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Category Archives: Urban Agriculture and Food Policy
Peaches 2016
The headlines were breathless but accurate: “Valentine’s Day Massacre of Peach Blooms,” screamed the headline in Growing Produce; “Cold snap decimates peach crop in Massachusetts and beyond,” said another. Even the staid Gray Lady declared, “East Peach Crop Almost a … Continue reading
Posted in Failures, Fruit, Peaches, Urban Agriculture and Food Policy, Weather
2 Comments
Pollinators for Urban Gardens: The Case for Hole-Nesting Native Bees
Note from the Battery Rooftop Gardener: Crown Bees, which bills itself as the “The Gentle Bee Company,” is a solitary bee (mason and leafcutters) company based in Woodinville, WA that advocates using managed native bees for pollinating fruits and vegetables (see http://www.crownbees.com … Continue reading
Getting to Green
If you have read this blog for some time, you will know that my adventure in urban rooftop agriculture is just one manifestation of a broader interest in environmental issues. Having spent more than two decades working for various Green … Continue reading
Manhattan Rooftop Terroir
Today I enjoyed the first rooftop asparagus of the season, which of course raised the knotty question of Manhattan rooftop terroir. Let’s start with the question of what terroir is: the unique, organoleptic qualities associated with food and drink from … Continue reading
The Rooftop Growing Guide
Since the 18th century the country’s heartland has sprouted a hardy crop of farmer philosophers. The 21st century Brooklyn-based example of this great American type is Annie Novak. Her new book, The Rooftop Growing Guide (Ten Speed Press, available February … Continue reading
Posted in Photos, Soil, Structure, Urban Agriculture and Food Policy, Vegetables, Wildlife
1 Comment
Breaking News: Urban Fruit is Better
A few years ago, I told an environmentalist friend of mine, who is also a medical doctor, about my green roof and plan to grow food. She looked at me strangely, obviously torn between disapproval and an instinct to be … Continue reading
Hot, Hot, Hot — Part II
The interview with Suzanne Roberts on Headline News (see previous post) was part of her show, “Seeking Solutions with Suzanne,” which aims to give practical advice to retired Americans. Her visit was followed a couple of days later by the … Continue reading
Posted in Urban Agriculture and Food Policy
1 Comment
Hot, Hot, Hot
No, I’m not talking about the genus Capsicum, whose many species of peppers thrive on a green roof. I’m talking about green roofs themselves. For years, we rooftop farmers have attracted the attention of periodicals like Urban Farm and Living Architecture, … Continue reading
Posted in Urban Agriculture and Food Policy
3 Comments
Allotments
In the UK in the years before Margaret Thatcher whipped things into shape, there was not very much that the Battery Rooftop Gardener, then an American graduate student first discovering England, found worthy of emulation. But I remember being deeply … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Urban Agriculture and Food Policy
3 Comments
Dead or Alive?
The sharp blade slices through the skin, flesh and vascular tissues with ease. Pressure in the vascular system collapses. Almost immediately senescence – a genetically regulated process which leads to the death of cells and organs – begins. Individual cells … Continue reading
Posted in Apples, Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Cooking and Eating, Eggplant, Green Beans, Kale, Lettuce, Parsley, Peaches, Spinach, Urban Agriculture and Food Policy
3 Comments
Battery Rooftop Garden Blog 