EAT UPgot 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,…
the value of visibility
Rooftop farms and gardens are intoxicating when you’re up on the roof, but how the heck are you supposed to know they’re there from down on the ground? Visibility is a powerful tool in spreading the word…
West Philadelphia pilot garden
Elderly residents sit on their front stoops watching tattooed hipsters peddle by on fixed-gear bikes. This cultural juxtaposition runs rampant throughout West Philadelphia’s Cedar Park neighborhood, while grit and urban decay provide a strange sense of continuity…
fishy business
Does all this talk about lettuce and broccoli make you hungry for some real meat? Let’s talk aquaponics. For centuries, people around the world have raised fish as a food crop. This cultivation occurs in ocean…
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…
farming in the sunshine state
Despite Florida’s abundant sunshine and rainfall, there is a surprising lack of rooftop agricultural activity throughout the state. The growing conditions are perfect for food production at any altitude, and yet, most growing is reserved for…
indecent exposure
As a Project Manager for the green roof firm Roofmeadow, I regularly travel around the country to perform construction oversight. In December I had the good fortune of overseeing construction at a hotel in Lower Manhattan,…
the woman behind the farm
Annie Novak is an absolute gem. As the co-founder and farmer of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, NY, Annie gracefully juggles the responsibilities of food production, managing volunteers, answering to the media, marketing, and of…
a li’l market research
At first glance, rooftop agriculture seems like a hyper-specific topic – a niche within a niche. When you dig down into the subject matter, however, the topic’s vastness unfolds. Some of the major talking points that…
rooftop mushrooms?
Productive rooftops can yield more than just fruits and vegetables. These cultivated spaces can produce unexpected agricultural products such as wool and honey, but what about mushrooms? Most fungal species prefer the shade, and yet there…