Urban rooftop farms in Singapore

My gardening and environmentalist friends, Bjorn Low and Allan Lim, have been working on their new rooftop farming spaces in recent months. Bjorn and his team at Edible Gardens were recently given a temporary space at People’s Park Complex, which they have named Nong (agriculture), a pop up farm concept that is certainly one to keep an eye on, while Allan Lim, one of the founders of The Living! Project, and his team managed to secure a space at *SCAPE. What I find exciting is that both are rooftop farms in the city; the former in the heart of Chinatown, and the latter in the heart of Orchard Road.

Nong is located on the 6th storey of People’s Park Complex, and Edible Gardens has collaborated with online retailer, Naiise, to create a shop selling stationary, home decor pieces, and gardening wares. Haystakt, an online maker marketplace has also moved in, and gardening and farming installations by Greenology, Sky Greens and Homegrw also have a presence. Other than its greenery, Nong features a strong design, as well as handmade theme. But the space is only half the joy; there will be workshops held on weekends, check their Facebook events page for more details. The upcoming session of Green Drinks will also be held there on the evening of 27 February – the focus being urban farming in Singapore. Come on down, I have organised this session!! The most straightforward way to get there is via the lift located near KFC.

 

 

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago, when they were still setting up. These days, the space is much neater. Here are some photos of the retail store. Make sure to pop by quick, as Nong will only be there till 31 March. Opening hours are as follows: 4pm – 7pm on weekdays, and 11am – 9pm on weekends.

I’ve also placed my home-brewed worm tea at the store, on consignment. I need to work on a proper label… it is looking rather ad hoc at the moment.

Another urban farm you must also visit is Comcrop by The Living! Project. Comcrop, short for Community Crop, predominantly uses aquaponic systems for food farming, a space-saving measure which means they can grow and distribute more food to restaurants locally.  Here are some photos of their Visitor’s Centre.

Here are some marigolds, and tomato plants.

I was there with Cissy Bullock of Lohasia. Here she is, inspecting some tomatoes. Allan was sharing with us that a barrel with multiple holes, pictured in the background below, has the potential to feed a small family, which is pretty impressive.

The other side of the rooftop farm features rows of soon to be inhabited PVC pipe structures.

Here is their first prototype, where there is prolific growth of basil, mint and lettuce.

This design is their second prototype.

Allan’s wife, Dixie kindly showed us around that day. We also got to try Hawaiian Currants, which look like mini cherry tomatoes.

Here is their propagation area.

Knowing how driven, creative and experimental the folks at The Living! Project are, Comcrop is set for big things. This is another rooftop space to watch, and I’m expecting them, as well as Edible Gardens, to create demand by chefs and residents towards locally grown food.

If you’d like to volunteer at Comcrop on Saturdays, find out more at their Facebook page. Do it!