This Montreal IGA built an organic vegetable garden on its roof

Jul 20 2017, 8:02 pm

One Montreal IGA has done the unthinkable: turned the roof of its building into an organic vegetable garden!

Situated in the borough of Saint-Laurent, this IGA now boasts the largest organic garden located on the rooftop of a grocery store in the entire country measuring over 25,000 square feet.

This unique project was brought to life by the owners of this Saint-Laurent IGA, the Duchemin family, in partnership with urban farmers from La Ligne Verte. They worked together and used traditional farming techniques, in addition to implementing a few new techniques required when growing a garden in an urban setting, but ultimately, they overcame the challenges and prevailed!

 

It’s the first supermarket to sell produce grown on its very own roof and it’s the very first store to use an irrigation system with water recovered from its dehumidification system.

 

On the rooftop of this IGA, visitors will find everything from radishes and lettuce to eggplant and herbs. You’ll even find honey! That’s right, the Duchemin family also teamed up with Alvéole, who  provided beehives that will produce roughly 600 jars of honey by the fall of 2017.

The rooftop grows over 30 different varieties of organic produce certified by Ecocert Canada including lettuce, peppers, herbs, tomatoes, and more.

The bonus? This project created two full-time jobs: one year-long, the other six months a year.

Click here to learn more about IGA’s Fresh Roof initiative, and check out the video below to see footage from the magnificent rooftop garden.

 

DH Montreal StaffDH Montreal Staff

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