I came across Seaport Apples online, and intrigued by the notion of a “rooftop apple orchard,” I quickly invited myself over. Josh Levine started planting apple trees on the roof of his Seaport building five years ago. According to the website, he now has a dozen “dwarf and semi-dwarf apple trees including braeburn, sun crisp, honey crisp, gala, and gravenstein cultivars.” This is the first season that he has sold the apples.

While “orchard” might be a bit of an overstatement, the garden is impressive (and it includes many other fruits and vegetables). Unfortunately, I hadn’t noticed before heading over that Seaport Apples is charging $25 per apple—the idea being that if you live in the Seaport you can enjoy a just-picked, hand-delivered apple—so I didn’t ask Josh the question (“Are you serious?”) that’s probably on your mind right now.

But I can tell you that he is very serious, even evangelical, about growing apples—so much so that I suggested he offer to consult with locals who might want to plant an apple tree or ten on their roofs. Upkeep is pretty easy: The rooftop location means the trees get great light and air, and pests aren’t a problem, so you don’t have to spray the trees. Ever since the city relaxed the beekeeping laws, he hasn’t had to pollinate the trees, either; local bees do it. And he uses a drip system for the watering.

Josh let me pick and eat one of his apples, and it was fantastic. Seriously, wouldn’t you rather have apples than boring shrubs? Wouldn’t you love to teach your kids about growing food? If you’re worried about being overwhelmed by apples, don’t be. “The older hybrids probably set 50-100 fruits per year,” he emailed later. “Of these, we cull down to about 20-30 early in the season because you don’t want to have any close enough that they will end up touching as they grow (causes bruising), and having fewer fruit lets the tree dedicate more resources to the fruit that remains. We’d rather get a smaller number of absolutely prefect and sweet fruit than bushels of mediocre fruit. Of these, probably half will fall in storms or end up as seconds with blemishes. (Nothing goes to waste since we use the culled fruit as fertilizer, and we eat the seconds ourselves….) So, in the end, each mature tree will bear maybe 10-15 prime ripe fruit per season.”

This was all before Hurricane Sandy. After the storm, I nervously emailed him: Was everything OK? “Building got hit with some flooding, but the apple trees are intact!” he replied. “We picked all the remaining apples just before the storm so we are closed for the season, but will be open again next fall.” The good news: Now is a good time to think about planting your own apple trees. “I get my trees in the early winter because (1) they are much cheaper, and (2) I can get a smaller tree that has already been pruned and is dormant so it is easier to carry up the stairs. Then I plant in a pot that is way too big for them and wait for spring.” Wouldn’t it be terrific if rooftops across Tribeca had apple trees growing on them?

Contact Josh about setting up your own mini orchard at orders@seaportapples.com.