Urban Farming.

I do not see much cities embracing urban farming. As the population increases, the amounts of arable land decreases. Furthermore, with pollution and climate change, the lands that were once farms may not even be fertile enough to grow crops.

With an increase in population, and less food production, there will be a time where there is lack of food. However, there seems to be still no urgency for an increase in food supply.

I believe that urban farming brings a lot of benefits besides the obvious, of growing your own food. Farming can be therapeutic for people living in the city, and the fruits and vegetables grown are extra rewards. As many people live in the city and the population concentration increases, the city grows upwards and it is hard to find a patch of green. However, in many cities, a lot of the building have flat roofs. Most of these roofs are simply flat roofs which house air-conditioning units.

Urban farming is not new. Ancient cities like Babylon had their hanging gardens and farms in or in the vicinity of urban areas. During World War II, it is estimated that nearly 40% of the fresh vegetables and fruits in this country were produced in the Victory Gardens. Only recently, the US has started to import much of the fruits and vegetables from other countries.

A few decades ago ECHO (Education Concerns for Hunger Organization) in Fort Myers, Florida, has introduced container garden techniques for impoverished counties like Haiti. In 1993, Dr. Job Ebenezer, former Director of Environmental Stewardship and Hunger Education at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) established a container garden on the roof of the parking garage of the ELCA offices in Chicago. The hope was that the roof top garden would serve as a role model for creative use of urban space throughout the country. Dr. Ebenezer proved the feasibility of growing vegetables in plastic wading pools, used tires and feed sacks. The demonstration garden has proved to be highly successful. Each year since 1993, urban gardeners at the ELCA offices in Chicago harvested nearly 1,000 pounds of vegetables from nearly 40 wading pools and a dozen of used tires and feed sacks.


THE EFFECTIVENESS OF URBAN GARDENS

There are several reasons why urban gardens using containers are effective:

They enable us to practice “intensive” gardening method through maximum utilization of limited space.

It is easy to practice “intercropping” (planting a variety of plants in one container) which ensures the health of plants due to diversity.

It is possible to “conserve” both soil and water as containers prevent run offs of soil and excessive watering.

Urban gardens “make use of urban wasteland” (vacant lots, brown fields, unused parking lots, and roof tops)

Urban gardening provides “meaningful employment” for persons with limited skills and formal education.

Establishing and maintaining an urban garden are very “inexpensive”.

Urban gardens provide creative ways to “recycle” old tires and other containers that otherwise would be thrown into landfills.

Churches and social service organizations can use urban gardening to “rehabilitate, create income generation projects, and provide therapy.”

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Currently, in newer residential projects, there are roof gardens on some of these flat roofs. They seem like a good idea to beautify the roofs, however in financially hard times, hiring people to maintain these plants at the gardens where very few people use. A few couples may go to these roof gardens for some quality time, however there could be better use of the roofs.

I believe if you can plant some pretty plants, you can plant vegetables and fruits on the roofs. On residential buildings some of the residents should be allowed to plant their own plants. I sure there is very limited space on the roofs, however there are always people with green thumbs that could sure use the space to grow their own food.

If some space on the roof is allocated to different people, I feel that it will boost the much needed interaction of neighbours in the city. Being outdoors, taking care of plants, neighbours can talk about their common interest, gardening. During harvest, neighbours can also trade and bond. I feel that instead of hiring people workers to take care of the plants, residents should be allowed to grow their own plants.

Another benefit of growing your own plants is that you can grow the plants organically. As these plants are grown several floors off the ground, it is harder for pests to get to these plants. You can be sure that the tomatoes you grow are not covered in pesticides.

If you grow your own food, the food you grow needs no transportation and will have no carbon footprint.


There are many advantages to urban farming. There are some people growing their own herbs in their homes using UV light tubes in place of sunlight. I've personally have mint and lemongrass on my balcony, but having an actual land for growing the plants you want is just much more fulfilling than a little pot of herb in your kitchen.

In Boston, there is a public garden where residents can rent a small plot of land for their gardening use. I've seen many residents get together in the mornings and the evenings at their little plots of land taking care of the plants. These residents often chat and meet up with each other daily and will otherwise not meet up if not for their common passion and the adjacent land they share.

I feel that every city should have their public gardens where people who want to grow their own vegetables can do so. Farming is great way of keeping fit for the elderly as well, and instead of just having seats for old people to gather in an aging community, why not have micro farms for them to grow their favourite crops.


Urban farming is not new, in Chicago, The True Nature Foods 'Rooftop Victory Garden' for localized agricultural production was begun as Phase I in 2006. This project received a 'City of Chicago Green Roof Grants Program 2005: Residential and Small Commercial Buildings' grant from the Department on the Environment toward realization of the vegetated roof, and has become a 'poster project' of sorts for the grant program. Species planted in fall 2006 include buckwheat, burdock, comfrey, Jerusalem artichoke, and artichoke, which were selected for their ability to provide food, fuel, fiber, encourage human health, and help build healthy soil. Species planted in 2007 include herbs such as mints, rosemary, oregano, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and squash.

In Singapore, a polytechnic explored the sky farm" concept, which would blend in well with both the food-producing potential of Singapore's rooftop spaces, plus the potential of "vertical farming" down the sunlit faces of apartment buildings.

-- Iron Bowl