The finished edible wall at Pizzeria Mozza
We were delighted to see the results of the final installation of the edible living wall at Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza restaurant in Los Angeles. More importantly, the staff from Pizzeria Mozza and the whole restaurant group (shown below with their new wall) were delighted with the results. They had opted to go with the VGM system over several less-expensive solutions, and were really impressed by the end result. So impressed, in fact, that they’ve already asked the crew from Greenscaped Buildings to add two more rows higher! More installation images after the break.
The Pizzeria Mozza staff and their new living wall (image courtesy Falcon Valley Group)
Greenscaped Buildings mounted a Uni-Strut frame on the building to attach the rails, as seen in the image below. They had a few complications to overcome (including having to work around a news crew filming the event for CNN), but were able to get the whole installation done in the better part of a morning.
Note that the VGM rails are attached to a Uni-Strut frame behind
They irrigate the modules using Netafim in-line drip irrigation and a battery-powered timer/valve attached to a nearby hose bib. In this case they run the irrigation along the top of the modules, and secure it in place using horticultural staples. This makes it removable, and easy to inspect should there be a problem
The crew from Greenscaped Buildings installing the modules
The modules were planted about 8 weeks ago, and grown in place in San Diego (see images here). The plants grew in vigorously enough that they needed to be trimmed back before installation. Jim Mumford figures that with the established root system, the plants will really take off as the weather warms up. Instead of covering up the sides of the panels with a screen or cover, they chose to grow in rosemary (in the sides), and lettuce and cabbage on the top.
Note the rosemary, planted on the side of the modules
Varieties of lettuce and cabbage are planted along the top
According to Jim, this wall was a trial for the other 7 restaurants owned by the group. He’s already been contacted to try to do the same thing (indoors!) at their Las Vegas location. If you’re in Los Angeles and you’d like to see how the wall is progressing, you can go by the Osteria Mozza/Pizzeria Mozza location at 6602 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles. The wall is actually on the Highland Ave. frontage of the building. If you are interested in more installation images, the Falcon Valley Group (a PR agency) has posted them here.
Plants had been grown in about 8 weeks, and pruned back once
Detail showing the space for the last module to go up
