ruminating on rain barrels

Winter is the perfect time for gardeners and farmers to rest, plan for spring planting, and investigate big questions that sprouted during the past growing season.  My big question this winter: Is it safe to water edibles…

a salute to urban fish

Some days you can eat leafy greens until the cows come home without ever feeling full.  The missing link?  Protein.  While chickens and livestock often play a key role in addressing this classic omnivorous hunger, raising…

putting your money where the mouths are

“Imagine cities that feed their own inhabitants.  Imagine communities that are connected by farms.  Imagine knowing your farmer and knowing your food.”  This is the vision of Mohamed Hage, founder and CEO of the Montreal-based rooftop farming…

rooftop rice paddy

Two hectares of rooftop in South Central China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region stand a cut above the rest.  The Liuzhou Chenfeng Brewing Factory, founded in 1954, supports one of China’s only rooftop rice paddies.  Tan Zhaohan,…

grey to green

Think green infrastructure is sexy?  Don’t hold yourself back from nerding out with others, like yourself, who blush at the thought of rooftop farming, green walls, biofilters and living machines.  On August 25 and 26, Green Roofs for…

hyper-local food

North Carolinians, you’re in luck!  You’re lust for local food journalism has been assuaged by Food Life, a new foodie magazine recently released by parent company Sophie Magazine.  The budding farm-to-fork publication has taken an interest in rooftop agriculture by…

learning from Cuba

Let’s face it, we’re all a little obsessed with our own garden.  I spend time with my rooftop vegetables like any good gardener and talk to friends about their latest gardening fads and experiments.  But what if…

an onion blooms in the desert

Amid conflict and persistent food insecurity Palestinian refugees are cultivating their rooftops to produce fresh vegetables close to home.  Last week the Middle Eastern sustainability news website Green Prophet reported that families in West Bank refugee camps…

open source seeding

Earlier this week a group of scientists and food activists launched a campaign to change how seeds are governed.  Headed by University of Wisconsin vegetable breeder Irwin Goldman and sociologist Jack Kloppenburg, the Open Source Seed Initiative released 29 new crop…

gaga for greenhouses!

Confession: I’ve always been a soil lovin’ gal.  I never gave much mind to high-yield greenhouses nor year-round production, but recently, I’ve turned positively gaga for greenhouses!  I don’t know what’s come over me.  Maybe it’s the…