Thursday, January 27, 2011

Hydroponics @ Home

A session on how to grow vegetables at home was conducted on a fine Saturday 22nd January 2011 - a collaboration activity between Hortpark and Oh' Farms. The response was so overwhelming that Hortpark had to turn down some enthusiasts - what a pity !


The first group of eager learners arrived early and they could not wait to take a good look at the package.

An instructor from Oh' Farms, Ai Ling demonstrated step-by-step how to use the hydropic kit to grow butterhead lettuce. With good care, the butterhead lettuce will be ready for harvesting during the last day of Chinese New Year(元宵节).
Butterhead lettuce (奶油生菜/玫瑰生菜), is an auspicious vegetable to have during new year. Lettuce in chinese is 生菜which has the same pronunciation as 生财which means growing wealth.

"The shape of the butterhead lettuce is like a giant rose, so gentlemen, during Valentines' Day, if you have difficulty getting roses for your loved ones, you can replace roses by butterhead lettuce," teased the instructor.
The growing media used are leca and vermiculite. These two materials are inert which can also retain water and produce capillary action - water touches the base of the pot, it will travel up to the top.So easy, even juniors like me can handle this kit....

Hey, seniors also has no difficulty growing the vegetables. Its as easy as ABC....The last step of the set up is to add in the nutrient solution. Remember to place the setup at a sunlit spot but without exposing to rain. We don't need to water or fertilize the plants - just observe and wait for the plant to grow.

After the demonstration Ai Ling conducted an appreciation session on culinary herbs. All participants were able to smell, touch and even taste 5 types of the herbs that the instructor brought along with - these 5 herbs were Sweet basil, Lemon balm, Italian parsley, Dill and Arugula. Especially Arugula, commonly known as rocket, is very low in calories and a good natural source of Vitamins A and C, folate, calcium, and magnesium. Folate is the natural source of vitamin B9. When taken as a supplement, it is called folic acid - important for foetal development during pregnancy or for woman planning to get pregnant or during nursing. Research seemed to conclude that that adults who consumed the daily recommended amount of folates (Vitamin B compounds) had reduced 50% risk of getting the Alzheimer's disease.

The Q & A session offered quick answers to the enthusiasts' doubts.
The workshop was a huge success as participants had shown great satisfaction at the end of the workshop. It is our pleasure to be able to share and learn from one another in this workshop and hopefully more people especially retirees will pick up hydroponics or gardening as a hobby.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Company Annual Gathering 2010

It was a timely beginning of a New Year celebrating our Annual Staff Gathering which fell on the 2nd of January.

"Year 2010 was a rough year! we lost some customers but thanks goodness we managed to secure new customers," commented Mr Ore, our Executive Director who delivered the opening speech. Mr Ore ended his speech with a sincere wish that all will be blessed with good health, bountiful wealth and also peace around the world.Our Emcees for the night, Ernest and Jeremy were giving their utmost best to create a lively atmosphere and excite the participants. Games were prepared for all our guests and employees to participate in, of course, many prizes too be won also. A spread of international and vegetarian buffet was catered to tantalize everybody's tastebuds. "Hmmm... what should I eat?" LCD TV, Digital camera and Net Book were some of the attractive Lucky Draw Prizes. Luck draw numbers in the Bowl, how lucky can one get?
Guests of the Farm strolling in..... Hampers are just one of the many game prizes to be won. One of the many guessing games played.... Can you recognise what these vegetables are? Another guessing game..... Can you guess how many bars of chocolate are there in the container? Awaiting eagerly for the special Lucky Number to be called. Blowing balloon, whoever can burst it first gets the prize. Witness our champion with his enormous breath! Ghostly figure??? Not true. This is just a game played to see how quick witted one can be. The end result of the game.... a winner and an opera singer... NC16? RA? Wrong guess...just another game... Another lucky winner, walking away happily with one of the prizes.
Tension built up as the top prize draw approaches...
Here goes one of our top prize... the Net Book.
All good things will eventually come to an end. With the Grand prize drawn, Mr Ore proposed a traditional toast of 3 "yum seng" wishing all a good year ahead.

With the beginning of a new year, let's renew our spirit, mind and soul to embrace the unknowns that come forth bravely, tackle each new challenge fearlessly and blend each new day with fragrance that will sweeten those that cross path with us. A blessed New Year!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

How Xinmin Teachers Became Farmers

On the 27th of October, the science teachers from Xinmin Secondary School decided to change their profession and had a little taste of planting herbs and spices in the self-watering planters.

"This is how you assemble the parts of the self-watering planter box. Do not mix up the sequence..." explained Tony.
"Ensure that the water-level indicator tube is securely tightened so that there is no chance of water leakage..." This is the EM Compost. Mix them with soil in the ratio of 1 part is to 1 part garden soil."May, don't just give instructions...must use your hands....""Hmmm.... what is the next step..."
Having my second childhood...Everybody was paying full attention to the instructor and deeply engaged in the process of planting some herbs.Tony, the teacher of the teachers, taught the teachers how to plant the plants in the self-watering pot.

After setting in the plants, fill the planter with the mixed soil till the brim...

With a little bit of tender loving care and patience, we could see the final product soon .. "Mr Lim you are doing a good job... ... like a professional farmer..."Finally, the finished product....Learning is a lifelong process. Just like what Albert Einstein said, "Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it ."

Text by : Jeremy Choo and photos by : Ernest Chu