Tak for Maten is Oslo’s rooftop garden and demonstration facility for roof-based urban agriculture. The rooftop farm is a pilot project in collaboration with the Urban Environment Agency and the Agricultural Quarter, which is established by Nabolagshager and operated in collaboration with friends at Greenhouse Oslo. The daily maintenance and project operations are carried out by three roof hosts/consultants in rooftop agriculture from Nabolagshager. The project aims to provide knowledge that can facilitate the faster establishment of a large volume of green roofs in Norway. Among other things, we test out different lightweight soil mixtures, and how different useful plants thrive in the wind on the seventh floor.
The experiences from the project will be shared widely via the Oslo Municipality Urban Environment Agency, which has selected the project as a model project in urban agriculture. The project was started in 2017 and we test roof agriculture in various forms. We grow in specially built plant boxes in solid wood, in pallet frames and reusable objects, and specially designed recessed «field patches». We work with different lightweight soil mixtures from different suppliers, to get to know the cultivation characteristics of these soil types. We test how different plants thrive in the weather conditions on the roof – especially with the wind conditions that partly affect the plants a lot. In addition to this, we have varied pollinator-friendly planting to facilitate our bees.
Follow the Tak for Maten Facebook page for ongoing information about the rooftop and events. The project has received support from Oslo Kommune Bymiljøetaten, Norges Vel, Landbrukskvartalet, Aspelin Ramm, and Norges Bondelag.
NABOLAGSHAGER 