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12 Nov Workshop: How To Grow A Vegetable Garden

Join me at my upcoming workshop – How to Grow A Vegetable Garden! The registration fee for each workshop is $85, but spend a minimum of $80 in 2 combined same-day receipts at Parkway Parade between 6-17 Nov, and receive an $80 cash refund on the day of your selected workshop.

Learn how to grow your own vegetables and edible plants on your sunny balcony or backyard in Singapore during one and a half hour workshop. I will share essential gardening tips and the know-how for growing edibles that are well-suited for our climate.

Guests will take home a gardening starter pack which includes seeds, seed raising mix, pots and plant notes on vegetables and herbs such as beans, eggplants, okra, and kale, among others, and you will leave with the knowledge you need in order to grow, nurture and harvest your own food.

Date: 12 November (Sunday)
Time: 3PM – 4.30PM
Venue: Parkway Parade Basement Atrium, 80 Marine Parade Road
Cost: $85
RSVP: Sign up for the workshop here!

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City

How to Successfully Grow Tomatoes in Singapore

This is the first of an ongoing series on growing edible plants successfully in Singapore with urban farmers who have consistently grown a particular vegetable well. I speak with Desmond Tan about his preferred method of how to grow tomatoes in Singapore.

How to grow tomatoes in Singapore(Photos courtesy of Desmond Tan)

When I first visited Desmond Tan at Our Kampong Farm, a rooftop community garden where he is an active resident volunteer, I learned that he grows tomatoes really well, a crop he has grown over the last three years. Those who have tried growing tomatoes in Singapore know that it is not the easiest plant to grow in a tropical climate. In this post, he shares with me his process of soil preparation and useful tips that every home urban farmer can use. While he started out with hydroponic tomatoes, which he says is more straightforward and free of pests, he now grows in soil, which is admittedly much more tricky and more expensive.

how to grow cherry tomatoes in singapore

How To Grow Tomatoes in Singapore

Desmond rarely buys tomato seeds, and instead uses seeds from cherry tomatoes that he buys from the supermarket. His most successful crop came from a Holland-grown brand of tomatoes – a variety called Sweet Pearl, which gave him sweet, bountiful bunches of cherry tomatoes, he lamented that he has difficulty finding it these days.

Two months prior to transplanting his tomato seedlings to the pots where it is to grow, he prepares the soil with four free inputs:

  • Very finely ground eggshells for calcium
  • Coffee Grounds for nitrogen
  • Okara (by-product from soy bean drink stall) for nitrogen
  • Banana peels (by-product of goreng pisang, or fried banana, stall) for potassium

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soil workshop singapore hort park
City

October Soil Class at Nong

SOIL CLASS (BASIC LEVEL) BY THE TENDER GARDENER

Relatively new to urban farming, and looking to demystify the subject of soil and buying soil in Singapore? Through this talk, learn soil basics and what your plants need to thrive instead of just survive. We will cover what you need to know to gain confidence in growing healthy edible plants, so join us!

Date & Time: 29 October 2017, 11am – 12.30pm
Venue: NÓNG at HortPark (33 Hyderabad Road, Off Alexandra Road), Beside the Lawn, Singapore 119578)
Nearest MRT is Labrador Park.
Nearest Bus Station is SP Jain (Bus Stop ID: 18011) 51, 61, 93, 97, 100, 120, 166, 963.
Cost: $39 per person, with limited spaces available, so booking is essential!
Registration: Sign up at the Nong website here!
What you will learn in this session :
  • Different types of soil.
  • Physical needs of plants.
  • Nutrient requirements of plants.
  • Which soil to buy?
  • Fertilisation.
  • Tips on growing seedlings.

[To learn about soil amendments and mixing your own soil, please join us for the intermediate soil workshop on a later date]

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beeswax wrap workshop singapore
City

New Workshop in November: Learn to Make Beeswax Wraps!

I’m excited to be teaming up with textile artist, Agatha Lee, to run a beeswax wrap workshop in Singapore. More details below!

Simple Living: Beeswax Wrap Workshop

Looking for a safe, natural and reusable alternative to plastic wrap and aluminium foil? Learn how to make your own zero-waste beeswax food storage wraps for use at home – perfect for encasing freshly cut fruit and vegetables, and sealing a variety of cooked food, and sauces in containers.

During this 1.5 hour workshop, textile artist, Agatha “Agy” Lee, and self sufficiency advocate, Olivia Choong, will guide you step by step in preparing a delicately scented beeswax mixture for application on any natural fabric, and evenly setting the mixture to create a beautiful beeswax wrap, ready for you to take home for immediate use!

Join us for this fun, hands-on workshop! Once you learn how simple it is to make your own beeswax wraps, you will no longer wish to buy (and throw) plastic wrap and aluminium foil. With the festive season approaching, this also makes a wonderful gift for friends and family.

Price includes all materials.

What will I learn?

We will teach you how to make your own beeswax wraps.

Skills:

  • Adequate preparation of beeswax mixture
  • Even application on cloth
  • Uniformly setting the mixture on cloth
  • How to choose and prepare cloth for beeswax application

What to expect?

In this 1.5 hour interactive session, expect a fun learning experience:

  • Hands-on learning with both facilitators
  • Relaxing, cosy and supportive environment
  • Light refreshments (coffee/ tea and snacks)
  • Intimately sized group of 16 participants

Min. 5 pax to conduct the workshop

All materials provided!

  • Beeswax
  • Pine rosin
  • Jojoba oil
  • 2 sets pre-cut cloth per participant
    (5″ x 5″ for a mug and 9″ x 9″ for a bowl)

beeswax wraps workshop singapore

Details!

Date & Time: 4 November 2017, 4.30pm – 6pm

Venue: Artify Studio, 200 Jalan Sultan, #09-03 Textile Centre, Singapore 199018

Cost: $75 per person

RSVP: Sign up here!

About our Trainers

Agatha “Agy” is a textile artist who is passionate about building environmentally aware communities. Her goal is getting people to reconnect with their clothes through techniques such as repair and transforming them into creative wearables (aka upcycling). Currently she is exploring embroidery and natural dyeing techniques as a way of reconnecting with our clothes, and nature too. Agatha can be found at Agy Textile Artist, and is a founding member of Connected Threads Asia and Fashion Revolution Singapore.

Olivia is a gardener, nature lover and believer of a sustainable society. She writes about gardening and sustainable living on her blog – The Tender Gardener, and raises awareness of environment-related issues through a non-profit environmental society, Green Drinks (Singapore), where she is the President and Co-founder. Very much a homebody, she likes to spend time in her garden, fussing over her chickens and watching bees in her apiary.

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