The Flowers
Foodscapes
02
Foodscapes
Farms comprise about 1% of total area in land-scarce Singapore, which means that the nation has to import around 90% of its food, spending around $10 billion annually. The pandemic has shown how vulnerable we can be if food supply chains are interrupted, and has led to heightened interest in our food security.
Greenology has long promoted the idea of foodscapes, or urban farming, and provide numerous ways this can be easily incorporated into our homes, rooftops and common outdoor areas. This will allow us to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs for personal or community consumption, and reduce our dependence on imported produce.
Over the years, our plant nursery has served as a nurturing space for various edibles and ornamental plants, cultivating them for a range of services listed below – rooftop gardens, urban farming systems, and more.
Greenology | Foodscapes
Rooftop Gardens
Rooftops make an ideal spot for vegetable and herb gardens due to ample sunlight, rain, and safety from feral cats, rats and other flightless predators. Imagine being able to harvest lettuce, kai lan, spinach, coriander, parsley, basil and spring onions year round!
Greenology can conduct an assessment of your rooftop and advise on the best way to maximise the area, as well as suggest the ideal crops to cultivate.
Greenology | Foodscapes
Community Gardens
Many HDB estates have common green spaces that can be transformed into community gardens, with residents taking care of the gardens themselves. Once approval is obtained from the town council, Greenology can draw up a plan for a range of fruit trees, vegetables and herbs that can be grown there.
Not only will a community garden be a fantastic way to build a ‘kampong’ spirit and engage with your neighbours, it will also be a way to beat stress, and offer therapeutic exercise for senior citizens with dementia.
Greenology | Foodscapes
Balcony Gardens
You can still have a garden even if you live in an apartment!
Let Greenology show you how we can turn your balcony into a green oasis, filling it with lush tropical natives that are easy to maintain. Create the perfect respite from a busy day, or a cool area to entertain guests in. And if you love cooking, we can set up a herb garden for you, giving you quick access to your favourite herbs all year round.
Greenology | Foodscapes
Urban Farming Systems
If rooftops and community gardens are not available to you, you can still grow your own veggies at home, in schools and in offices with our urban farming systems. These fully automated systems are designed for growing crops vertically in an enclosed, indoor environment using the soil-less Vertiponix™ method.
Coupled with our Grow Lights that encourage growth even in the absence of sunlight, these urban farming systems provide you with fresh vegetables and herbs all year round.
Vertiponix™ is a space-saving, soil-less method for growing herbs, fruit and vegetables in a vertically stacked arrangement. A closed irrigation system recirculates water and nutrients around the roots with minimal water loss, a low carbon footprint, and minimal exposure to pests. The controlled, indoor system ensures optimal conditions for growing, producing a higher yield of crops compared to traditional outdoor soil-based farming.
These urban farming systems can be customised according to your personal or organisation’s needs and preferences.
The Aquaponix™ system combines water-based farming with aquaculture – the cultivating of fish or other aquatic animals – in a symbiotic arrangement. Beneficial microbes gather around the plant roots, converting fish waste and other solids into nutrients that feed the plants. In return, the plants clean the water for the fish by removing waste matter.
Greenology offers consultancy services for those interested in setting up Vertiponix™ or Aquaponix™ systems. Depending on the scale, the service may include feasibility and viability studies, cost analyses, technical designs and sourcing for components and materials.
Feasibility studies will include analyses based on geography, hydrology and climate conditions.
Viability studies will take into consideration market, cultural, and economic realities of the host location.
For very large scale projects (in terms of hectares of land), we will undertake all the analyses and recommend designs, leaving the actual construction and eventual operation of the system to the client. For small scale implementation (hundreds of square metres) Greenology can provide turn-key systems. Please contact us to arrange for a consultation.