My Visit to Gotham Greens: What I Learned About Urban Farming in NYC

When my friend Alyssa invited me to tour Gotham Greens, I wasn’t sure what to except. It’s a farm. On the rooftop of a Whole Foods in Brooklyn. Bizarre.

I left the tour kind of mind-blowing. Which I totes wasn’t expecting from the experience. I’m not going to quit my [non-existent] day job anytime soon to become an urban farmer. Though I know now what kind of methods are used in farming or what kind of farm software can aid me, but farming is not in my cards any soon. I do, though, have a new appreciation for where my food comes from. And how freaking fresh local produce really is.

Walking into the greenhouse, I immediately got hit with a mega whiff of basil. It’s as heavenly as it sounds. We walked around the greenhouse and got to learn about what makes Gotham Greens special. I’m serious when I say I didn’t realize urban farming was so cool.

What I learned From Visiting Gotham Greens:

🌱 Local = Fresh. As I mentioned, the Gotham Greens in Gowanus is on top of the Whole Foods there. This means they sell the food grown here in the Whole Foods downstairs hours after it’s picked and packed. Even if you’re shopping at let’s say the Whole Foods in Union Square like moi, it’s possible that your greens were picked that day. I appreciate this because one, fresh = better. But also, fresh means it’s gonna last longer in my fridge.

🌱 Hydroponics for the win. I’ve heard of hydroponic farming before but admit I didn’t know much before visiting the farm. What I learned is that Gotham Greens doesn’t grow any of it’s produce in soil. Instead they amp up their water with the necessary nutrients these little buds need. Because of this they are also able to recycle the water they use and cut down on waste. Plus the green house is hella clean [literally] thanks to being soil-free.

This is how a baby basil grows. In a cute little sponge-like contraption.

🌱 Fresh produce all year round. I learned that the greenhouse here is super climate controlled. If it’s getting hot, it knows to give the plants more water to keep up with the heat. If it gets cloudy, lights while automatically turn on. Even the windows are automated to keep the climate in the greenhouse stable year round.

They also keep the climate in the greenhouse balmy year round. Because of this, they are able to grow foods like lettuce in December. Usually lettuce gets shipped from warmer climates to NYC in the winter.

I was most in awe that one, this farm is smack dab in the middle of Gowanus. Two blocks away from the subway. It also got me thinking about what a smart use of space this is in NYC. How many other unused rooftops are there in this humungous city of skyscrapers?

Also, it got me reconsidering how far our food travels before it ends up on our plate. Hi, avocado. You had a long journey to get here.

I’m not going to ditch all food that’s not grown in the tristate area. Because avocados and bananas. But when possible I do want to eat local and support a small business.

And check out the above video from Alyssa in which I use my theater degree from NYU to eat a huge head of lettuce. I kid you not.