a tour of our urban roof garden
how we're growing produce in the middle of the city using our Lettuce Grow farmstand, zero-waste tips, and what to do with excess harvests
We are city people, through and through.
We live in a townhome, and have never really felt like we’re missing out by not having a large backyard or a place to plant a bunch of raised garden beds. We enjoy frequenting our local parks and farmers markets, and would rather be out in the community than at home tending to our own lawn and all that comes with it.
But, during COVID, my husband got really into craft cocktail making. And not in a “I learned how to make margaritas from scratch” way — he’s actually really, really talented and creative with it. He started making his own tinctures and simple syrups, specifically using peppers. We love a spicy drink. That’s what led him to plant his first pepper crop — it was a chocolate habanero plant. Upon harvesting, he would cook the peppers down and distill them into syrups for in cocktails. That summer, we made spicy blended avocado margaritas a bunch. It’s like a spicy, creamy, blended margarita. We still love them and make them to this day.
While we don’t have a yard, we do have a roof deck on top of our townhome — it’s brutally hot, sunny, and perfect for growing peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and the like. After the first summer growing peppers, we decided to invest in a Lettuce Grow farmstand.
These “farmstands” are self-watering, self-fertilizing hydroponic growing systems. They grow vertically, so they don’t have up a ton of space, so it’s perfect for patios or city living. The water is recirculated all day, so it uses minimal resources. All of their seedlings are non-GMO and use zero toxic pesticides or chemicals. You can add on to the height of your unit, which we’ve done every year.
We love having our own veggies and produce to pick from for dinner each night, and November loves going up there to snack on sungold tomatoes and strawberries.
Here’s everything we’ve had success in growing:
butter lettuce, arugula, curly kale, purple pomegranate lettuce (similar to radicchio), peppers: scotch bonnet, lemon jalapeno, serranos, orange cauliflower, dill, basil, oregano, parsley, white cucumbers, sungold tomatoes, ground cherries, strawberries, and Charentais melons ( kind of like a small, sweet melon).
A good problem to have is when our garden produces more than what we can eat.
There have definitely been times when we have harvested more than what we can eat before it goes bad, and it’d be a crime to throw our self-grown produce away. We aim for zero waste. Here are some ways I’ve learned to preserve the fruits of our labor:
BASIL: Usually with the last big harvest of the season, I make a huge batch of pesto, and freeze it in smaller portions to pull from for the next couple months. We LOVE pesto and eat it weekly!
ARUGULA + KALE: I love to incorporate it into the pesto above.
TOMATOES: We make a roasted tomato compote to be used as a condiment on toast, fish, veg, etc. We keep it in a large mason jars and stays good for awhile. I also make a large batch of tomato sauce for pizza and pasta.
CUCUMBERS: Aside from just snacking on them with some flake salt and lemon, we love making a few varieties of pickles.
PEPPERS: This one is actually probably the easiest for us. We’ve dried a bunch to be re-hydrated into sauces later, made simple syrups, hot sauces, and fermented pepper sauces.
STRAWBERRIES: Jams, pies, and galettes to close out the summer!
HERBS: We use our excess herbs in all of the above, dry some, and last year I made a large batch of herb compound butter.
We also love to package it up nicely, and gift excess produce to friends or neighbors!
In early Fall, our garden will transition from tomatoes, cucumber, and berries, and more towards Fall and Winter veggies, such as kale and beets, and switch from leafy herbs to more durable ones, such as thyme and rosemary. It’s so fun, and sometimes challenging, to find ways to utilize everything our garden produces. If anyone has any other tips or ideas I haven’t thought of, I’d love to hear!!
Thank you, as always, for being here 🤍
xx Mae