Vegetables are grown hydroponically on a high-rise rooftop in Johannesburg — Daily Maverick

In the Hillbrow district of Johannesburg, South Africa, residents of the Lake Success high-rise grow vegetables on the roof using hydroponic technology. The garden is located above the building’s 12th floor at 10 Petersen Street and provides residents with fresh greens as well as an opportunity to earn additional income from their sale, Daily Maverick reports.

The Lake Success Rooftop Food Garden project was launched in 2012. Its goals were to develop residents’ skills, promote healthy eating and supplement incomes through the sale of the harvest. The garden is an initiative of Makhulong A Matala, a community development organization and a division of the Johannesburg Housing Company.

Vegetables without soil

Hydroponics involves growing plants without soil: their roots receive nutrients from water supplied by pumps. According to the publication, with this method plants can grow 30–50% faster, produce higher yields and require up to 90% less water than in traditional soil cultivation.

The project was initially developed as container gardens together with the Food Gardens Foundation and the Johannesburg Development Agency. Food and Trees for Africa, Jozi Food Farmer and Mbuli Gardens later joined it. A lightweight structure supports the vertical garden on the building’s roof.

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Training and harvest sales

Building residents Busisiwe Mkhwanazi and Nonhlanhla Radebe were trained in gardening methods, garden management and basic business skills. They tend to the plants two or three times a week, plant seeds, grow seedlings and prepare compost.

The women package the grown greens and sell them to building residents and at local markets. Community development manager Sipokazi Somzana stated that the garden has improved food security in the building.

In the late 1990s, the Lake Success building was an occupied building. The Johannesburg Housing Company and the Johannesburg city authorities carried out cleanup work and a major renovation there as part of the Better Buildings Programme, after which the first new residents moved into the building in 2002. The building is now part of the Hillbrow Ekhaya Neighbourhood Improvement District.