Isabelle Dervaux will be bringing us her monthly reviews, accompanied by her beautiful photos, of Brooklyn businesses she finds fascinating, unique, or just plain cool! This month she brings us a sampling of community and rooftop gardens we can find around around Brooklyn.
Community gardens and rooftop edible gardens have multiplied throughout the city, farms have followed. Brooklyn is the hub of the trend, with farms like Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, Grange Farm and North Brooklyn Farm setting the example.
Eagle Street Rooftop Farm
The nondescript brick manufacturing building at 44 Eagle Street in industrial Greenpoint seems like any other. You would never guess that the stairs would lead up to a farm stand where you can buy wonderful produce grown on its roof.
Fresh herbs and crispy radishes on sale. If you can’t make it to the roof you can taste the produce at Marlow and Daughter, Eat and Rockaway Taco.
Novices are welcome to volunteer and get their hands dirty on Sundays afternoon (except in August when it time to pickle). You will be assigned easy but specific tasks such as preparing the soil and seeding.
Peppers thrive in the heat of NYC. Buy them fresh, pickled, or dried. Limited editions of hot sauce are carefully produced every summer. I shied away from the bright orange Death Sauce, a Habanero blend on sale the day I passed by.
Grange Farm
I toured the Grange farm Brooklyn location on a Wednesday afternoon on top of Building 3 of the Navy Yard.
Everyone who pushes the 12th floor outside door gasps and wows at the unexpected contrast between the Manhattan skyline and the neat rows of planted greens. It takes a few minutes to recover from the shock of finding oneself high up in the silence of the roof. After a moment I noticed the interns working diligently scattered through the 65,000 square foot farm (the deck is so large that there is even room to host weekly yoga classes). The farm was started in 2010, after over a million pounds of soil had been hauled under the supervision of industrial engineer and head farmer Ben Flanner.
On my way out I excitedly bought some greens for dinner. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) member was picking up her weekly share of mixed salad, kale, spring onions (all part of the spring early summer selection) and a freshly picked bouquet.
A modern farmer, Henry, is excited to talk about his dream coming to life after working for three years at the Battery Urban Farm in Manhattan. The plan is to bring a produce stand, workshops for kids and adults and Sundays suppers to the neighborhood.
Pick-your-own vegetables on Saturdays.
Millie, on the farm’s cherry tomatoes: “When can I come pick more?”
Two locations:
Courtyard of Building 92 at the intersection of Carlton Ave. and Flushing Ave. in the Navy Yard.
37-18 Northern Blvd off the 36th St. stop on the R/M train in Long Island City
Havemeyer Park at Kent Ave. between South 3rd and South 4th Streets in Williamsburg
Be sure to check the calendar for market and volunteer hours as they change through the seasons.
