A greenhouse on every roof

Yossi Asyag has a vision for the world: “We want people to eat fresh, organic produce without a carbon footprint.” The 45-year-old Israeli-born Montecito businessman has spent years working in commercial growing and seed distribution in Israel and the United States, and is now turning to Israeli growing and watering technology to develop cost-effective greenhouses to grow fresh produce year round in urban environments. He calls it the EverGreenHouse Growing System.

Made of clear polycarbonate developed in Israel, the greenhouses maximize production through vertical growing techniques and an automatic gutter irrigation system with ground coconut shells and fiber instead of soil, because the mix requires less water and holds oxygen better. The technology is based on state-of-the-art commercial growing practices, downsized to fit residential and urban settings.

Asyag estimates that he can generate 10 times the amount of food grown using traditional vegetable gardening methods in a fraction of the space. “If we planted the same produce outside, we would need four to five times the space,” he said.

Asyag’s greenhouses start at approximately $2,600 for an eight-by-eight foot growing system, which includes seeds, automatic irrigation, fertilizing systems, pest control and all the other required materials. He believes the system can help low-income families and students on a budget eat better, earn money and create hyper-local urban farms. He envisions people growing food not just for their own families, but also to sell to neighbors as well as local grocery stores and restaurants. Asyag will also provide guidance to urban farmers who want to market their produce to local businesses.

“If we can provide strawberries from rooftops in Los Angeles,” Asyag said, and ensure “that they are organic and have come from within five or 10 miles, how can strawberries in the field compete with that?” He said that once the produce starts ripening, the greenhouses are like a vending machine of fresh fruits and vegetables, with new crops available every day. And no prior gardening or farming experience is necessary to succeed. Asyag offers a service whereby a member of his team makes weekly visits to swap out plants once they have finished producing and check the system to make sure it is functioning properly.

In the last six months, Asyag has built and sold 20 of the greenhouse units. One customer in Dallas intends to use several of them to create his own minifarm. Asyag said this kind of farming is incredibly eco-friendly, too. “No tractors, no gasoline, no shipping and low water usage,” he said. The produce is all organic, and instead of pesticides, natural neem oil is used for pest control.

Rony Cohen, an Internet marketer, is working with Asyag to market the greenhouses in Los Angeles. He’s also a happy customer. “Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always wanted to be a farmer,” Cohen said. “I’m not a scientist or mathematician, but in my rough estimates, we can easily grow food for this entire city, within the city … 1,000 buildings, just the roofs, can grow food for 12 million people.”

If this estimate is accurate, Asyag’s greenhouses could help alleviate a problem plaguing Los Angeles — poor access to fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods, known as food deserts. It could also reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions associated with our current food system.

“I think we can fix the world with this,” Asyag said.   

For more information on the greenhouses, visit urbanfoodfarms.com.