Montreal’s Gazette reports that since July, a city rooftop garden trialling an experimental ‘Biotop’ system has produced more than 113 kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables. A 2,000 square foot rooftop produce could produce one tonne using this system, according to Marc-André Valiquette, an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada biologist (pictured, right, with Action Communiterre’s Mathieu Roy.)
The Gazette reports that:
The Queen E’s roof-top patch is a modest demonstration project. Sixty lightweight containers were planted at the beginning of July, 40 with vegetables, herbs or fruits.
The vegetables doing well include cantaloupe, tomatoes and zucchini. A big advantage of growing food on the rooftop is the paucity of pests, says the report:
One thing is clear, the lush vegetation hasn’t had to contend with the usual garden pests. There are no squirrels, raccoons or slugs to pilfer or mar the fruit, just the occasional monarch butterfly and bee.
- Photo by Dave Sidaway
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