Photos: Visiting America's First Certified-Organic Rooftop Farm
Monday, July 20, 2009 at 11:54AM 
I didn't have much time to relax after the trip to La Crosse, because on Friday we had another shoot scheduled at the rooftop farm above Uncommon Ground restaurant in Chicago. About a year ago, workers hauled about six tons of soil up two flights of stairs and poured it into 28 raised-bed planter boxes to start what would become the nation's first certified-organic rooftop farm.
Most buildings wouldn't respond kindly to six tons of added pressure, so owners Helen and Micheal Cameron had to spend about $120,000 shoring up the foundation and support beams, and installing a deck that's made of a wood composite and recycled plastic. That sounds like a hefty price tag just to grow some veggies, but Helen told us that she plans to recoup her investment within two years, both because much of the construction was paid for with grants and taxpayer money, and because they hope to harvest more than 1,000 pounds of food from the roof this year.
During our visit on Friday, we spoke with Helen and farm director Natalie Pfister about the farm, and the beehives and solar thermal panels that are also on the roof. Helen told us that getting certified was actually pretty simple because it's very easy for them to document all of the inputs.
See the rest of my photos on Flickr, and check back soon for the final cut of the video.
-Mark
Reader Comments (1)
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