Growing Food On Green Roofs

Urban agriculture on roofs and walls can be part of community gardens private residences school farms social enterprises or may have potential to be commercial farms.

Growing food on green roofs.

It is a great space for community gardens volunteer education and event opportunities. Green roofs can also help moderate the energy needed to maintain the temperature of a building by keeping the roof. By growing food on green roofs there are also extended environmental benefits to consider. For example in toronto ontario 50 to 60 per cent of consumed food is imported.

Green roofs are not a new concept but of late one that slowly seems to be attracting more and more interest. Green roofs absorb rainwater and grow food. In fact there are some urban agriculture rooftops where the food is grown on hydroponic systems on the roof to avoid the need for a growing substrate altogether. Louis located just north of the delmar divide.

For instance allium species can thrive on extensive green roofs especially chives. Even on extensive green roofs with a depth of 150mm it would be possible to grow native herbs. The food roof farm is an urban farm in downtown st. Cities around the world are making green roofs mandatory in new building construction.

However it is possible to grow herbs on extensive green roofs. According to tree hugger the popularity of green roofs is growing by 35 in the united states in the past couple of years. Given proper management there is plenty of scope to make better use of rooftops walls and water sensitive urban design assets as sites for growing edible plants. But there s no requirement that these spaces provide a means to grow food.

To help with that initiative in the nation s capital a team at the university of the district of columbia has created a rooftop garden on campus with a wide variety of vegetation to help absorb excess rainwater and grow food at the same time. In general rooftop farms or gardens sit within the intensive green roof category. Green infrastructure has many purposes. Louis garden is a space for the community to come together.

Rooftop food growing has a growing interest. Among them is food production but do we use green infrastructure for this as much as we could. In fact many plants associated with green roofs in continental europe such as marjoram oregano basil are classic extensive green roofs plants. Green roofs absorb rainwater grow food.