A recent RHS study has shown that rooftop gardening can help combat climate change by lowering surrounding air temperatures. RHS scientist, Tijana Blanusa, who undertook the RHS research, says: ‘With our climate getting warmer, gardeners will be playing an even more important part in helping reduce the effects.’

‘Getting planting right in urban spaces, which can be very limited, can have a major effect in not only helping reduce urban temperatures but will also provide other environmental benefits.

The garden is starting to develop its own ecology. We had an invasion of the dreaded blackfly on our nasturtiums and runner beans. Luckily some ladybugs have also found their way up to the roof and are feasting on the blackfly colonies. We have also spotted hoverflies sniffing around, butterflies are visiting regularly and a solitarycaterpillar was making its way up one of the bamboo supports by the tomato plants.Otherwise, you will all be happy to know that the spring onions are looking much happier now we have replanted them and our living mushroom mound has flowered with 4 types of edible mushrooms!

I have included some photos of Circus Kinetica’s installations that are mounted on the high points surrounding the garden. The piece on top of our chimney has several windmills each attached to a printer motor, when the wind blows the motors power multi-coloured LEDs. Their craftsmanship shows the elements that are around us all the time and demonstrate how we needn’t pay for expensive materials or depend on manufacturers to use the power of the wind.

We brought the rest of the plants fully out into the weather last weekend. They’ve all responded differently. The Jerusalem artichokes, Romanesco Cauliflowers, tumbling tomatoes and mint have shot up whereas the runner beans are having trouble coping with the wind, I don’t think the spring onions are too happy about things either.

The more tender plants will either harden to the mountainous conditions or wilt. However, one advantage of our container garden is the beds are all (just) movable so as we get to understand the roof better we will be able to plant or build according to the microclimates. There are a few sun traps and pockets of calm air, and with the heat radiation from all the brick and concrete I have high hopes for our cape gooseberries and papaya.

All preparations are under way for the launch tomorrow – we’ve built a barbeque, tables and benches and the stage, all from reclaimed materials of course. A heroic delivery of sails at 11pm last night was the last addition to the garden before the weekend.

Andrew Merritt’s giant sculpture was completed this week in time for the Sustainable Arts Awards hosted in the building. Six types of edible mushrooms are alive inside, brown oyster mushrooms are already beginning to fruit out of the upper left face. They will continue to live inside the wood until eventually the whole structure breaks down into compost – which we can use to plant more vegies!? Circus Kinetica have installed their lovely wind scultpures at the tall points all round the roof, photos to follow in the next post.

Harrison.

The aptly named Harrison Leaf, an innovative graduate in Food Anthropology and a fan of Urban Agriculture, is building an organic roof top allotment using only re-cycled materials together with 8 tons of compost donated from the North London Waste Authority plus an old car roof as a cloche.

The GLA estimate that  there are 25,000 acres of flat roof space across the capital with potential for growing food. These could reduce London’s carbon foot-print and provide community projects promoting self sufficiency.http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/docs/living-roofs.pdf

Roof top gardening is very advanced in many cities in America http://www.skyvegetables.com/and Australia http://greenroofs.wordpress.com/contact-us but London is only just realising its potential.

Harrison began his pilot project in March 2009 by planting a range of seeds using one of the building’s over-heated offices as a green house. Runner beans, potatoes, herbs, beetroot and many more crops  – even melons as this type of crop seriously reduces carbon foot prints and the heatwave might deliver ripened fruit.

He built his vegetable beds using re-cycled wood from pallets into which he planted out the seedlings that turned into healthy plants.Advertisements for volunteers to help via Environment Job and Gum Tree produced over 50 responses from commited gardeners to individuals just wanting to learn more about growing their own food.

The latest addition to the roof space is a bee hive. Bees survive better in cities without being affected by chemical fertilisers that are used extensively in the country and can seriously threaten the health of any hive. A local London bee-keeper donated the bees – some came from the Royal Festival Hall hives and had to be slowly introduced to the existing hive . They took a few days to get used to each other but now all seem to be getting on well and a crop of roof top honey is expected over the summer.

Harrison’s  Allotment in the Sky arrives at a time when the City is seriously exploring how to become greener. Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott’s Capital Growth initiative http://www.capitalgrowth.org/ provides grants to communities who are growing their own produce and turning what was previously waste land into productive spaces where groups share a common interest and work towards a greener Capital city – there are plans to have 2012 gardens producing food in time for the Olympics http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3369593/London-rooftops-could-be-turned-into-allotments.html

Harrison feels certain  that 2009 is the perfect economic and environmental climate to set up his sky allotment.

“At university I learnt about the amazing effects of urban agriculture all over the world and this is an idea that London really needs to embrace. We have to change the way we source our food – the energy costs of bringing supplies into the capital really don’t make sense if we are trying to reduce our carbon foot print. Growing more of our own local food in the City is the way forward and the many flat roof tops across the capital are an ideal location. My aim is to inspire companies to think about turning their unused roof space into allotments that could develop into profitable businesses – many London restaurants will pay a premium for organic food that is sourced on their door-step.”

COMING SOON TO MYGLOBALGARDEN.COM

Harrison is starting a diary blog on this site  to share his allotment gardening in the London sky – there will be a link to it from the Home Page in about 10 days time.

He is also building a Key Hole Garden – a unique system that  African farmers use to combine growing food with recycling food waste .I wrote a blog about these last year and it proved to be my most popular with thousands of hits. The idea seems to really appeal to people with a limited area of outside space. Harry will explain how to build one and give ideas on using this system to grow your own fresh produce on small roof terraces and balconies. http://www.myclimatechangegarden.com/blog/eco-gardening-secrets-from-africa

Find out how Cuba has embraced urban agriculture and reduced it dependence on oil production in this short film by Monty Don from Around the World in 80 Gardens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRz34Dee7XY

For  information about sourcing good quality food in London visit http://www.sustainweb.org/londonfoodlink/

Find out more about BASH visit:http://www.bashcreations.com/