Solar-powered rooftop garden to yield 40 tons of produce

Solar-powered rooftop garden to yield 40 tons of produce

Community gardens have been scattered around cities for centuries, but Gotham Greens is taking the concept, literally, to a higher place. They're building a 16,000 sq. foot hydroponic garden on a rooftop in Brooklyn, NY, scheduled to open this spring.

The urban garden uses solar energy to power the equipment and water collected from rooftop cisterns to feed the plants. Beneficial insects protect the plants instead of pesticides. The company is estimating a yield of 40 tons of produce. Most of it is headed, by bicycle or green vehicles, to Whole Foods grocery stores, but some will go to local restaurants and farmers markets.

There have been many conceptual farms proposed to use space in a new way, but why not use the rooftops of buildings that already exist?

Via FastCompany