EAT UPSandy 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.
get ready, windy city!
Chicago‘s rooftop community will beam from October 17th to 20th, as the City of Chicago and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities host this year’s international green roof conference. Cities Alive is poised to attract design, policy, green roof, and agricultural professionals from around the globe, in celebration of the conference’s 10th anniversary.
Uncommon Ground rooftop farm || photo by Lauren Mandel
With a hunger for rooftop agricultural knowledge, several food-related technical sessions and site visits are on the docket. If you’re able to attend, be sure to stop by Session 2 on the 18th: Emerging Design and Technology Trends in Rooftop Urban Agriculture. This hot button panel will feature Helen Cameron, co-founder of Uncommon Ground (America’s first certified organic rooftop farm and winner of numerous restaurant and sustainability awards); Bradley Roback, Coordinator of Economic Development for Chicago’s Department of Housing and Economic Development (Brad focuses on food policy and land use planning); Mark K. Morrison, President + CEO of MKM Landscape Architecture PC (a New York-based landscape firm with a history of green roof design); and Lauren Mandel (yours truly). Sky Vegetables, Inc. founder Keth Agoada will moderate the session, and the conversation is sure to stimulate your imagination.
Rooftop agriculture is gaining steam at conferences like Cities Alive, and August’s Urban Agriculture Summit in Toronto. Sessions on the topic are routinely packed with curious, energized attendees. Will this trend continue as entrepreneurs, the media, and academia continue to explore the potential of rooftop food production? You betchya.
Check out the rest of the 2012 Cities Alive program, and stop by our panel to ask the experts your toughest questions!
goat à la roof
While some skyline growers tinker with beets and collard greens, others push the limits of hoofed farm hands. Rooftop goats are all the rage in Sister Bay, WI, where a small herd has grazed the grassy roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik since 1973.
Installing the Goat Cam || photo by John Nelson
Restaurant founder Al Johnson explained in a 2007 interview that sod roofs are common in Sweden, where he was born, as a means of moderating a building’s indoor temperature. Johnson decided to install a sod roof atop his Wisconsin restaurant, and rather than mowing, he introduced a herd of goats to keep the lawn at bay. As it turns out, the goats draw large crowds to the now iconic restaurant, particularly during the summer months. In addition to providing utilitarian services like mowing, rooftop goats are fully capable of supplying milk, meat, and even wool. Their milk can be used for drinking, making dairy products (like cheese and yogurt), and also for crafting soap and other value-added products. These rooftop ruminates sure do give you a lot of bang for your buck… er, ah, for your billy? A little goat humor.
Check out Al Johnson’s goats for yourself, through this live feed to the restaurant’s Goat Cam.
collective brain power
From August 15-18, urban agricultural enthusiasts from around the world gathered in Toronto for the very first Urban Agriculture Summit. The international conference, hosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and FoodShare, attracted over 500 farmers, activists, educators, CEOs, design professionals, developers, and other industry leaders to discuss current initiatives and explore the future of urban agriculture.
Seated tightly in a lecture hall at Toronto’s Reyerson University, we listened to the conference’s opening remarks while fidgeting in anticipation of the lectures, panel discussions, and brain mingling to come. Topics would range from social issues (food security and community building), to the sciences (urban ecology and technology), to implementation (planning, design, financing, and policy). An astounding assortment of industry leaders were in attendance – all the hot shots were there. Will Allen, Founder and CEO of the Milwaukee-based agricultural organization Growing Power, kick-started the conference with an inspiring keynote address. Brightfarms CEO Paul Lightfoot maintained the conference’s momentum with an eye-opening talk about his greenhouse hydroponic company’s innovative business model. High-profile rooftop farmers, like Ben Flanner from Brooklyn Grange, led workshops and sat on informative panels. Architects and landscape architects offered insight on the practicalities of designing urban agricultural spaces, and community gardeners discussed best practices for maintaining them.
The conference’s emphasis on rooftop agriculture attracted quite a crowd. I presented on rooftop production techniques to a room of 60 or so attendees, and the rooftop buzz hummed throughout the rest of the conference. One of the most fascinating panel discussions I attended paired rooftop row farmer Ben Flanner with Kurt D. Lynn, co-founder of the Montreal-based rooftop hydroponic greenhouse company, Lufa Farms. The two experts discussed differences in their company’s approaches to financing, business development, production, and sales outlets. When viewed side-by-side, the contrasting business models revealed unique opportunities and challenges, specific to each approach. The contrast was fascinating.
After the conference, attendees returned to Cuba, Germany, India, the U.S., and other home countries, to disseminate their freshly cultivated knowledge and excitement. I hope, as do countless others, for a second Urban Agriculture Conference in 2013.
commercial row farming at its finest
Check out this amazing Huffington Post video on Brooklyn Grange, produced by Damiano Beltrami in 2011. The shortie features the rooftop farm’s Head Farmer and President, Ben Flanner.
the groundhog done it
It finally happened. While harvesting cherry tomatoes from my backyard garden earlier this week, a patch of topless broccoli plants caught the corner of my eye. Slowly turning to assess the damage – brow low, fists clenched – the reality became strikingly clear: my broccoli plants were completely decimated. Taking a step farther, I noticed that my beet greens were shorn to nibbly stumps as well.
How could this be?! Who was the culprit? One more step provided the answer: a groundhog done it. Marmota monax, little bugger. With a complete and utter lack of courtesy, this groundhog had made its home directly in the center of my peri-urban vegetable garden. There was nothing discreet about it. Main hole, back hole, emergency exit hole, all plain as day. Apparently in the eyes of a hungry rodent, it’s never too “city” for groundhogs.
After the initial shock and desire for revenge faded, I paused to consider the threat, or lack thereof, of rooftop vermin. Ground-level farms and gardens are often plagued by groundhogs, rabbits, and other fuzzy creatures looking for an easy meal. Growers spend time and money on poison, traps, fences, chemical deterrents, guard dogs, and even guns! But rather than removing the vermin from the garden, what if you were to remove the garden from the vermin? Rooftops offer a unique setting that is out of reach from groundhogs and rabbits. The occasional squirrel may wander up a downspout, but this can be easily prevented by installing metal collars at potential access points. As for mice and rats? Well, in the green roof industry we only really see these animals when the green roof is at-grade with the surrounding landscape. Elevate the roof, and 99 times out of 100, you’re safe.
Are your garden pests driving you crazy enough to try rooftop gardening?