fancy plants

Designing and building a rooftop farm may come with a hefty price tag.  While many ground-level farms offset costs by expanding acreage, rooftops are limited by the bounds of the building below.  So how do you get the most bang for your buck with a slim budget and limited space?  Some rooftop growers invest in “fancy plants” to attract business.

Uncommon Ground chef Patch Carroll admires his restaurant’s crops ||  photo by Lauren Mandel

Heirloom cultivars - diverse crop varieties that became scarce with the onset of industrial agriculture – are re-emerging and gaining momentum in restaurants, farmer’s markets, and backyard gardens around the country.  Restaurateurs and foodies alike find the unique flavors of heirloom vegetables irresistible, but many of these crops are difficult to grow, or transport without significant bruising.  The solution?  Grow them close to the kitchen!  There, you can keep a close eye on your babies and eliminate their transportation all together.

In north Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, the iconic restaurant Uncommon Ground fully embraces the cultivation of “fancy plants” in it’s 0.06 acre rooftop

Organic rooftop mustard greens || photo by Lauren Mandel

farm.  In May I spoke with Dave Snyder, Uncommon Ground’s Rooftop Farm Director from 2008-2012, about his crop selection.  Dave explained that he and the head chef work together to select specialty crops that the restaurant can’t source elsewhere.  During the 2011 season, Dave grew 37 crop varieties on the roof, some of which were more rare than others.  During our interview Dave pined over a rare tomato breed called the Purple Calabash, which he said attracted a lot of attention in the restaurant below.  The cultivar bruises like a peach, and so other restaurants decline to carry the magnificent ingredient.

Uncommon Ground capitalizes upon its ability to grow specialty crops that are relatively unattainable by other storefronts.  Guests with sophisticated pallets and encyclopaedic plant knowledge may know exactly what’s in each bite.  Most guests flock to Uncommon Ground because the food simply tastes too good to be true.

Heirloom tomato at SHARE Food Program || photo by Lauren Mandel

In Vancouver, British Colombia, specialty crops similarly dot the roof of The Fairmont Waterfont hotel.  I spoke with executive chef Dana Hauser in August, who rattled off a laundry list of crops grown on the roof for use in the hotel’s kitchens.  She mentioned several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, six types of basil, and some unexpected rooftop crops like rhubarb, figs, and goosberries.

It’s safe to say that marketing the uniqueness of your rooftop crops is invaluable.  Whether customers come for the superior flavors or for the experience of eating something they can’t get anywhere else, these “fancy plants” create something to brag about.

TED knows best

From a self-sustaining Lebanese town to Montreal’s urban center, Lufa Farms‘ founder and president Mohamed Hage pushes the limits of rooftop agriculture.  In his 2012 TEDx Talk, Mohamed discusses how rooftop agriculture will change the way we eat.

the root of it

garden carrots || photo by Lauren Mandel

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner was something to write home about.  A menagerie of vegetable dishes flanked my mother’s heavenly, rosemary-infused turkey: roasted bliss potatoes, braised fennel, sautéed Brussels sprouts, butternut squash soufflé.  But the one side that got me thinking was the roasted rainbow carrots.

I grew these carrots from seed in my backyard garden.  The colorful crop produced tall greens and long, spindly tap roots that plunged into the soil below the raised bed in which the carrots grew.  But what about root crops that don’t have the luxury of growing endlessly downward?  As depth-limited environments with thin soil profiles, rooftop farms and gardens present a unique set of challenges.  Thankfully, we can pluck some useful knowledge from the green roofing world.

For decades, green roof designers have experimented with growing deep-rooted plants – even trees! – on rooftops.  The key is selecting hardy cultivars, providing at least the minimum thickness of soil in which the plants can survive, and ensuring that their nutritional needs are met.  Irrigation is also key in cultivating plants in depth-limited environments.  Proper irrigation techniques often allow deep-rooted plants, like ornamental grasses, to flourish in unusually thin soil profiles.

In the case of rooftop carrots and other root crops, follow these 6 steps:

1| Make sure your roof contains adequate root protection (i.e. a polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride root barrier)

2| Select hardy cultivars that won’t grow excessively deep

3| Blend or purchase well-drained growth media

4| Mound enough media for each crop

5| Pay close attention to each crop’s nutritional needs

6| Provide sufficient drip irrigation

What’s been your experience with root crops?  Have you tried growing them in a container or other depth-limited environment?  We want to hear all about it!

the full monty

If you want to go all the way and feed the world, there’s no room for pooh-poohing hydroponics.  Soil purists step aside; this is an important truth to urban agriculture.

Lufa Farms Growing Team || photo by and courtesy of Lufa Farms

Unlike outdoor farming, greenhouse hydroponic production offers complete control over growing conditions.  This means that you can provide plants with exactly what they crave by catering to their temperature, moisture, and nutritional preferences.  Since different types of plants prefer slightly different growing conditions, at least one hydroponic farm – Lufa Farms – provides varying micro-climates throughout its massive rooftop greenhouse.  Reclaimed water mixed with carefully calibrated nutrients flows throughout the 31,000 square foot (0.7 acre) greenhouse, and then recirculates through the system.  Nutrient solution recipes are key in hydroponic production, as plants are grown in soil-less conditions and depend upon the solution for nutrition.

How much food can a hydroponic greenhouse grow?  Well, according to Lufa Farms co-founder Kurt D. Lynn, the company’s flagship Montreal farm grows approximately 250,000 pounds of produce per year.  The location’s highly-engineered greenhouse allows for year-round production, which helps yields remain through the roof (pun intended).  I spoke with Lufa Farms founder and president Mohamed Hage earlier this year, and he explained that the farm “can feed one person continuously with roughly 15 square feet” of greenhouse space.  What’s more, is that the farm uses significantly less water and “about half the energy” of a conventional soil-based farm, says Hage.

Thanks to this cutting-edge technology, Lufa Farms feeds approximately 2,000 people every week.  Since 2011, the company’s flagship farm has provided over 25 varieties of fresh, delicious produce to a city that imports virtually all of its fruits and vegetables.  The approach is simple.  Customers buy a 12-week subscription for roof-fresh produce, which is delivered weekly to one of over 50 pick-up locations around the city.  Local Quebec farms supplement the larger baskets with additional produce that’s more difficult to grow hydroponically, such as root vegetable, squash, and berries.

Thanks to greenhouse hydroponics, urbanites can benefit from roof-fresh produce year-round, even in cities as cold as Montreal!  What are your thoughts on the potential of greenhouse hydroponics?

Sandy beets

For quite some time now climate change experts have warned of doomsday scenarios with harsh storms, flooding, and general chaos. We’ve all heard the predictions, but no one was prepared for what Superstorm Sandy brought to the northeast seaboard last week. The downgraded hurricane wreaked havoc on cities like Hoboken and New York City, where surge flooding and tropical-force winds left over 8.6 million households without power, and countless buildings destroyed.

How did New York City’s rooftop farms fare? Well, Brooklyn Grange lost an entire apiary – located on a pier adjacent to the company’s Brooklyn location – at a reported loss of over $10,000. According to the company’s website, this value reflects only material losses, and does not include losses in anticipated revenue from the sale of honey. Brooklyn Grange is accepting donations through a Kickstarter campaign to replace the hives and rebuild their apiary program. The company’s website did not report on damage to either of its rooftop row farm locations, although it is reasonable to assume that damages were endured.

Employees and volunteers at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm worked overtime before the storm to prepare for the forthcoming winds, and harvest as much as possible. The farm’s website reported that the roof experienced 70 mph winds and a drop in temperature. Thanks to the roof’s green roof drainage system, most of the damage resulted from high winds, rather than from the multiple inches of rain that fell during the storm period. All chickens and rabbits were safely housed indoors when Sandy struck, and the roof’s remaining crops are beginning to bounce back.

If you’d like to help with New York City’s post-Sandy recovery, please contact these organizations to see how you can contribute.

EAT UP on Amazon!

Ladies and gentlemen; metro-agrarian enthusiasts around the globe.  I am thrilled to announce that EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture is officially for sale on Amazon!  Be one of the first to pre-order the most comprehensive guide to rooftop agriculture ever written.

Screenshot of EAT UP from Amazon.com

The book is available for advanced ordering in paperback, and if you reserve a copy now, it will arrive at your doorstep in mid-April!  You can alternatively pre-order the book through New Society Publishers - the book’s carbon-neutral publishing house – to directly support the company that made EAT UP a reality.  If your hands have grown unaccustomed to the feel of paper, then hang tight for the EAT UP E-book, which will be released shortly after the print edition.

Screenshot of EAT UP from New Society Publishers

But wait, there’s more!  EAT UP is also available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, Amazon UK, and other fine sellers throughout North America and the United Kingdom.  Additional brick and mortar stores and online retailers will begin carrying EAT UP in April.

Is an independent book store, specialty shop, health food store, or garden center near you interested in carrying EAT UP?  If so let’s hear about it, and we’ll try to deliver the books to your neighborhood!

Go ahead and buy one of the very first copies.  Be a trendsetter.

sunny-side up with a pinch of lead

Hen at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm || photo by Lauren Mandel

On October 8th the New York Times published an article by columnist Julie Scelfo, revealing detectable levels of lead in the eggs of city-raised chickens. The article discussed a recent New York City Health Department study, in which researchers found lead in amounts of 10 to 100 parts per billion in roughly half the eggs tested. The other half of the sample was free of lead, as is typically the case with a grocery-bought dozen. The sample eggs were laid by chickens occupying neighborhood gardens in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, which presumably browse on ground-level plants and insects. The article ignited conversation about free-range fowl among urban agriculturalists.

Lead consumption is a serious concern, particularly for young eaters, whose small bodies are more sensitive to contaminants. While Scelfo notes that the Food and Drug Administration has not designated acceptable levels of lead contamination in foods, chicken owners and urban farm supporters alike are undeniably nervous about lead consumption at any level.

How do we prevent lead contamination in urban eggs? Bring your feathered friends to the roof. Grazing rooftop chickens will pick through the soil that you provide, rather than the who knows what down below. By bringing in and building your own soil, you have control over what enters their beaks, and your breakfast. What’s more, is that the chickens will pluck pesky pests from the soil, while fertilizing your rooftop crops! It’s a win-win situation.

Notable rooftop farms like Brooklyn Grange and Eagle Street Rooftop Farm boast resident chickens. These lead-free birds help the farmers, while laying healthy eggs in their rooftop coops. As with many ground-level farms, chickens play an important role in agrarian rooftop ecosystems.

I’ll take my eggs with a sprinkle of salt and a side of potatoes; no lead for me please.