On Wednesday we visited Citizen farm – an urban garden in the heart of Singapore. It was fantastic to see their Aquaponics, salad greens, botanics, insect and mushroom farm and all the innovative ways in which they are doing urban gardening. We had a guided tour with Darren which was really interesting.
Something I saw at the Citizen farm that I found interesting was…
What did we learn from our visit?
I thought their use of aquaponics (fish and hydroponics) was very innovative and efficient. For areas with limited space, this solution not benefits the aqua life, but also the plants.
An idea we could steal is the idea of indoor farms, we could create one in the big space between the bus bay and the high school building. We could also take the idea of making tires as the holders of the soil and the plants.
Its interesting how they have a circle of life: the bugs are food for the fish; the fish get poop making the compost for the soil; the plants are then used for food and it happens all over again.
Depending on our resources, we may want to invest in a small aquaponics tank (if it complies with the stagnant water rules) or make our gardens more efficient by introducing more insects to break down the compost in the soil.
I liked the way that farmers could choose what type of lighting that they thought belonged in their farm. I also learnt that the lights can make the plants grow faster and that to make them grow at even rates.
A secret to their success is their community outreach & great use of limited space.
This was truly enriching! So much to learn, appreciate and adopt!