During a few sunny spring weekends we work with a bunch of friends to install the farm on the parking rooftop Dansaert2, and to bring the farm to its full capacity: 44 containers of 125cm x 125cm. The containers are palox europallets, recycled from small fruit&vegetable companies. They are made of hard oad wood. We customize the containers on different heights, suitable for growing herbs, greens, roots and small trees.
The construction workers next doors help us to bring up soil and other materials with their crane. When the basic outline is nearly ready and the hardest work is done, I receive an assigned letter from the rooftop owner that we have 3 days to leave the place and that we have to restore the rooftop to its original function.
Reclaim the rooftops!
I keep the letters in which the owner threatens me by sending a process-server, and we plan the big move of the farm for easter weekend, 2012. I design a new Urban ArtFarm plan for the new location which is 1 roof up, but still with plenty of space. The new rooftop is located on another parking: parking Lepage. We empty the soil out of the 44 containers and lift them one roof up and we fill them again. We take the glass windows out of the greenhouse and we move the aluminium skeleton 50 meters to the left, on the new roof. Late spring 2012 (june 2012) I expand the farm surface with 10 more containers. This makes a total of 54 containers.
Moving the greenhouse from one roof to another, after the prohibition to develop the farm on the roof of parking Dansaert2.
planten-plannen voor een nieuw tuin:
Climbers : Hedera helix (klimop, 3 x) bloei oktober – goede pollen/nectarplant voor einde drachtseizoen; Rosa Canina (hondsroos, wilde roos 1-3 m) , bloei juni/juli – beeplant – The fruit has high vitamin C level and is used to make syrup, tea and marmalade; Rubus fruticosus thornless evergreen (doornloze braam) – beeplant – bloei mei/september (laten groeien op de groene afsluiting) – edible plant: berries & dried leaves for tea; Lycium barbarum (Goji bes, Boksdoorn) – uit zaad kweken! – klimplant – edible plant (bes) – arme grond – groeien tussen de bramen op groene afsluiting. Vitis vinifera (druif) , klimmen tegen muur zuid, edible. Zowel serre als buiten, verschillende rassen. Meeldauw resistent. (Boskoop Glory)
Trees (volle zon, in bigbags) => sterke paletten: Tetradium daniellii (bee tree 4 x), bloei juli/augustus , nectarplant; Vitex agnus-castus (monnikspeper), aromatisch, 1- 4m, bloei late zomer – medicinal plant, nectarplant, volle zon – bigbag; Sambucus nigra (vlier, 4m) – edible and medicinal – bigbag
Schrubs and small fruit: Hippophae rhamnoides (duindoorn) – pioniersplant, extreme t°, volle zon, arme bodem – edible plant (duindoorn jam); Viburnum opulus (Gelderse roos) – nectarstruik, 3 à 4 meter, (medicinal – menstruation problems e.a.) – bloei vroege zomer; Ribes nigrum (cassis, blackcurrant) – 1/2m – edible plant – vokka/cassis; Rubus idaeus (framboos) – edible, medicinal – bloei mei/juni – buiten en in serre.
Wild Flowers: Dipsacus fullonum (grote kaardebol) – 70-150cm, tweejarig – nectarplant – bloei, juni/september – matig voedselrijk; Cynara cardunculus (kardoen) – 80/150cm – volle zon – beeplant – edible plant; Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) – beeplant; Echinops ritro (beklierde kogeldistel) – 60/200cm – zonnig, bloei juli/augustus – open plaatsen – matig voedselrijk – beeplant; Helianthus annuus (sunflower) – sunny, flowers late summer – beeplant – edible seeds – fertile, well drained soil; Achillea millefolium; Althaea officinalis (heemst) – 60/150cm – medicinal plant – bloei augustus/september; Carthamus tinctorius (saffloer) – distel, 80-120cm – edible (bloem).
Herbs: Angelica archangelica (engelwordel); Anthriscus cerefolium (kervel); Echium vulgare (slangekruid) – nectarplant; Myrrhis odorata (roomse kervel) – tall tot 2m, perennial, edible (leaves) herb.; Phacelia tanacetifolia (phacelia) – beeplant; Porophyllum ruderale (quilquina) – edible, blad – smaak = coriander/rucola – 70 cm – bolivia; Chenopodium bonus-henricus (brave hendrik) – 15-60cm – bloei mei/augustus – edible, jonge bladeren als spinazie; Crithmum maritimum (zeevenkel) – 20/50cm – bloei juli/oktober – aromatisch – edible: bladeren vóór de bloei, smaakt naar asperges (Pelio/ Damouchari!) samphire; Fenugriek; Stevia; Satureja montana (bonekruid)
Vegetables (greenhouse): tomaten; aubergines; courgettes; komkommer; meloenen (serre); paprika
Vegetables (rooftop): tomaten; pompoenen; spinazie; snijbiet; mais; sluimererwten; tuinmelde; broccoletto; spigariello; rode biet; zeekool; palmkool; tuinbonen; boerenkool; struikbonen