Standard Motors has a farm, EE-I-EE-I-O… Long Island City celebrated the success of its first rooftop farm this week, with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by local press & politicians. The farmers, Brooklyn Grange, jumped through many hoops to sow their rooftop farm and are starting to see the fruits of their labor. Luckily, so are we.

The one-acre farm on the roof of the Standard Motors building on Northern Blvd is impressive to say the least. Growing speciality vegetables, the farm is already selling to prominent restaurants in the city, as well as their own market in the SM lobby, and can barely keep up with their abundant bounty. So far they’re growing: kale, spinach, rainbow swiss chard, basil, thai basil, mint, cilantro, mustard mix, green salad mix, mizuna, merlot lettuce heads, crispino lettuce heads, bok choy, komatsuna, Italian dandelion and coming soon, cucumbers and puntarelle.

By popular demand, Brooklyn Grange is launching a CSA. CSA stands for “Community-Supported Agriculture” and it refers to a system where individuals buy season-long farms shares and get a weekly bag of seasonal produce. BG’s CSA will begin next week, so write to them and sign up soon! The deets:

·         One CSA share costs $350 for 18 weeks of fresh veggies (less than $20 a week)

·         Your share will get you a “mixed bag” of 7-10lbs of vegetables per week, including a sampling of whatever vegetables we have in season

·         You can pick up your share during their market hours from 3-7pm on Tuesdays &Thursdays in the lobby of the Standard Motors Building, 37-18 Northern Blvd, LIC (36th St station, R & M train).

·         Email brooklyngrangefarm@gmail.com to sign up for their CSA.