Health experts tell us that eating fruits and vegetables is good for you. Eating freshly grown produce is even better.
Castle Medical Center has come up with a one-of-a-kind way to incorporate the two ideas.
How does your garden grow? This one grows on a roof top! It is the brainchild of Castle Medical Center nutritionist Ruby Hayasaka.
"Castle Medical Center is really committed to buying local produce and I spend time out on the farms with the farmers and that’s one of my favorite things to do because I always feel uplifted when I’m out there seeing the produce growing," Hayasaka says.
Getting the garden growing was not an easy task. But Ruby worked with engineers and others at cast to overcome those hurdles. I asked Ruby why she thought a rooftop garden would be a good idea.
"At the very top of my list, and what I thought first, I think that when you see – I’m hoping that when patients look out the window and they see this growing, and they know that within the day, they’ll be served this very produce that will be harvested that morning and they’ll have it on their plate," she says.
What is Ruby’s long term goal?
"our vision is that every flat rooftop here at Castle – which there are many – will be covered with growing produce so that we can contribute to Hawaii’s sustainability," she says.
As you can see, the garden is planted in rows. Each week, one row is harvested and another one is planted and the cycle continues. Among the crops, arugula, asian mustard greens and kale.
"Kale is a super-food, plenty of anti-oxidants and we spray organic nutrients weekly," says field operations manager Audrey Blanas.
Molokai girl Audrey admits, getting all the soil and plants up in the elevator was a chore.
"And in a hospital, dirt-wise and we had to be very protective, putting the pallets and covering it but we did it, pretty heavy, us guys, we did ‘em," she says.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
