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The Rooftop Growing Guide reviewed in The New York Review of Books — June 1st, 2016
But let’s turn to another kind of nourishment. If your vegetable garden happens to be on your roof, Annie Novak is the genius for your place. Novak, who is passionate about “people, plants, food politics,” is a co-founder and the head farmer of the nation’s first commercial green roof farm, in Brooklyn.
Whipping winds? Tar paper? Scorching sun? No problem. New York has a long tradition of rooftop gardening and, as Novak points out, not just for the owners of penthouses. Her Brooklyn farm opened for business in the spring of 2009, immediately attracting bees, bugs and buyers. THE ROOFTOP GROWING GUIDE: How to Transform Your Roof Into a Vegetable Garden or Farm (Ten Speed, paper, $23) features farmers from across the country, with advice for everyone.
Novak’s prose is clear, warm and accessible. No space is wasted in her garden, and it’s the same in her book, where every page is packed with information.