Aug 19, 2009 7:27 pm US/Eastern
Rooftop Organic Farm In Shadow Of NYC Skyline
Brooklyn Residents Overwhelmed With Orders From Businesses' After Deciding To Grow Crops Atop Warehouse
200,000 Pounds Of Soil Used On 6,000 Square Foot Greenpoint Building
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Chopper 2 HD sits high over the 6,000-square foot organic rooftop farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
CBS
A group of Brooklynites have found a unique way to grow their own food.
They've planted crops on the roof.
It saves money and they say if more people did it, it would help save the planet, too.
Fifty feet above the sidewalk, with the New York City skyline as a backdrop … tomatoes, peppers and green beans are thriving.
"We ended up growing about 30 different varieties of plants because we really didn't know what would succeed or fail on a rooftop space. There's a lot of wind and full sun," Annie Novak said.
The produce Novak and Ben Flanner tend to daily on the roof of the Greenpoint, Brooklyn warehouse is part of an experiment in urban farming. A test to see how much organically grown food can be produced in areas with little or no ground level growing space.
The rooftop team admits that their environmental goals are a bit lofty but they said their approach is really quite simple. In fact, it only took them three days to turn the rooftop into a farm.
A friend donated the rooftop and an engineer determined how much weight the roof could handle. Then 200,000 pounds of soil, plus special drainage materials were applied to the 6,000 square foot space.
"As soon as the local neighborhood heard that there was fresh produce within a couple blocks of their house they were sort of knocking on the door, saying we want to buy it. How can we buy it? When can we buy it?" said Lisa Goode of Goode Green.
Most orders are delivered by bike. But Giuseppe Falco makes the pick-up for his restaurant, Vesta Trattoria and Wine Bar, personally.
"So we go and purchase something that's already vine ripened, and we pick and serve every day," Falco said. "I would hope that people understand the idea of being able to eat something that's at its ultimate taste."
Novak said growing your own produce or buying it locally not only produces better tasting food, but it's also cheaper. So you'll lower your grocery bills and your carbon footprint, which is why she hopes to see more rooftop farms in the very near future.
"What we really want, ultimately, is to see this sort of thing in every borough, in every part of the city as an example for the rest of the world," Novak said.
This rooftop farm started as an experiment but it has become so popular the team is working on a business plan so they can expand next year.
If you want to take a closer look at this rooftop farm you can attend one of their free Sunday workshops. Check out their Web site
here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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