Urban farming, or the practice of cultivating your own food in the city, strives to bring people closer to their produce to create more awareness about sustainable farming practices, and where your food comes from. One of the biggest challenges of urban farming in Singapore is the limited space we have in our homes. There are many different ways that you can grow your own fresh supply of greens at home, even if you live in a HDB flat and have very little space and light. You too can be a farmer in your own home! Here are some ways that you can equip yourself with the knowledge you need and get started.
Visit existing urban farms
New urban farms are sprouting around Singapore all the time. The best way to get ideas is to stop by and see how they do it and what they grow. Edible Garden City is a social enterprise that designs and maintains food gardens in Singapore. They sell what they grow to local restaurants, hotels and cafes. You can see one of their projects in action at Open Farm Community.
- Edible Garden City ediblegardencity.com
- Open Farm Community http://www.openfarmcommunity.com/
Attend workshops
If you’re not sure where to begin you can attend a workshop to pick up the necessary information. There are many places to do workshops in Singapore, including Urban Farm & Barn, Super Farmers, Nong and The Plant Story. Another great place for urban farming workshops is Project 33, a productive home farm in Serangoon that hosts monthly workshops and community gatherings on topics such as organic pest management and creating your own herb garden!
Join a community
You can also join a local community, either through an online group such as Grow Your Own Food in Singapore, or visiting local farmer’s markets. The biggest is the Kranji Countryside Farmer’s Market which supports 40 local farms and sells a range of fresh produce including vegetables, fruit, herbs, eggs, fish, dairy, and homemade condiments like jams and sauces. They also have educational and outreach booths and family activities.
Get your tools
If you’re just beginning your growing adventure, start small with something you can use regularly. You can try growing microgreens, which are the new sprouts of edible plants. They are small, delicious and nutritious greens that are often used as edible decoration on salads, sandwiches and soups. These are great because you can grow and harvest them very quickly! They can also grow in low light conditions, so you don’t need to worry if your desk, balcony, or windowsill doesn’t get much light. The easier sprouts to grow are: snow pea, sunflower, radish, bak choy, kailan and basil. You have plenty of options!
To start with you’ll need five things:
- Container – you can recycle any shallow, plastic food container – like an egg carton. You can carefully punch small holes through the bottom, to allow the water to drain.
- Seeds – buy good quality seeds from a plant nursery, or health food store, the Gardens Shops at Singapore Botanic Gardens and online stores like batch.sg.
- Soil – good quality, potting mix from a nearby nursery.
- Water – Keep the soil moist but not wet. You can use a recycled water bottle to water your seeds gently. Remove the lid and carefully punch a small hole in it. When you screw the lid back on, it should release a small amount of water at a time.
- Time – depending on the seed it can take up to 14 days. Look on the seed packet and it will tell you. Harvest them when they’re about 10cm tall. Discard the roots and start a new batch with new compost and seeds.
You can follow this great tutorial for growing microgreens, and in only two weeks you’ll be eating greens from your own urban farm!
Source: http://www.goaway.sg/2015/10/29/all-you-need-to-grow-your-own-urban-farm-in-singapore/ and http://littlegreendot.com/how-to-sprout-microgreens-at-home/ And http://www.stylexstyle.com/editorial/lifestyle/10-ways-grow-green and http://www.thefinder.com.sg/body-soul/healthy-living/grow-your-own-microgreens and http://www.microgreens.sg/living-with-microgreens/
