I was quite surprised to see a hydroponics set-up opposite the marker of the the Bulusan Volcano Natural Park. The two-table set-up is in a sleepy and laid-back barangay of San Roque, Bulusan, Sorsogon. They grow lettuce and harvest them after 30 days.

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In an era of soaring food prices and fastfood mentality, it is good to know that there are urban communities who still practice community farming/gardening. Communities in the cities can take advantage of the remaining spaces and transform them into productive areas where members can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

“Guide to Setting Up Your Own Edible Rooftop Garden” is another published reference on urban agriculture that we can learn from. This is a valuable resource for those who want to give it a try.

Gardening on rooftops in ever-increasingly dense and sprawling cities is an original way to take back unused and sterile spaces like rooftops, patios and balconies and to transform them into livable spaces that are lush, productive and purifying. In addition to embellishing the urban landscape with food-producing gardens at the tops of buildings and producing fresh food, these new spaces for the community enable us to reduce the ecological footprint of the houses and institutions of which we are an integral part. Recovering and decontaminating water, cultivating organic food, composting organic waste as well as filtering and cooling down air are all part of a mindset to make our established landscape more sustainable. Therefore, in the current context of environmental degradation, over-consumption and junk food culture, taking care of ourselves and our environment enables us to take a step down the path to healthy cities and communities.

Rooftop gardening means taking up an inspiring, ecological and productive activity, and developing new links with the food chain, the seasons, the environment and the community. This utopia’s vision is to turn the city into a garden and its inhabitants into gardeners.

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Hydroponics generates a lot of interest because of the many distinct advantages compared to the conventional way of growing crops using soil. Among them is the higher yield per square area of space needed, lesser water consumption, minimal labor requirements and a host of other benefits. This can also be an ideal setup for urban agriculture considering the space constraints in urban areas.

The book “Hydroponics for the Home Gardener” is a comprehensive reference on hydroponics that will appeal to farmers and gardeners alike. It provides a wealth of information that will guide those who are planning to engage in this method of growing select crops.

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Hydroponics (from the Greek words hydro water and ponos labour) is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool using mineral wool.

The farm (only about a thousand square meters) is located before the rotonda (left side going to Tagaytay) just a few meters after the road going to the Pink Sisters Chapel. It is on the right side going to Silang from the rotonda. The greenhouse is at the backside of the Brudrick Marion School. They do not use pesticides, fungicides and other harmful chemical in growing their vegetables.

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