TODAY: AVA introduces new veggie home growing kit

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has introduced stackable veggie kits for apartment veggie farming. Known as the veggie pipe, this is part of a “Cool Ideas for Better HDB Living” initiative. TODAY reports.

AVA introduces new veggie home growing kit

SINGAPORE – Singaporeans now have more ways to grow their own vegetables. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority today introduced a new vegetable home growing kit – known as the “Veggie Pipe”.

Some of the vegetables which can be grown include mint, basil and Chinese cabbages.

All that is needed are some water pipes, soil and seedlings. An irrigation system can also be installed in the pipe.

AVA said the water pipes cost about S$5 to S$7, and the seedlings about four cents each.

Ms Poh Bee Ling, assistant director of the Horticulture Technology Division at AVA, said: “We are looking at systems for growing (vegetables) in confined spaces, so if you look at it, this is stackable. So we can plant vertically and it uses a smaller space to grow your vegetables.

“Of course, you have to be consistently water your plants. Plants, especially vegetables, need to be watered everyday for good growth.”

This is part of a move to encourage more Singaporeans to grow vegetables at home.

It is also part of the Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan’s “Cool Ideas for Better HDB Living” initiative.

Mr Lee has also experimented with growing vegetables in his home since February.

He said: “AVA and NParks will do their part in terms of educating the RC, on how to grow certain plants in their own gardens. Apart from that, we’ll also make available information online on the AVA and NParks website, so that people can find out some of the DIY tips. Later on, we will also introduce some of the other commercial solutions that are available today.”

“If you go into a florist or a vendor, they may be able to give you an out of the box solution, ready to go. It comes with soil and seeds, and you can actually start growing. We need some of these solutions that are tailored to our environment, because we are urban, we are tropical and we don’t have a lot of space to lay out a farm like this. So I think we need to customise and hopefully, some of these solutions will turn out to be effective.”

Experts said it takes about 20 to 40 days for the vegetables to be ready for harvest.

As a pilot project, the “Veggie Pipe” system was introduced to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s roof-top community garden in February this year.

A competition is also on till the end of April for the public to submit ideas on how they can grow vegetables at home. A guide on how to set up your own “Veggie Pipe” will also be available from tomorrow on AVA’s website and Facebook page.

There are also other commercially available vegetable home growing kits, such as the Minigarden and the Planter-Cell Wall.

Image taken from b. inxee♪♫