Objectives of the Lab

• Contribute to reducing the heat islands through the greening of our rooftops.
• Sensitize building owners and managers to do the same.
• Enable our guests and La Maison du père to enjoy the produce harvested.
• Contribute to the promotion of Montréal as an international city actively committed to sustainable urban development.

Components of the Lab

1. Culti-VERT

Experimentation on extensive green roofs and container gardening.
Total are of 9,200 ft². Inaugurated in 2011.

Extensive green roofs without irrigation
Experimentation and innovations: Demonstration of 5 roof parcels of 300 ft², each using a different technology (Soprema, Hydrotech, Liveroof, Xeroflor, and Zinco).

Plant varieties: Sedums and grasses
Irrigation: Rain water

• Demonstration of 150 Biotop containers, 150 Alternatives containers, and 200 SmartPots.
• Dye-producing flowers, medicinal plants, ground-cover plants to test the cooling effect on the roof membrane, hops, preservation of the plant heritage with rare and old cultivars including strawberry-spinach, Egyptian onions, New Zealand onions, litchi tomatoes, the Sunberry Solanum Burbankii) and chufa sedge (Cyperus esculentus)

Plant varieties:

• Fruits: Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus), red current (Ribes rubrum), gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa).
• Vegetables: Peppers, garlic, rhubarb, kale, lettuce, eggplants, fiddlehead fern (Matteuccia), etc. Aromatics: Mint, lemon balm, oregano.
• Nectar and pollinating plants (by Miel Montréal): giant hyssop, beebalm, golden rod, rudbeckia, etc.
• Medicinal plants: Rue as well as all the varieties mentioned above.
• Ornamental plants: Weigela, hibiscus, hackberry, hair grass (Deschampsia), etc.
• Tinctorial plants (not necessarily species used by dyers): Marigold, cosmos, shiso, nightshade, chamomile and sedum.

Irrigation: Semi-closed hydroponic system (city water and recuperated rainwater).
Annual yield: 650 to 1000 kg.
Distribution of the harvest: To enhance the dishes prepared by Capital Traiteur. A share of the harvest is given to La Maison du Père, an organization that helps the homeless.

Partner for Culti-VERT: La Ligne Verte (including Maxime Dufresne, Horticultural consultant).

2. Pollinating bee hives

Installation of hives of pollinating bees in 2012, over an area of 600 ft².

Experimentation and innovations:

• Two hives with a total capacity of up to 50,000 bees.
• Italian bees, a species that is well adapted to urban environments and not very aggressive.

Particularity:

• Help green a territory spanning a 5 km radius
• Harvest of approximately 30 to 80 kg of honey per season.
• Contribute to biodiversity and pollination, including that of the Culti-VERT and VERTical projects.

Partner for the hives: Alvéole

3. VERTical project

Project regarding urban vertical farming on scaffolds ‒ a first in North America. Total 7,800 ft² of floor space. Inaugurated in summer 2016.

Experimentation and innovations:

• Free-standing metal structures equipped with "edible wall" tarps.
• Natural and synthetic tarps (will, polypropylene, etc.).

Advantages:

• Contribute to fighting heat islands.
• Make it possible to increase the density of vegetable production (1ft² of floor space = 2-3 ft² of production space).
• Enjoy flexibility thanks to the free-standing structures.
• Use of light structures that can be moved and weigh less than a conventional green roof.

Crops: Herbs, fruits, leafy vegetables, and edible flowers.
Irrigation: Semi-closed hydroponic system (city water and recuperated rain water).

Partners for VERTical

1. AU/LAB, AU/LAB, the urban agriculture research, innovation and intervention
   laboratory association with the Institut des sciences de l'environnement of Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).
2. La Ligne Verte.

4. URBAN VINES

Canada’s first urban rooftop vineyard and world’s first in northern environment, inaugurated in 2017.

• Spanning 2,500 sq. ft.
• 80 vines planted in geotextile containers (Smartpots and MicroHabitat).
• Soil with low levels of organic matter mixed with crushed recycled glass (40%) – Repurposing of recycled glass bottles.
• Indigenous grape varieties planted: Frontenac Black (red wine), Frontenac White (white wine), Marquette (red wine), Petite Pearl (red wine).