3… 2… 1… action!

Australian film crew at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm || photo by Lauren Mandel

While standing in the spotlight may be uncomfortable at times, the strategic rooftop farmer embraces the media and “eats up” it’s marketing potential.  Simply put, media coverage can be instrumental in disseminating a farm’s brand.  Print and broadcast media coverage can go a long way, and social media may go even further within certain demographics.  Regardless of whether a newspaper journalist, cinematographer, or blogger visits your rooftop farm, it will behoove you to be accommodating and put your best foot forward.  The media’s relationship with a rooftop farmer, as with any public figure, can be either helpful or harmful in building the farm’s reputation, so be prepared!

Over the past few years, Trey Flemming from Urban Apiaries has learned how positive media relations can go a long way.  Trey and his urban honeybees often appear in magazine and newspaper articles around Philadelphia, as well as in online articles, blogs, and documentaries.  With all the attention, the Urban Apiaries brand has reached new heights: corporate America.  While once available only at local co-ops and specialty stores, Trey’s honey is now available at Terrain – Urban Outfitter’s garden center.

Annie Novak, from Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, similarly embraces media coverage.  When I visited Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in 2011, Annie welcomed me to the roof while in the middle of a photo shoot on the other side of a kale patch.  With a warm air and magnetic disposition, it was no wonder that Annie simultaneously engaged a film crew, a foreign journalist, and myself (the aspiring author).

Annie welcomed each person to the roof with the same friendly smile, before she figured out who they were.  Just remember, out on a roof you never know to whom you may be speaking.

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a retrofit, retrofit?

In the green roofing world we recognize two types of green roofs: those built on new construction, and those built atop existing buildings. The latter is known as a “retrofit.” When considering a retrofit, a structural engineer must confirm that the building is strong enough to support a green roof, and a waterproofing representative must evaluate the roof’s existing waterproofing membrane. If all the stars align, then the retrofit is a go!

3"-thick green roof retrofit || photo courtesy of Roofmeadow

So can a retrofit green roof be retrofit with a rooftop farm? I had never considered this scenario until several weeks ago, when a repeat client of my firm, Roofmeadow, approached us with the question. We designed and built a 13,000 (0.3 acre) green roof for this client in 2007, on top of his factory in NJ. The 3″-thick green roof continues to manage stormwater and perform beautifully, but now the client is looking for more. He wants to grow food on his roof in order to sell to local restaurants and markets.

Luckily, this particular green roof will be easy to retrofit. Green roof systems contain various types of drainage layers, depending on the particular needs of each project. Some drainage layers are made of granular material, while others consist of synthetic sheeting (i.e. plastic peg sheets, egg crates, or tangled filaments). One drainage layer on the market is made out of foam scraps that are salvaged from car seat manufacturing, and bonded together to form a thick mat. In addition to managing the flow of stormwater and retaining water for plants, this multi-purpose layer can protect the waterproofing membrane from shovels and hoes when used in a rooftop farm buildup. Luckily, the green roof in question contains this type of drainage layer.

When retrofitting a green roof such as this with a row farm, the strategy would involve peeling back the top layers of the system to expose the foam drainage layer. Additional green roof media would be brought to the site and mixed with the existing media to create a deeper system. While the existing media contains a very low organic content (4%-6%), the new media would contain more organics to appease the veggies-to-be. Next would come grading, laying out irrigation lines, and planting, and then vwalah – rooftop farm.

Not every retrofit retrofit would be this simple. Nevertheless, there is always a way to figure out a solution, so go ahead and dig in.

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the buzz.

If you mentioned rooftop farming a few years ago, most people would think you were crazy.  But now that rooftop farms and gardens have taken root across the country, more and more people are joining the conversation.  Groups like Cloud 9 Rooftop Farm, the Philadelphia Rooftop Farm (PRooF), NYC Rooftop Farm Initiative, and FarmRoof are talking the talk, and some are just beginning to walk the talk.

Rooftop place-making || photo and rendering by Lauren Mandel

Historically, aspiring rooftop farmers in the U.S. had to seek out rooftops and convince building owners to let the space.  Now, business owners in Philadelphia and New York City are elevating the buzz to new heights by planning for their own rooftop farms.  As the Rooftop Agriculture Specialist at Roofmeadow, I’ve spoken with several of these business owners during the past few weeks.  The prospective projects range in scale from 2,000 square feet (0.05 acre) to 66,000 square feet (1.5 acres), and include row farming and raised beds.  One prospective client even requested rooftop chickens!

Each business owner is interested in rooftop agriculture for a different reason.  Some value the marketing potential of a rooftop farm, others are interested in managing stormwater, and others want to supplement their commercial kitchens with roof-grown food.  Regardless of intent, the rooftop agricultural buzz is growing.  It’s growing all around the country, and it’s going to be big.

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who are these people, anyway?

Rooftop farms and gardens are sprouting up in cities across the country.  Restaurants, community groups, families, and individuals are enjoying the bounty, but who the heck is up there growing all this food?

Volunteer at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm (Brooklyn, NY) || photo by Lauren Mandel

Lots of people – that’s who!  People of all different ages and ethnicities, with different skill sets, and different reasons for growing food.  American rooftop farmers tend to be between the ages of 22 and 55, with men and women equally engaged.  Most, if not all of these farmers migrated to rooftops from ground-level farms.  Some came from urban farms, and others from more traditional rural farmsteads.  Farmers who land these highly-prized rooftop positions are generally very knowledgeable about their agrarian genre – whether it be row farming, beekeeping, or hydroponics.  It is rare that a newbie finds himself in charge of much on the skyline.

Trey Flemming of Urban Apiaries (Philadelphia, PA) || photo by Lauren Mandel

Farm interns are a pillar of small agrarian farms.  In this young industry, however, formal trainees are few and far between.  The rare rooftop farm intern generally falls on the younger end of the spectrum, and carries her position for one to two growing seasons.

Volunteers, on the other hand, are key players in most rooftop endeavours.  These are the passionate folks who lend their time and energy in exchange for the experience alone, and maybe some fresh veggies on the side.  Farm volunteers are sometimes much younger or older than typical rooftop occupants.  They may enter the roof from a marginalized, inner-city neighborhood, or form another unsuspecting environment.

Vincent Dessberg of I Grow My Own Veggies (Sarasota, FL) || photo by Lauren Mandel

Laborers are common in large-scale, high-yield commercial farms.  Hydroponic facilities like Gotham Greens are structured to support a crop of highly-trained workers.  The pulse of rural farms across the country relies on migrant labor.  By contrast, the high-profile nature of rooftop farms tends to attract a very different workforce.  At this point in the fledgling industry’s development, commercial hydroponic farms are the only type of rooftop farm that can afford to pay workers aside from the farmer.  Perhaps this will change as the industry becomes more established.

We’ve now covered the key farming players, but what about rooftop gardening?  By 2009, the National Gardening Association found that 50% of American households grew some portion of their own food.  This astounding statistic means that anyone can be a rooftop gardener!  What’s your story?  Tell us about your own rooftop gardening experience, and you could land yourself  in one of the Eat Up volumes.

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