Brussels supermarket to harvest local produce from rooftop garden

The Delhaize Boondael in the Brussels commune of Ixelles has plans to begin selling very locally grown organic vegetables, reports Bruzz. The supermarket installed a 320 square metre vegetable garden and greenhouse on its roof, which it plans to have operational by the summer of 2017.

Half of the roof will be occupied by an open-air vegetable garden, and the other half by a greenhouse, so that produce can be grown throughout the year.

The supermarket rooftop garden – the first of its kind in Belgium – will initially yield mainly cherry tomatoes, lettuce and aubergines. All produce will be sold by Delhaize Boondael in limited numbers and at a slightly cheaper price than the classic organic products.

Brussels environment minister Céline Fremault was present at yesterday's inauguration of the garden. "This urban farm is a great initiative and fits right into Brussels' ambition to increase local production," she said.

Local residents who want to lend a helping hand in the garden are encouraged to introduce themselves at the Delhaize Boondael in Avenue du Bois de la Cambre.

The shop's first home-grown vegetables are scheduled to hit the shelves in the course of 2017.