Rooftop Aquaponics

[Sahib Punjabi]

There have been numerous posts shared on "Rooftop Gardens"...some on the "Vertical Gardening" group. This is a growing field and one that we should be looking into...especially Urban Dwellers. I am fortunate to have probably the best show case examples (although these are not really financially viable for your average "Joe" like me), at my backdoor...at Disney Epcot Center and one in Winter Garden..."Green Sky Growers"

http://www.greenskygrowers.com/

Let's share some of these developments and learn from each other :-)

[Raychel A Watkins]

Sahib have you looked at this web site.  I remember someone talking about turing their pool into aquaponics.  This family did something even better.  It is a sustainable farm in a swimming pool.  http://gardenpool.org/

[Sahib Punjabi]

Namaste Raychel Ji,

 

So sorry that I took a while to respond. I was visiting my Daughter and Son-in -Law in NJ. While there, I was lucky to have the chance to visit Cabbage Hill Farms...shared that experience on my blog and photos (the manager there Barney also joined our Aquaponic Community).

 

Yes I have seen the conversion of the swimming pool...interesting. Personally, given that I live in Sunny Florida, to me "Paradise"...I know for you that is where you live (yes I love that too), I would not want to give up my swimming pool. Murray Hallam has it right in his DVD Aquaponics Made Easy when he mentions the ratio and the amount of grow beds space needed, even with very low density. I believe that on a non-commercial means, we should grow food via Aquaponic means and in a manner that is possible by one and all. Given space is often a crucial limiting factor, I am looking at Vertical growing as well as  space that is often ignored, especially with "flat roofs" as is the case in many Urban Buildings and developing counties (from Middle East to India). That is why I am always searching "Rooftop" growing posts, especially where they involve or could be converted for Aquaponics.

 

There are special considerations for Rooftop Aquaponics...not limited to weight of water but also types of grow beds. I was happy to find Anir Chanda living this way of life in Kolkata, India (very scarce knowledge of Aquaponics in India), and using his Apartment Complex's Rooftop...wonderful. I requested him and I am so glad that he joined our Community and is sharing his videos and progress with us...just see what I mean :

 

http://aquaponicscommunity.com/video/urban-food-garden-update-24th

 

I do enjoy your posts and videos...keep up the fantastic work and keep sharing with us :-)

 

God bless

[Sahib Punjabi]

The Brooklyn Grange: NYC's Biggest Rooftop Farm:

 

Sharing this post about on of NYC;s biggest Rooftop Farms...I don't believe they use Aquaponics to grow their food :(

Now imho, this would be an ideal place to use Aquaponics.

 

About this project

Brooklyn Grange will be a 1 acre rooftop farm situated in New York City. Such a commercially-viable rooftop farm has yet to be realized in this country. We will use simple greenroof infrastructure to install over 1 million pounds of soil on the roof of an industrial building on which we will grow vegetables nine months of the year. Being in the country's largest city, the farm will create a new system of providing local communities with access to fresh, seasonal produce. We plan to expand quickly in the first few years, covering multiple acres of New York City's unused rooftops with vegetables. The business has many environmental and community benefits, and allows our city dwelling customers to know their farmer, learn where their food comes from, and become involved.

The farm will be run by Ben Flanner, who started and ran a proof of concept rooftop farm in the summer of '09. The beyond-organic produce will be sold directly to the community at an onsite stand, affording shoppers a direct relationship with the farm and farmers. Additional produce will be sold to a small group of market-driven local restaurants.

Our model capitalizes on an unused resource - rooftop space - and has the potential to change the way densely populated cities produce, distribute and consume food.

 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1909670623/brooklyn-grange-roof...

 

And another video

 

http://vimeo.com/13291391

 

Enjoy