July 2008 | On Our Radar

From Roof to Plate

As far as gardens go, it’s got all the bulbs and whistles — European bees, worm castings and twelve-foot-high solar panels, but best of all — it’s got a view. “I looked up there and said ‘Oh my god, we could totally grow stuff — it’s enormous!’” said Helen Cameron, owner of the recently opened Uncommon Ground at 1401 W. Devon in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, remembering the first time she saw the building’s rooftop.

The garden is primarily composed of portable planter boxes growing mostly herbs and vegetables, including radishes, beets, okra, chard and kale. It also includes two beehives that should produce more than 100 pounds of honey this summer. A dozen other boxes will be “Earth Boxes” from The Growing Connection. Solar panels and a simple irrigation system help keep the garden green through shadeless summer days.

Food from the garden is regularly included in the menu. “We might put a salad on the menu that’s grown 100 percent from the roof,” said manager Greg May.

Cameron hopes to eventually use the garden as a teaching tool for kids. “I’d like to do some classes,” she said. “The idea of teaching children how things grow and how to grow things is important.”

For more information or to volunteer at the garden this summer, call 773- 465-9801 or visit uncommonground.com.

— Tricia Parker

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