Oh' Farms and Butterfly Lodge: April 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Chongfu Primary's Visit to Oh's Farms

In the month of April, over a period of 3 days from 5th onwards, the farm welcomed many young and curious students from one of the best primary schools in Yishun, Chong Fu Primary School.

Led by our intern, Edwin, the students toured the 1st stop - the Vegetable Packing Centre.The Packing Centre processes 1000 kg of hydroponic and other vegetables daily. The produces are sold in NTUC and Cold Storage supermarkets.Students moving out of the Packing Centre, happily going towards the next stop - The Nutrient Mixing Centre.Plants require 16 mineral nutrient elements for growth. In hydroponics, all the essential elements are supplied to the plants by dissolving fertilizer salts in water to make up the nutrient solution. Each of these nutrient elements has a critical function in plants and are required in varying amounts in plant tissue.

Plants can make their own food, why do they need fertilizer for growth ?
Plants make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis results in the production of sugar. That sugar is burned off to produce energy in the same processes that animals use for the same purpose. If fertilizers are not food than what are they? Fertilizing a plant is analogous to giving a plant its daily multivitamin. The plant that lacks sufficient nutrients may survive for a long period of time, but it would never be very healthy. This would be like a person who consistently eats unhealthy food that has little nutritional value. Sure, the unhealthy food would keep the person alive, but that person would have poor health. In germination, as this is hydroponics, soil is not used. Instead, sponge is used as a media for holding the seeds.Coupled with 3 basic conditions - air, water and warmth, the seeds will germinate between 2 to 3 days.Students can view through a window opening to see how seeds are germinated on the Farm.Newly germinated seedlings are shifted to the Nursery for it to continue growing with 2 additional conditions, ½ strength nutrient solution and 50% sunlight. At this stage, the roots will develope and when the 4th true leaf appears, the seedling is ready to transplant in the greenhouse.This is the tank where the nutrient solution is kept for circulating in the greenhouse for the healthy growth of plants."This is the black net that shades off 50% of sunlight", commented Edwin.Vegetables growing healthily in the greenhouse without the use of pesticide as the white netting keeps the pest away.The layer of plastic on top of the greenhouse is to keep the rain water out of the greenhouse. Too much rain water in the greenhouse will dilute the nutrient concentration and affect the pH values. Besides growing 6 types of leafy vegetables, the Farm also grows 10 types of culinary herbs.6th stop - the Cold Room, here we come!The Cold Room temperature is range from 4°C to 8°C which is the optimum temperature to store vegetables.Edwin also shared some medicinal usage of some of the local common herbs and spices. Lastly, Edwin conducted a short quiz to test how much they can remember. For each correct answer given they will get a potted plant.

In Singapore, there are 6 Agrotechnology Parks. These parks are modern agriculture estates developed with the necessary infrastructure for farming. They are located at Lim Chu Kang, Murai, Sungei Tengah, Nee Soon, Mandai and Loyang. Oh' Farms is located in Nee Soon Agrotechnology Park. There are a total of 53 vegetable Farms covering a total area of 116 Ha.

For more information on Singapore Farms, click on Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority website.