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…

Staten Island gets fresh

On the edge of Staten Island’s harbor district an energetic team will soon “ferry” roof-fresh produce from an historic building to those in need. The site: the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The Department of Transportation introduced…

no water? no problem.

All this talk about high-tech rooftop farming makes my hungry for a good old fashioned DIY project.  Presenting: the self watering planter. As you may recall from an earlier post, “the naked truth,” my Philadelphia row home roof…

the inside scoop with Lara Mrosovsky

A 6,500 square foot rooftop garden atop Toronto’s Access Alliance provides the community health center’s visitors with opportunities for community development, environmental education, and social health activities.  Lara Mrosovsky, the organization’s Green Access Community Animator, engages primarily…

the inside scoop with Dave Snyder

Let’s hear what the experts have learned up on the roof.  This post is the first in a series where I pose the same two questions to various leaders in the rooftop agriculture movement.  First we…

trend setter

Charlie Miller knows green roofs.  As the founder of one of the oldest green roof firms in North America, Charlie is a leading force in pioneering the green roof industry in this part of the world….

down and dirty.

Let’s talk soil.  If you ask a farmer and a green roof expert how to mix the ideal batch of soil, they will give you completely different answers.  Farmers are interested in high levels of organic matter, which help…