HDB flat-dwellers turning urban farmers

And many of them are growing greens the no-mess, no-fuss way, using makeshift hydroponics kits

By Dawn Wong

WHEN Madam Nancy Vun wants some greens, she has to go only as far as the balcony of her 12th-floor five-room Housing Board flat in Sembawang for the vegetables.

High on vegetables, Madam Vun grows her little urban farm of greens hydroponically on the parapet outside her 12-floor flat. -- LUIS ASCUI

The 44-year-old housewife is one of a burgeoning number of people in the heartlands who are turning urban farmers, using no-mess, no-fuss hydroponics kits to grow their greens at home.

Madam Vun, with her sister-in-law, Madam Neo Ai Ling, 37, has been nurturing the crops in their flat for about eight months now in foam boxes filled with nutrient solution.

Vegetables such as yellow frizee, lettuce, giant lady's fingers and Japanese cucumbers have since taken root.

The duo also grow some of the greens on a fenced-up parapet, which they reach by climbing out of a bedroom window and onto their air-conditioning unit.

Said Madam Neo: 'It's a nice feeling to eat what we've planted.

'These greens form less than 5 per cent of our total vegetable consumption because we don't have enough space to grow more.'

She added that the greens are easy to plant as they neither attract pests nor need to be watered.

Madam Vun said that she and her sister-in-law even make their own kits using foam boxes discarded by market stallholders.

However, ready-made ones, complete with holes for the crops, can be found in shops.

One company, called Hydroponics and Plant Care, sells kits for beginners, which come with netted pots, seeds and nutrient solution, at $20 each.

Dr Mallick Rahman, 50, a consultant horticulturist and managing director of the company, said he has seen an up to 50-per-cent increase in the sales of hydroponics kits over the last four months or so.

The people buying them range from school children to working adults and retirees.

Dr Mallick also conducts hydroponics classes at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. In the early 1990s, he used to hold about three classes a year. Now, he conducts more than eight.

He explained the surge in interest, saying: 'Hydroponics is clean and green with guaranteed results. There is no more glamour in toiling over the soil and doing a back-breaking job without a guaranteed return.'

Homes are not the only places where greens are grown. Community clubs, schools and even hospitals are also going that route too. For instance, Changi General Hospital grows vegetables, which it serves its patients, at its rooftop hydroponics garden.

Town councils such as the one in Sembawang are also helping to set up farms in parks where the vegetables are grown in soil.

Mr Gregory Chow, 40, president of the Singapore Society for Soilless Culture, said that another soil-less method, aeroponics, where plants are suspended in the air and sprayed with nutrient solution, is more suited for commercial purposes.

'I wouldn't advise it for home users because it's expensive and knowledge-intensive. It's just not worth the while,' he said.

While many may use hydroponics kits, there are others like Mr Thomas Zhuo, 62, who design and build their own soil-less systems.

The retiree grows such herbs as mint and basil using 1.8-m-high pipes in the backyard of his Gillman Heights apartment. He said that he went upwards to save space.

His wife uses the mint leaves he grows for cooking laksa, boiling soup, brewing tea and making salad.

His wife, Rosie, 62, said: 'My friends always ask me to give them some. When I found out that NTUC supermarkets were selling mint for 60 cents, I thought what a waste. Might as well give them mine, so much and so nice!'