What is it about rooftop gardens that fascinate people so much? Perhaps it’s the mysterious allure of that lush green jungle peeking over the edge of the penthouse apartment. There are also many community rooftop gardens, though. How cool would it be if your apartment came with a 5×5 plot? Or if your place of work had a little farm over it and you could grab a carrot to augment your lunch? Some places take their rooftop gardens very seriously. In Switzerland a bylaw was recently passed requiring that any new building must replace any green space lost with green space on the roof and existing buildings must convert a minimum of 20% of their rooftop area to green space.

This is because rooftop gardens aren’t just enjoyable retreats and aesthetically pleasing, they are also very good for the environment. Rooftop gardens reduce CO2 levels, decrease air pollution, provide insulation that reduces your heating bill in the winter and your cooling bill in the summer, and increase the potential yield of urban agriculture.

Well, The Food Project isn’t one to be left behind. We have 6000 sq. ft. planted on the rooftop of the Boston Medical Center. We have been working on this project since 2004 and it continues to grow each year. We have faced many unique challenges over the course of this project. Low soil fertility has required us to bring over 280 crates of compost to the roof over these three years, a process complicated by the fact that our van is just a bit too tall to fit comfortably in the parking garage. We’ve over come this challenge, however, and are excited to continue our efforts in 2007.

To satisfy your curiosity about rooftop gardening and document our progress, we’ve decided to post a blog entry each month beginning in March. We’ll keep you up to date on our garden planning process, planting, outreach into the Boston Medical Center community, harvest and maybe even a few exciting tidbits about weeding.

If you’d like to learn more about our rooftop garden you can read the history of The Food Project’s Rooftop Garden.