more bees please

Standing on the roof of SHARE Food Program in north Philadelphia, the audible hum of bee wing vibration is hypnotizing.  Workers dart out of their hives to forage for pollen and nectar, others sluggishly return with…

skyline cornucopia

Executive Chef Dana Hauser knows fresh food, and is committed to growing it as close to her kitchen as possible.  When Hauser gained her prestigious culinary appointment at The Fairmont Waterfront hotel in 2012, she decided to convert…

sky-high winter greens

While rooftop farms around the country lay fallow for winter, one skyline gem continues to churn out greens.  Noble Rot, a restaurant and wine bar in Portland, OR, supports a 3,000 square foot (0.07 acre) farm…

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…

got organic? you betchya.

Chicago has something to brag about.  Uncommon Ground, a restaurant on the north side of town, houses the country’s very first certified organic rooftop farm.  The farm was founded on the restaurant’s Edgewater location in 2007,…

3… 2… 1… action!

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…

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? Lots of people…

rooftop beekeeping video

This is an outstanding WHYY video on Urban Apiaries; Philadelphia’s most popular urban honey producer. WHYY Rooftop Beekeeping

rooftop beekeeping

According to urban apiarist Trey Flemming, bees that live in cities are generally healthier than their rural counterparts.  Bees are broad spectrum pollinators, which means that they leave the hive and look for varied types of nectar…