Imagine a city skyline transformed! Instead of just mechanical equipment, rooftops are blossoming with life, turning into vibrant urban farms. At the Culpeper, we’re leading the charge, growing fresh, delicious food right above our restaurant and bar.
Why Rooftop Farming?
We believe rooftops are underutilized goldmines in today’s cities. Why settle for just storing equipment when you can cultivate a bounty of food, benefit the environment, and empower the community?
Our rooftop garden isn’t about competing with rural farms – we deeply respect the vital role they play. We simply want to grow food as close to where it’s consumed as possible, bridging the gap between city life and the earth’s bounty.
Freshness From Above
The rooftop supplies our restaurant with as much produce as we can cultivate. Chances are, when you visit, you’ll enjoy a delicious garnish, a vibrant ingredient in your dish, or even a tasty pickle all grown right above your head!
Our vision is to transform more rooftops into flourishing gardens, expanding our reach and sharing the bounty with others. While we collaborate with incredible local suppliers, our rooftop is a testament to the potential of urban agriculture.
Urban Oasis, Not Urban Jungle
You might wonder about pollution in the heart of London. While we are aware of the challenges, we’ve taken steps to minimize the impact. The harmful pollutants from cars, like lead and metals, are denser than air and don’t reach our elevated garden. We also harvest our produce before these pollutants have a chance to accumulate.
Growing Upward, Not Outward
Our rooftop garden spans 1,400 square feet, with 500 square feet dedicated to growing delicious food. We use a unique blend of mushroom compost, horse manure, and topsoil, ensuring rich and fertile soil. A wormary even helps us create nutrient-rich liquid feed from kitchen scraps, adding a circular element to our sustainable practices.
A Bounty of Flavors
We prioritize space-efficient, high-yield vegetables, selecting older varieties known for their exceptional taste and adaptability to urban gardening. Our year-round garden boasts salad leaves, herbs, courgettes, beans, tomatoes, chilies, aubergines, and root vegetables during the summer months.
We’re continuously exploring new ways to maximize our space, including dwarf trees, climbing fruits, pea shoots, and micro herbs in trays. It’s a testament to the incredible potential of vertical gardening!
Sharing the Harvest
Are you passionate about urban growing? We welcome volunteers to join our rooftop garden team and learn about organic rooftop farming. Work alongside Jack or Janelle on their weekly gardening sessions and immerse yourself in this rewarding experience. Contact us at the email address below!
We’re also hosting monthly rooftop gardening workshops on Saturdays, covering topics like growing in containers, creating herb planters, and mastering successive cropping. These workshops are a great way to gain practical knowledge and start your own urban growing adventure.
A Strong Foundation, A Brighter Future
The building’s strong structural integrity, once supporting multiple floors, ensures our rooftop garden can thrive. Our rooftop is built to withstand the weight of our growing ambitions!
We embrace the challenge of winter gardening with a greenhouse for year-round production, supplementing with winter-hardy vegetables. We’re committed to organic practices, avoiding chemicals and utilizing natural pest control methods. Our rooftop location also naturally helps deter pests and diseases.
A Vision for a Greener City
We dream of a network of rooftop gardens, each connected to a pub or restaurant, transforming the city’s landscape into a thriving, interconnected food system. Imagine a city where every rooftop offers a space to learn, be inspired, grow, and cook with fresh, locally-grown produce.
Our rooftop garden is more than just a space to grow food – it’s a catalyst for change, inspiring a more sustainable and vibrant urban future.
