Fresh Vegetables Five Stories Up

These lucky vegetables have quite a view. Only a block away from the hustle and bustle of M Street, the crops planted on the rooftop of this five-story building in Georgetown overlook all of Washington. They also have produced pounds of delicious eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil, and parsley in a typically undervalued and underutilized urban space.

Most people who stroll by on the sidewalk below or eat lunch on the restaurant patios at ground level would never guess that the roof of this building provides fresh food to the people who live and work inside it. For the past several seasons, the Local Food Project has demonstrated the potential to grow food in small spaces with our 9 by 14-foot Parking Space Garden. Now we are exploring other ways to garden in space-constrained environments. LFP’s new initiative this season—the Georgetown Rooftop Food Project—answers the call to make local food even more local by growing it right in the city.

Standing among the raised beds of  the Georgetown Rooftop Food Project (or GRFP for short), its urban location is impossible to forget. Airplanes roar overhead as they take off and land at Reagan National Airport. The Washington Monument and Air Force Memorial jut up from the city’s signature low skyline. Children laugh and yell in the yard of a neighboring preschool and rooftop exhaust fans rattle constantly. But there’s also a special peace that comes with the high-altitude breeze and gives this garden an air of possibility. If vegetables and herbs can be grown on this roof, why not others? And if people enjoy the flavor and freshness of this produce, what does that signify for their relationships to other kinds of food? And how can projects like this one encourage more urban residents to eat locally produced food and even grow some of their own?

As summer draws to a close and fall winds blow in, we’ll continue to harvest the bounty at GRFP. We’ll also be thinking about what might come next for this elevated garden in the city. If you have ideas or want to check it out, let us know!

Small Space Gardening: Parking Space Garden

The LFP’s 9x19 foot Parking Space Garden is producing a lot of delicious vegetables in a small space. Our senior intern, Lauren, prepared the soil back in June by double digging the beds—using a garden spade to dig out a trench one foot deep, then loosening the sub-soil with a garden fork, repeating down the length of each bed. The result was four fluffy beds perfect for close-planting a wide variety of crops. So far, we have harvested 9 pounds of Swiss Chard, 13 pounds of Lettuce Heads, and 2.5 pounds of basil from this small space. And there will definitely be more to come! See pictures of the Parking Space Garden. Check back to read about the yields in our 700 square foot Feed a Family Garden.

Lots of Lettuce

The Local Food Project crew is harvesting baskets and baskets of crisp, crunchy lettuce these days. Pink-tinged Fireball, frilly green Nevada, and tall ruffled Concept all appreciate the wet, mild weather. We planted the little seedlings close together (six inches apart in four rows) and began harvesting them out as baby lettuce heads. Now they’re all growing fast and we’re supplying bountiful lettuce for lots of fresh salads for Airlie guests.

Tomatoes, Start Your Engines!

As temperatures begin to climb, the Local Food Project hoophouse is becoming a hot, humid environment—perfect for tomatoes eager to get out of their flats and into the ground. Last week the LFP crew planted three hoophouse sections (about 100 square feet each) of different kinds of tomatoes. We gave our favorite from last year—Sun Gold—center stage in the wide bed right inside the main door. Other varieties we’re looking forward to harvesting include Pineapple, Brandywine, Geronimo, Glacier, and Cobra. With basil interplanted between the tomatoes, the hoophouse truly has the aroma of summer!