Singapore: National Parks seeding a nation of gardeners
NParks launched the Gardening with Edibles initiative as part of its City in Nature vision on Thursday to encourage people to grow their own produce at home by distributing 400,000 free packets of seeds for leafy vegetables and fruit vegetables.
By Chantal Sajan
Straits Times
June 19, 2020
Excerpt:
The 33-year-old is a volunteer with DBS’ Zero Food Waste team and a novice gardener who grows kangkong and herbs on her apartment balcony.
“The Gardening with Edibles programme will create more opportunities for family bonding as many of us continue to work from home during the post-circuit breaker period,” she says.
“I’ve not tried growing a wide range of vegetables before, so this will certainly be a new and exciting experience. I’m also looking forward to helping out at DBS Food Forest, which will be ready later this year and is expected to have more than 50 varieties of edible plants and herbs.”
DBS Food Forest is touted to be Singapore’s first community farm on the premises of a bank. It will take up 46 sq m outside the DBS Asia Hub building in Changi Business Park and will feature common varieties of edible plants and herbs.
Ms Loh shares that edible plants need more sunlight, so she has situated her plot on her balcony. “I water my plants each morning and let them have ample sunlight on my balcony and I’m glad to share that the seeds have sprouted well to form a mini ‘balcony farm’.”
