Berlin supermarket sells rooftop-grown lettuce
‘Fresh from the roof’: the supermarket growing salad a few metres above the tills
Friday, 11 September 2026
Warm-up
- Where do you usually buy fresh vegetables?
- Have you ever grown herbs or salad at home?
- What is the freshest food you ate this week?
Vocabulary
- rooftop
- the flat top of a building
- greenhouse
- a glass or plastic building for growing plants
- hydroponic
- a way to grow plants using water and nutrients, not much soil
- rainwater
- water that comes from rain
- solar
- using energy from the sun
- emissions
- gases released into the air, often from transport or energy use
- package
- to put a product into a bag or box for sale
- tour
- a short visit to see a place and learn about it
Reading
At a REWE supermarket in Lankwitz, Berlin, shoppers can buy lettuce grown on the store's own rooftop. The 2,760 sq metre greenhouse is managed by Berlin firm ECF and is billed as Germany's largest rooftop farm.
Skylights let customers see plants above. The farm uses hydroponic methods, so the lettuce grows with very little soil. It runs year-round. Waste heat from the fridges warms the greenhouse, and rainwater helps to water the crops. Some power comes from solar panels.
The greens grow in a little over three weeks. Staff cut and package them upstairs, then sell them downstairs and in other stores in the region. One customer even travelled more than 50km to try a bag. REWE offers a tour from outside the facility, but production rooms stay closed. Growing so close to shoppers can cut transport emissions and keep the salad very fresh.
Comprehension
- Where is this REWE supermarket?
- How big is the rooftop greenhouse?
- Which company manages the greenhouse?
- How long does the lettuce take to grow?
- What helps to heat the greenhouse?
Grammar focus
Imperative forms
Use the base verb to give instructions, commands or requests (affirmative). For negative commands, use do not / don't + base verb (negative). (Examples constructed.)
- **Take** a tour outside the rooftop farm.
- **Don't touch** the plants in the greenhouse.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with the correct imperative form of the verb in brackets.
- At the entrance, (try) ___ a sample of the salad.
- Before entering production rooms, (not / take) ___ photos.
- Visitors, please (keep) ___ a safe distance from the crops.
- To protect the plants, (not / step) ___ on the greenhouse paths.
- When you finish, (return) ___ any aprons to the staff.
Discussion
- Would you buy food grown on a rooftop? Why or why not?
- What local foods are popular in your area?
- How can shops reduce packaging or waste?
- Should stores offer tours of their facilities? Why?
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