5 urban vegetable farms to explore with the little ones

With Singapore’s 30 by 30 mission to start being self-sufficient when it comes to food security, there’s so much focus on local urban farms growing fresh produce.

Exploring an urban farm makes for a great day out during these holidays, and even if your little ones are not interested in the details of vertical or even hydroponic farming, there’s still plenty to keep them entertained.

Here’s where to head to.

1. Bollywood Veggies

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Bollywood Veggies is perhaps one of the oldest, and certainly one of the most famous, local farms in town.

Grown without the use of any chemical fertilisers, pesticides or growth hormones, there’s even over 20 varieties of bananas that are available here.

Sign up for their guided farm tour for hands-on farming experiences, learning methods of sustainable and planet-friendly farming, and of course, tasting fruits and vegetables at their freshest.

Try paddy planting, pot a plant or an art with nature session among many other activities. There’s even a food museum tour to show the influence of agriculture and what effects civilisation has on it.

Find out more here.

2. Edible Garden City

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When they aren’t designing, building or maintaining one of their 200 food gardens, such as Marina Bay Sands, Resort World Sentosa, Raffles City Rooftop, Fairmont Hotel, Six Senses, or OUE Downtown Gallery to name a few; conducting educational workshops; or supplying fresh produce through their Citizen Box programme, these good people are busy with their Citizen Farm.

By using a new hydroponics system of recirculating irrigation that uses 90 per cent less water and 50 per cent less substrate, it is simpler for their farmers with special needs to learn and use too.

In addition to applying hydroponic farming methods, the farmers here also use aquaponics and insect farming, making it a real sustainable farm with minimal food wastage.

Find out more here.

3. Comcrop

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Singapore’s first and only commercial rooftop farming company using advanced hydroponic technology that uses 90 per cent less water than traditional farming, making it more environmentally sustainable.

The fresh produce grown on rooftops is free of chemicals and pesticides, and since it is grown closer to people, it means it travels much less before being consumed, therefore making it a much more fresher option.

Sign up for one of their monthly free farm tours or volunteer to help out as an extra farm hand. Even little hands are more than welcome.

Find out more here.

4. Kin Yan Agrotech

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Located in Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology Park, near the lush Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, the 20-year old Kin Yan Agrotech is Singapore’s largest commercial organic wheatgrass and mushroom farm.

Other crops that the farm also grows include fresh edible cactuses, pea shoots, leafy vegetables and aloe vera.

The farm is 100 per cent organic and pesticide free, and also grows its own organic compost from the farm’s biological waste that are not suitable for sale, such as leftover wheatgrass, pea shoot clippings and greens.

Sign up for one of their farm tours with special activities geared towards young children.

Find out more here.

5. Green Circle Eco-Farm

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What may initially seem like litter all over this organic farm is actually its practice of permaculture, where the litter serves as a natural barricades to hinder wild boars from digging up the produce.

Everything here is in tandem with nature and minimal packaging material is used.

For instance, plant watering is from rain water captured by a roof and gutter system that directs all rain water to a holding pond; plant support materials are either reused wood or materials available from within the farm; furniture and boxes for delivery are all reused items collected by volunteers.

Sign up for their tour, which includes a talk on the different types of farming methods; the principle of organic farming; the effects of organic farming on humans and the environment; various ecological practices adopted by the farm; and an appreciation of farming and nature, healthy eating and environmental conservation.

Find more here.

This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.