an effort to grow food as locally as possible and empower his neighbors to follow suit.  His original concept was to build a restaurant below the farm, with the slogan “Your food travels 15 feet, not 15 miles.”

While the restaurant never materialized, the farm continues to produce an impressive variety of crops, including strawberries, chard, kale, tomatoes, basil, watercress, onions, and several varieties of leaf lettuces.  The hydroponic facility contains over 6,000 plants, which are grown in  stacked Styrofoam containers and drip irrigated from above.  Holes in the bottoms of these lightweight containers allow for water to drain from one pot down to the next, thereby minimizing water loss.

The farm produces three to four crop cycles per year, but according to Dessberg, growing during the summer months is tricky.  Marketing to local restaurants has also been tricky, since most of these businesses rely upon large quantities of a few select crops rather than the large variety that Dessberg has to offer.  Due to these difficulties and others, Dessberg brought on Don Gamin to manage the farm.  Gamin is poised to take over completely within the next few months, and is sure to bring some fresh ideas to the table.

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indecent exposure

As a Project Manager for the green roof firm Roofmeadow, I regularly travel around the country to perform construction oversight.  In December I had the good fortune of overseeing construction at a hotel in Lower Manhattan, which sits one block from the Hudson River.  From six stories up the view was unparalleled – and so was the wind.

During construction, the green roofs and raised bed production area experienced 50 mph winds.  A much milder microclimate could be found at the street level, but up on the roof, temperature fluctuations and extreme wind conditions reigned.

Lower Manhattan green roof construction ||  photo by Lauren Mandel

Exposure is one of the most significant obstacles to rooftop farming.  High winds cause winnowing (soil loss) and desiccation (soil drying), while temperature fluctuations can cause crops to bolt (flower) prematurely.  Each roof experiences a slightly different microclimate, but some basic rules of exposure are as follows:

1| Mind the water: Rivers and other bodies of water in cities often act as wind corridors.  Selecting a roof that is shielded from these channels can help to minimize extreme rooftop winds.

2| Stay low: Higher building stories generally experience greater wind speeds, which means that a farm will experience less stress on top of a 1-3 story building than on a taller structure.

3| Surround yourself: Take advantage of high neighboring buildings and taller segments of the farm’s own building, which can act as wind breaks. Positioning your farm directly south of a taller building wall can help to block gusts.  The wall may also capture heat, which will warm the adjacent soil. Be sure to avoid taller buildings to the south that will cast shadows on your farm.  Also keep in mind that building north of a vacant lot can be risky, because you never know if a taller building will be erected on that site.

4| Cover up: Temperature fluctuations can be minimized by covering your crop rows with shade cloth.  This thin cloth is used regularly on ground-level farms, and it benefits crops by capturing the heat that is released by the plants and soil.  Rooftop wind will fill the cloth like a sail, and so it’s best to build low hoop houses to frame the cloth.  These hoop houses should be screwed or bolted to the sides of raised beds, or ballasted by the walkways between farm rows.

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revamp | Eat Up v3.0

A manuscript often takes on several personalities before finding its most publishable persona.  As it turns out, Eat Up is no different.

I wrote the first draft of Eat Up in 2010 while in graduate school, and consequently chose to target an academic audience.  Writing this first draft was exhilarating and empowering, and I felt as though I was on track to contribute something truly meaningful to academia.  Several months after graduating I re-read the draft, only to find that what I had once perceived as well written was actually dry and, well, academic.

After the panic and disappointment subsided, I decided to hunker down and revamp the manuscript.  I hired someone to help with editing and strategic development, and launched full force into Eat Up v2.0 in 2011.  This new and improved version targeted designers, practitioners, policy makers, food activists, and yes – even academia.  The tone became more readable, and the chapter titles, a bit snarky.  V2.0 was a hop in the right direction, but what I really needed was a leap.

Eat Up v3.0 | cover and page 1

In comes Eat Up v3.0.  This draft re-evaluates both the underlying message and the target audience of v2.0.  The most significant change lies in the manuscript’s restructuring: the book will now be split into three smaller volumes.  Each volume in the boxed set will target a distinct audience, thereby providing the reader with the knowledge that he or she seeks, without all the extraneous information.  The books will, of course, reference each other, so that readers will be exposed to the full breadth of rooftop agriculture one snippet at a time.  Working titles for the volumes and their audiences are as follows:

Eat Up |  nourishing yourself with food from the roof  -  This volume will act as a DIY for individuals and groups who are interested in growing vegetables and herbs on their own roofs.  Whether planting a few tomato plants or starting a rooftop community garden, this book will appeal to small-scale growers around the country.

Eat Up |  from beans to bucks with food from the roof  -  This volume will target entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, and others who are interested in the boutique aspect of rooftop agriculture.  The book will introduce labor, marketing, and distribution strategies while providing useful tips for “making it happen.”

Eat Up |  feeding the people with food from the roof  -  The third volume will focus on large-scale initiatives and rooftop agricultural networks.  The content will target city planners, policy makers, designers, and academics who are interested in learning how rooftop agriculture can feed the masses.

What do you think about this overhaul?  Are these changes a step in the right direction?

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boutique industry

Many of the pioneer rooftop farms sprinkled throughout the U.S. are much smaller than their rural counterparts.  This scale differential begs the question of production volume.  How can a rooftop farm that is less than an acre feed the masses?  What purpose does a farm fulfill if not to produce as much food as possible?  The truth is that rooftop farms of all sizes provide value not only in their ability to produce food, but also in their propensity to demonstrate what is possible.

Eagle Street Rooftop Farm chili peppers || Photo by Lauren Mandel

We are at the forefront of the rooftop agriculture movement in the U.S., which means that each and every skyline farm has the potential to lead by example, regardless of it’s size.  High altitude farmers like Annie Novak from Brooklyn’s Eagle Street Rooftop Farm have begun sculpting this boutique industry, and the movement is picking up steam.  As the message spreads and rooftop agriculture’s value is more thoroughly understood by the general public, the industry can blossom out of boutique-dom into something more essential.

Simply put, today’s boutique farmers will inspire the architects of tomorrow’s food system.  They are the fuel for change, for progress.

The question then becomes how to spread the message of rooftop agriculture.  How does a rooftop farmer with limited acreage reach as many people as possible?  What is the most efficient way to grow a farm’s brand without physically expanding?  The answer may lie in innovative marketing strategies.  Several rooftop farms are delving into “value added” products.  These are minimally processed goods such as jelly or hot sauce, which can be enjoyed over a prolonged period and may contain the rooftop farm’s brand.

Farm visitors also have the ability to spread the word by telling others about their experience.  You can also talk about what you read, so go ahead and kick-start this revolution.

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