Chapter 1.2: Turning waste to gold at Quan Fa Organic Farm
/We came together for another fun and exciting visit on the 11th of October 2015—this time, to Quan Fa Organic Farm. This is the second activity ‘The Next Chapter’ events, organized by the Singapore Young Farmers (SYF) to drive a comeback in farming through active volunteerism.
The chapter has reached a midway point, since our inaugural launch at Singapore’s First Farm Festival on 29th May 2015 and our first activity at Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle on 13th September 2015. The countryside offers great sources of inspiration for sustainable and green practices that can enhance our daily lives. Let's see what Quan Fa has in store for us.
Onward to Quan Fa Organic Farm!
Quan Fa Organic is one of the three organic vegetable farms in Singapore, meaning that they use sustainable methods of farming, and abstain from pesticides and harmful fertilizers. Jun Jie, Quan Fa’s 3rd generation farmer, emphasized that organic farming is a labour intensive industry that usually produces 50% less yield than their non-organic counterparts. However, these non-organic vegetables contain chemicals that continue to remain in our bodies for 7 years before they are completely removed from our system.
We started off the session with warm up exercises led by our SYF volunteer, Darren. The exercises are essential in conditioning our bodies for the tour around the 3-hectare-big farm.
JJ explained crop rotation, which is an essential approach to boost soil fertility, control pests and diseases that can become established in the soil over a long period of time.
It takes 2 hours to harvest one row of French long beans. The leaves can be cleaned and eaten raw too.
Brightly coloured fly tape is used to preserve the integrity of these crops. Growing mint near crops is also effective in repelling insects!
JJ then shared with us the art of organic composting. Sawdust, yeast by products from beer and waste plant produce accumulating together to create a compost pile, emitting 80 degrees celsius of thermal heat to the surrounding through decomposition! Visible smoke can be seen in the background when the compost is scooped up with a spade.
It is also essential for farmers to experiment with different methods, and come up with efficient ways to boost crop yield. JJ brought us to the farm’s Water Cress plot, to show us their latest irrigation experiment. Here, small rubber tubings run directly into each basket of compost. The tubes are connected to the main piping system for sequential and controlled water delivery.
Trying our hand at farming
We got a glimpse of life as a farmer, by trying to harvest our own food! These are really the freshest you can get.
After getting our hands dirty, we spent the rest of the morning winding down with a delectable organic salad feast. Of course, we used our very own designer plates, made from scratch during our previous event at Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle.
Life as a farmer is a tireless yet rewarding journey. “The farming ground never rests in land-scarce Singapore” said Jun Jie.
Thank you Quan Fa Organic Farm for the experiential learning adventure! The next stop is the Metropolitan Offshore Fish Farm on the 7th of November 2015. Register at http://bit.ly/1NFRi4B. We hope to see you there!